Recently an educator wrote to me and asked ‘how can I be a good room leader?’ When I considered this question many thoughts ran through my mind, and bought back a few memories of my own, when I first started out as a room leader back in 2010. Thinking back I threw myself in to many situations, trying to impress and be seen by those I thought were interested, but not once considering how this was changing my values and beliefs of quality early childhood education. So let’s think about what it is to be good, great, impactful or even perfect. I believe all of these words are subjective and inherent of being accepted. The idea of failure is far to difficult to accept and perfection is the ultimate end goal. Listening to a recent Brene Brown podcast she reminded me that ‘perfection is seductive’ but I would also add that it is an impossible and dangerous concept. I believe that perfection lives in the same place as acceptance. Often it is the expectations of others that drive us to the place of acceptance and perfection, leading us to the final destination of self-doubt. Being a ‘good room leader’ so, lets break it down. ‘Good’ as I said earlier is subjective, good in one setting, may look and feel very different at another service, however feeling good within yourself is not perfection, it’s a feeling of self- worth. Being perfect in the eyes of others however, is draining, unhealthy and can lead to burnout. Ok, so let’s look at “room” for me it speaks of relationships, while relationships are as the EYLF tells us strengthened as educators and children learn together and share decisions, respect and trust, they are also problematic, especially if we feel unworthy or not good enough. The word ‘Room’ also talks of confinement, enclosure and isolation. Expanding oneself beyond the room, enables growth through the exposure of challenge and new perspectives. If we limit ourselves to what is an expectation then we will always feel the need to be accepted. When we think of a leader, it can be easy to associate it with hierarchy, power and influence. However I often talk of leadership as courageous. Being a leader is not about never having a bad day, after all we are human, it’s about getting up and starting all over again when you do have a bad day. Leadership is also not about being right or perfect either, I have never met a perfect leader and I hope I never do. There is so much to gain from being an imperfect leader. I would often ask the team to tell me at least one thing per month I could do better as a room leader. While this can be hard to hear, I was open to imperfection and I knew this was supporting my growth. Like parenthood, there is no guidebook that shares “the 10 steps to being a good room leader/teacher”it’s about feeling in your heart and mind that you are committed to the best version of yourself. Everything is won and lost within our minds. Our ability to rule our mind is the most critical component to the way we see the world and ourselves. Our mind is what will lead us to our greatest achievements and our worst nightmares. Finding beauty in the imperfection comes from us shifting our mindset to one of criticism to self-care, and acceptance. Acceptance often brings with it empowerment. We become at peace with ourself when we just accept where we are in life, and look to make small steps to improve and evolve as a professional