Her Story
About Lynne
Lynne No is an Administrative Manager and Staff Recruiter with a strong foundation in Early Childhood Education. She began her career in 2014 as a classroom teacher and has since grown into educational leadership, currently serving at The Little School of Hillsborough and Duke. Her work spans administrative management, recruitment, and staff development, with a focus on building strong, mission-driven teams that support high-quality early learning environments.
In 2022, Lynne stepped into a newly created staff recruiter and trainer role, where she was entrusted to build the position from the ground up. With guidance from school leadership and limited structure in place, she developed her own systems for sourcing, interviewing, onboarding, and training new employees. Through this work, she established a consistent and thoughtful recruitment process that reflects the values and culture of the organization while ensuring new team members are set up for long-term success.
As her responsibilities expanded into administrative management, Lynne has continued to remain closely connected to the classroom experience and the educators she supports. She is intentional about staying grounded in the realities of teaching, viewing leadership as a partnership rather than a hierarchy. Her approach is centered on service, collaboration, and strengthening the team around her. Balancing her professional growth with being a single mother for seven years, Lynne takes great pride in the career she has built and the impact she continues to make in supporting both staff and students.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Lynne
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to maintaining humility and remembering what it's like to be a teacher, even after moving into leadership. Studies show that once people go into leadership roles, they kind of forget what it's like to be a teacher within about 4 months, and I have done everything I can to make that not the case for me. I don't see myself as higher than the people I work with - I see myself as having different roles to do. My job is to support the teachers, help them, and work together to make what we do with our children as successful as we can. The teachers at our school work 20 times harder than I do half the time, and I know it because I used to do it. So I don't view myself any differently or any higher - we just have different roles and we're here to support each other. Because I am that way, people come to me with all different things because they know that I will help. They know that I will come to them and not say 'oh, well, you should know this.' I come to them and say 'okay, yeah, sure, let me show you again.' That makes a big difference in people feeling comfortable coming to me and not feeling that they're going to be judged. I also credit my success to the fact that I'm a single mom and have been for 7 years - I've gotten all my promotions while being a single mom, which I'm pretty proud of. And I truly believe in the idea that if I don't take care of myself, I can't take care of anyone else, so I get up at 5:15 in the morning and work out, and it's my favorite part of the day.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My big advice is to keep that humility and remember that you are not higher than the people you work with. I spent many years before I went into administration as a teacher, and there are studies that show that once people go into leadership roles, they kind of forget what it's like to be a teacher within about 4 months. I have done everything I can to make that not the case for me. I don't see myself as higher than the people I work with - I see myself as having different roles to do. My job is to support you, my job is to help you. The teachers at our school work 20 times harder than I do half the time, and I know it because I used to do it. So I don't view myself any differently or any higher - we just have different roles and we're here to support each other. If you keep that humility and that idea that you are not above anyone, people will come to you with all different things because they know that you will help. They know that you will come to them and not say 'oh, well, you should know this.' You come to them and say 'okay, yeah, sure, let me show you again, that's totally fine.' We all need refreshes, we all need support. That makes a big difference in people feeling comfortable coming to you and not feeling that they're going to be judged. None of us are perfect, and none of us are going to get it all on the first try.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important value to me is finding daily joy in what you do. You have to make sure that you have daily joy in what you do - not just overall joy, but those little moments of joy throughout your day. What you do with your day is what you do with your life, and that's huge. We spend 8 hours a day at our jobs, so it should bring you joy and have those moments of joy in what you do. If it doesn't bring you joy, then you should move on. I love my job because I have anywhere from infants to older children come into our office randomly for different things all the time, and that's the best - those little moments of joy. It's okay if what brings you joy is not something that is typical or outside the box - even better. Another core value for me is self-care and taking care of myself so I can take care of others. I very much embraced the idea that if I don't take care of myself, I can't take care of anyone else. So I get up at 5:15 in the morning and work out, and it's my favorite part of the day. Working out is huge for me, as is making sure I have time with my village - my other mom friends - because we all need that downtime together. I also value humility and supporting others rather than seeing myself as above anyone. We all have different roles, and my job is to support the people I work with.
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