The Berliner Institut für Kleinkindpädagogik und familienbegleitenden Kinderbetreuung e.V. is an association for early childhood education and family accompanying childcare. The BIK e.V. is a state approved independent youth welfare service organization. Manager of day-care centres are playing a key role within the day-care centre but also within the organisation providing day-care centres. Their qualification and their personal competencies have a great impact to the quality of provision of the day-care centre and to the education and the professional development of early childhood experts. The role of the manager requires specific competencies and appropriate qualifications. In Germany there is no systematic formation for the management of day-care centres. BIK e.V. will have in the day-care centres within the next 3 to 7 years a new generation in the line. When providers of day-care seek to ensure the need and the quality of the management of their facilities the continuous professional development is of crucial importance. Professional development taking into account good practice and experience across Europe have an added value. Together with the Bildungsanstalt für Kindergartenpädagogik der Stadt Wiener Neustadt (a higher institution of education for early childhood education and care of the city of Wiener Neustadt) BIK e.V. dedicates the project Early Bird to the training of future leaders of day-care centres. The aim is to train experienced early childhood professionals in their existing leading position or to train them for future leading functions. Aim is furthermore to be prepared early enough to necessary staff requirements inside the organisation and to bind qualified employees for leading positions in day-care centres of BIK e.V. To be open-minded, reflective and recognising cultural values and diversity are imperative for the quality of provision in day-care centres becoming more important in a complex world. Sending early childhood professionals for staff training and staff development abroad also focuses to training (? train) intercultural competencies. For these reasons BIK e.V. sent 36 future managers of day-care centre in 2 groups to professional development to Austria. The participants are state-certified educators with leading functions or state-certified educators within a continuous professional development for early childhood professionals with the focus to management and pedagogy of early childhood education and care or with the focus direction and management of institutions of early childhood education and care. In the frame of a 5-day-stay abroad the participants got an insight view to the education system of another European country and during an internship they got to know the direction and the management of an Austrian kindergarten. They exchanged knowledge of instruments and methods of team development and human resources management. They reflected own approaches and roles and concluded good practices for the guidance and education of early childhood professionals in their own day-care centre. The participants dealed with these topics: Direction and management tasks of a day-care centre The role of the manager between diverse expectations Leadership style Team and staff development Participants have a significantly enhanced understanding of the leadership role of the manager of day-care centre as learning outcome. By observing other working structures participants enabled their ability to reflect their own leadership role. They are aware of their own capabilities and functions, and are able to communicate this especially during the supervision of trainees and staff members. The strengthening of future managers in their leadership role as early childhood professionals enhanced the cooperation with employees and staff members; which is reflected especially in a more conscious communication with the team. The qualification abroad had a positive impact to the level of education of future managers in day-care centres, nonetheless this process is not yet completed but should be pursued within the future personnel development. The training abroad corresponds to essential requirements in the qualification of leading personnel in day-care centres. Therefore this training is a major part in the overall strategy to ensure need and quality of leaders in early childhood education and care. This training in an intercultural European context is a beginning to qualify staff and to bind qualified staff to the organization, which will remain an important topic for the near future. This strengthens the competitiveness of the organisation as a whole.