Great Leadership Starts with Coaching

Takeaway: 

The tradition of principals being instructional leaders has been more and more difficult to achieve. School leaders have to bear incredible pressures and expectations, leaving little time to be the instructional leader. In comes the instructional coach, a position that is quite common in many schools. But, this does not absolve leaders from coaching.

Coaching:

When I review my schedule for the week, it is not uncommon to see it littered with days that see 10 scheduled appointmentss, ranging from 30-60 minutes each. On top of this, there are always multiple visits and unexpected meetings from students, parents, and teachers. When the day is over, it can often feel that there was no time left over for the core part of my job, supporting teachers so that they can support the students.

This type of work schedule, which is typical for many leaders, can make us feel like we are leading by getting work done. The constant meetings and tasks that a principal must accomplish can give us a sense that we are being successful as leaders. However, great leaders do not just get things done, but are also coaches. And that requires us to spend time with our teachers so that we can help them develop.

Coaches are those who come along side you. They are here to build you up, teach you the skills to succeed, and push you to be better. This is accomplished both one on one and in a group. Coaches in the work place are very similar to those in sports - they are here to help you be your best!

Here are a few ways that you can help lead by coaching:

Feedback

Everyone benefits from feedback. It is essential in helping to better understand strengths and weaknesses of an individual. By providing meaningful feedback that focuses on the behaviors of a person you can help them to improve in areas of growth. Feedback on what someone already does successfully can help cement in their minds what they are doing well and that they should keep it up.

Modeling

It can feel off putting to some, but being an administrator that comes into the classroom to show how they teach a lesson can be very, well, educational. While there is no one way or best way to teach as each teacher has a unique set of skills, personality, and knowledge, we can still learn from one another. By being willing to visit the classroom of a teacher to teach a lesson or participate in it can help teachers to see learning from another point of view. Also, if you can make it a priority, having teachers visit other classrooms can have a huge impact too!

Working in Parallel

Coaching someone by working parallel to them is a common practice. You see it often when teachers have a student-teacher, where they both work together or at the same time. Unfortunately, most schools have a work environment where teachers are in isolation, but when you put them together, so great things can come about. Coaching by working in parallel allows you to lead by example, which oftentimes has the biggest impact. Try to go beyond the grade level or departmental meeting and really work on developing with someone one on one.

Guide

Most examples up to this point require a much more hands on approach. Not all supervisors or colleagues can spare that much time. The guide is someone who can share their experience or wisdom though talks or chats. This is sometimes formal, but is often informal. We all look for mentors in our lives, and while the guide may not be a mentor per se, she is able to support someone’s growth very intentionally.

Summary

As you can see, there are many different ways to be a coach as a leader. The main idea is that leaders not see themselves only as a sense of authority, but also responsible for the development of those around them. Learning to lead as a coach can make a big impact not only on your teams, but also the students that you all serve. So, aim to coach, not just lead.