We want to give you a peek inside our Coach Certificate & Mentorship Program. Coaches taking part in this academic-year-long journey have graciously given us permission to post some of their learning and reflections from the private coursework they are undertaking during this program. Where possible, we have shared the course and the action task to give context for the guest post.
The Coach Final Project
The Final Project is a chance for you to reflect on everything you’ve learned and/or discovered throughout this Certificate Program. You will create an 8-10 min video sharing on the goal that you set, documenting the process of working towards your goal, reflecting on your achievement and sharing the process/outcome with our learning community. The most important part of your personal project is that it’s relevant to you, and you can demonstrate, through documentation and video, the impact your work has had on your school.
Watch Cate’s Video
Read Cate’s Reflection
My video is a very personal journey, it takes the viewer from where I started to a letter for the new principle. I really wanted to look at my coaching and analyse: where am I? How I could improve? Where I would like to see the campus going? Where I would like to see myself going? Producing the video allowed me to focus on the growth I have made and make my journey forwards – it was a letter to myself that I can return to and see if I have made the progress I wanted to.
What were your goals for this microcredential and how did you plan to meet those goals?
Originally, the main goal, for me, was to develop my understanding of the practice of coaching and experiment with different coaching ideas. I felt that I had been floundering as a coach, going around in circles. Even though the feedback from my colleagues was overwhelmingly positive, I believed that there was still more that I could do. I wanted to improve my skills and ensure that I empowered people.
However, once I started the course, I realised that it was me that needed empowering. That I needed the support to develop my own practice and confidence.
What would success look like if you met your goals? What steps do you think you need to take to reach those goals?
I would be more confident in approaching coaching conversations. I would have regular meetings with management to develop the coaching opportunities at the school (which I have already started to implement) I would have improved my methods of communication with staff (I am working on developing better methods to capture the staffs requirements)
How did this learning support you in reaching your goal? Did you actually meet your goals? How do you feel about how far you’ve come?
I am not sure if I had any specific goals. Honestly, I needed to knock down everything and then decide how to rebuild myself as a coach. The reflection, although at times stressful, allowed me to do this. I guess my goal was to grow as a coach, and I have done that. I might not have been able to put it all into action, but I now have a roadmap of how to do this. I also wanted to stop “doing the same thing” over and over again, and I feel I now have the tools to break that cycle.
What has been your biggest area of growth in the program?
I think, and I know this is a wide answer, growth for me was in the belief that I understand what coaching can be, what my role can be and that I can be involved in conversations about this. To clarify, it is not that I did not know about coaching techniques and ideas before, it is more that I got caught up in the day-to-day of my job that I did not give myself time (or leave) to inspect and critically analyse what I do. At the moment, I am still reflecting on my findings, looking at my success and failings (mostly failings – that is still the person I am). I will come back, after the Spring break, ready to get stuck into making changes.
Where do you still have room to grow?
Everywhere – who does not? As a coach, I would suggest we have to be at the forefront of personal growth. If you want others to do this, then you must be willing to do this yourself. However, if I need to be more specific I think I should concentrate on asking the right questions and learning the art of paraphrasing, this would not only help me in coaching, but in many aspects of my life (in and out of school). Along with this, the art of Active listening. I still have to stop myself jumping in with an answer or suggestion. But in my experiment with Rose, my coachee for this course, I took the time to listen more actively and it was a much more exciting meeting, because of this.
What would you do differently next time? What did you learn? (Reflection)
I think I would do the course in the same manner, apart from keeping up-to-date with the date guidelines, as falling behind did become stressful. For me, the discussion around leadership in coaching and advocating for coaching in the school were very valuable. I was also very interested in the different methods of coaching and how we use questioning and prompts to support these conversations
There is something that I would do differently. I would use the community spaces more. If I am honest, I did not have the bandwidth to use these to their true potential, and I know that these can be a powerful source. I think I would have made myself tune into the Slack community each unit, as this would have helped me connect with others who may be having the same questions. I did however enjoy reading the posts and liked this method of sharing ideas. However, being in a cohort of 4 people from the same school was very powerful and has allowed us to discuss our ideas and implement the theory at school.
What did you think the impact would be on your school environment as you worked towards and ideally, achieved your goals? What are you hoping to see in your school environment as you conduct and conclude the project?
In my ideal world…my dream world… There would be time allotted to experimentation for staff, where they could develop their ideas and I would be part of these conversations. There would be common coaching language embedded into the school lexicon, and we would all understand our coaching abilities.
Though really what I would like to do is share my video essay with the new principle as a starting conversation and take it from there. Hopefully they would see the need for a coach with more allotted time and the importance of the coaching cycle in the school environment.
What has been the biggest value of The Coach for you?
It was a practical program that gave me time and space to evaluate my own practice. Through reflection and constant engagement, I had to review my progress throughout – this makes it different from other PD. You had to do something and that makes you more engaged.
I would like to end with a thank you to @Diana who has had to help me navigate this course with skill and compassion. Thanks @diana
What’s YOUR level of coaching mastery?
All coaches go through various stages of coaching mastery. Once you identify where you’re at, you can begin to build the skills needed to move to the next stage.
This quiz is based on real-life case studies compiled from years of working with coaches inside The Coach Certificate & Mentorship Program!
When you receive your results, you’ll also get your matching case study from the STRIVE Case Studies to see where you fit in the stages of coaching mastery.
Ready to tackle your challenges and move on to the next level in YOUR coaching practice?
The STRIVE Model of Coaching Mastery quiz will help you identify your level of coaching mastery by matching you with case studies compiled from years of working with coaches inside The Coach Certificate & Mentorship Program so you can easily see where you fit!
When you complete the quiz, you’ll get:
- Your matching case study,
- Specific strengths & challenges aligned to your result;
- Suggested next steps for each stage;
Plus the Case Study Document includes:
- Case studies leveled by coaching mastery;
- A framework to identify essential stages of professional growth & key areas to focus on in your professional learning;
- Alignment with the THRIVE Model for a Successful Coaching Culture;
- Space for you to reflect & prioritize so you can take action immediately!
You’ll go straight to the Quiz, and get the Case Study Document via email.
View Cate’s Course Engagement Presentation
Level Up Your Coaching with The Coach!
If you are ready to develop your coaching practice over the next academic year, and explore topics like transitioning your work from individuals to teams, please join us for our next cohort of The Coach!
Wherever you are in building a coaching culture in your school, The Coach will give you the strategies, skills and tools you need to make coaching a success and will empower you to confidently apply instructional coaching strategies in any situation – from building a coaching program, to having coaching conversations, to being a leader in your school community. We facilitate only one cohort each academic year so we can offer individualized support for each participant.
Registration for our next global cohort opens once a year – check the website for details!
Find out more at: https://edurolearning.com/coach/
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