This #coachbetter episode is another in our series of coaching case studies, with one of Kim’s amazing clients, Sasha Robbins. We’re so excited to share this episode with Sasha with you, because Sasha and Kim have been working together since 2019! 

These case study episodes are designed to share the story of a coach, and the development of their coaching program and practice in their unique setting. 

Sasha is an instructional coach at Al-Bayan Bilingual School in Kuwait and recently, on a coaching call they were talking about how Sasha has been working to intentionally slow down her coaching conversations and the impact that is having on the quality of work she and her coaching partners are able to do. 

This is a powerful conversation about the ways that experienced coaches can deepen the work they do with their coaching partners. And it’s a strong demonstration of Sasha’s growth as an instructional coach over the time that we’ve been working together.

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SHOW NOTES

Tell us what coaching is like at your school? How is the role defined? 

Al Bayan BiLingual School in the Middle East, 8 coaches, work in specific schools, coaching in MS & HS. Previously taught HS, 4th year as a coach.

Tell us a little bit about your journey as a coach and how you’ve grown into the role?

I am a believer in coaching, all kinds of coaching, I’m here for it. Because I was intentional in seeking out Aaron’s help so early in my time at BBIS, literally from the start. It gave me an opportunity to experience what high quality coaching look like. That’s where the journey to coaching began for me. That gave me an aspiration to want to coach. At the beginning, I was really doubtful of my capacity, because Aaron was my gold standard.  At some point, I began to realize that I have to find my own way. I can’t be Aaron but I can bring my own authentic self to coaching in the way that Aaron did. 

One of the things that also helped me, because I’m intentional about this work, I met you early on. You have been my partner. You have been the person who’s been consistently there with me along the journey, telling me the truth when I needed to hear the truth, and giving me so many different strategies, and using your power as a great questioner to help me find the answers within myself. My interest as a coach is to be able to help my coaching partner to find the answers within themselves.

I know you’re not always going to be able to find the answer within yourself. 

My interest is to be able to find the answer within yourself. It’s been a journey for me to become a better questioner. One of the early goals we had together was for me to become a better questioner. I had so many great mentors of great questioners: you, Aaron, Carolyn McAnders. 

You helped me see that it’s not just a raw talent. It’s a skill that can be learned and refined over time. The goals around questioning have been more refined as the years have gone by. And we keep returning to that original goal of becoming a better questioner from where I’m at currently. I’ve definitely become a better questioner. I’m beginning to break the code. Really, it’s not a secret, it’s not a silver bullet. It’s really being intentional at developing your skill as a listener. You kept saying that to me, but I think I finally got it. It’s LISTENING. Listening without planning to interrupt and share your amazing idea or thought or advice. 

Micheal Bungay Stanger talks about killing that “advice monster”. When you combine that with listening. When you really find that sweet spot when you can ask the right question.

How can you intentionally work towards slowing down coaching conversations (even though there is visible, physical and audio time pressure)?

We came back and forgot all the lessons of covid. When you’re rushing you miss steps along the way. The desire to do things that seem urgent right now is very reactionary, which forces you to have to go back again. If you aren’t intentional from the start, you wouldn’t have to go back and course correct. Go slow to go fast. There’s no shortcutting a process, it’s there for a reason. It’s not a rigid thing, but it’s important to be intentional.

Instead of trying to please the teacher, now I understand that there’s a bigger picture that we’re serving, it’s the kids. When we have that in mind, we can ask teachers to pause.

Why does committing to the process lead to a more  successful coaching cycle?

The power of paraphrasing. In paraphrasing I’m slowing down the conversation, I’m giving myself and my coaching partner time to understand what they meant. It gives you a chance for any misconceptions to be addressed. We are equal partners in the conversation. This is about you and your kids. 

• Teachers understand the purpose along with what we’re doing (understanding the “why”)
• Quality of the evidence
• Goal is to do something transformative, you want to evolve as a teacher & a learner,  create spaces for thinking, reflection & understanding (that’s what kids need, so provide yourself with that opportunity)
• Be intentional, so you can build those experiences for students too

Who do I want to be as a coach? Who do I want to show up as a coach? What I want to be a partner to is someone who changes. We can’t be stagnant. The coaching conversations are critical. I don’t think we understand the value. It’s in those thinking moments that you realize that this may not be the best practice, what could I do differently? When we ask ourselves those questions, that’s when transformation happens.

In taking coaching notes, this a hub for you to come back to. This is an opportunity to let them know why I’m taking the notes, for me to model intentionality. This is the place where we establish a coaching partnership – why I’m taking the notes and how they’re beneficial to you, ot me and to our work together. When they see me taking those notes and hear me explain why I’m doing it, that’s the way for them to see the value of being intentional.

It’s not so much about the words that are spoken, it’s the actions. What are the intentional actions that we are taking, that I’m contributing to for meaningful work. This is an invitation for them to stop and think about how I’m being intentional with my kids. Intentional actions we take to establish the learning environment is so critical for us to be able to do high quality work. I want them to see opportunities to be intentional.

It’s not going at a snail’s pace. It provides us with knowledge that can be used to improve the process. We talk about formative assessments guiding the big picture learning for the students. It’s the same approach we have to take in our work as educators. We have to formatively assess our work going forward, that happens best with reflection. A coaching partnership enables that to happen.

Being intentional with the kind of evidence we collect. Things we offer up as success criteria: is this really evidence that students have met the learning outcomes? Because you’re collecting it all the way, and reflecting on the process, you have opportunity to make sure you’re moving in the right direction.

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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!

You’ll go straight to the Quiz, and get the Case Study Document via email.

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Show Notes continued…

What can coaches focus on to help them slow down?

• being invitational, 
• asking for permission, and 
• asking for feedback / how does this feel / how things are going?

Requires a little bit of bravery. How is this working for you? Are you pleased with the quality of the results that we’re getting? If this isn’t working for you, what could we do differently?

Asking a reflective question. As a coach if you’re able to understand that reflective questions are everything, that’s the most important thing you can bring to a coaching conversation. What’s the evidence we have that doing it this way is the best way. It’s not about the teacher, it’s about the process. Did we achieve what we set out to.

Look at the evidence

Ask a reflective question

Checking in on that goal periodically

Is this work solving the dilemma that we set out to solve

Sometimes when you’ve gone off track, it’s important to be honest and say “I think we’ve gone a little bit off track… is this something that you’ve observed to?”

Say things like:

• The kids are coming tomorrow, and if you don’t give them a sound experience, it’s going to be a waste of time anyway. What small thing, what one aspect of the lesson tomorrow, can move us closer to the goal.
• I want you to understand that what we’re embarking on is going to impact your students, you and us, as coaches. It’s going to change the way that things are in this class. It’s transformative so it has to happen slowly.

How can coaches make this process feel invitational and explicit for coaching partners? / How can coaches seek feedback in the moment?

• “here’s where we think we’re going, how does that feel right now?”

What are the parameters coaches can put in place to ensure that coaching conversations are intentional and don’t get rushed?

Maybe setting the parameters is also important before you actually start the coaching work. For you to get to your goals, this is what’s going to make our work together successful:

• Lead time: something around: coaching works best when we have X number of sessions before you begin your unit (based on your experience with Aaaron) – this may mean that you might have to say “no” to some people because they haven’t given enough lead time
• Committing to meetings: essential to actually meet when we’re scheduled, because otherwise we won’t have the time to prep / plan

Establish what we’re going to talk about. There are likely burning issues that need attention immediately – is this something that is more important to have a conversation about.

Is this where you intended us to go? Redirecting your coaching partner at times.

Have an agenda in mind – based on what we talked about last time. A lose idea of what we’re supposed to be working on.

Coaching Partnership Agreements – clear about what we’re doing, how we’re going to do it, why we’re doing it, what evidence will surface, what challenges we might have, hopes or fears you might have

If you realize you’ve started to move too fast, what can you do to get things back on track?

Wrap Up

The nature of the work begs for intentionality. You are sharing skills with them that you have developed that would have / could have been done differently. You’re bringing all of that experience, and they’re bringing all of that experience. Between the two of us it’s really important to be intentional. At the end of the day do it imperfectly anyway, but there are opportunities to improve your chances of success.

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Ready to Learn More about Successful Coaching Conversations?

If you’re ready to dig deeper into coaching conversations – or if you’re new to instructional coaching and you’re curious about getting started, join us for one of our courses for coaches!

To learn more about these options, we have three FREE workshops to share with you today.

For New or Aspiring Coaches

If you’re just getting started as a coach, and you want to be successful in your early years, watch our New to Coaching Workshop, which highlights the key mindset and skill set shifts you’ll need when moving from the classroom to a coaching role. The workshop will also tell you all about our online course, Getting Started as a Coach. This course is specifically designed for classroom teachers who are moving into a coaching role so you’re prepared for the transition. It’s focused on exactly the skillset & mindset shifts you need to so you can be successful in your first years as an instructional coach. 

For Experienced Coaches

If you’re already a coach & you want to think about being more intentional & strategic in your practice, watch our workshop on the Thrive Model for Coaching Success which will help you evaluate your program and your practice to see where you may have room to grow. You’ll walk away with a clear picture of exactly what you need to focus on to build a thriving coaching culture – and help you decide if our year-long mentorship and certification program, The Coach, is right for you, right now. This program is designed for current coaches who are focused on building a coaching culture through intentional and strategic coaching work at all levels – with teachers and school leaders.

For Coaches Ready to Lead

For experienced coaches ready to look at the bigger picture of the school to see what might be supporting or hindering the sustainability of the coaching program, and you want to make sure your school has all of the systems and structures in place, watch our workshop: Scaling Your Impact as an Instructional Coach. You’ll get a bird’s eye view of what’s needed to make coaching sustainable for you as an individual coach and for your school. When you’re ready to put that learning into action, join us in our online course for coaches ready to lead: Coaches as Leaders and put it all into practice – with support from Kim and our global cohort! This course is designed for experienced coaches, ready to lead.

You can find all the workshops on our coachbetter website at coachbetter.tv/workshops

Wherever you are in your coaching journey, we can support you!

For All Coaches

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