This #coachbetter episode is part of our special series featuring real-life coaching conversations with one of Kim’s amazing clients, Sara Wilkins, who, at the time of recording, had just graduated from our course for classroom teachers moving into a coaching role called Getting Started as an Instructional Coach. HUGE thank you to Sara for being willing to record this session to share with all of you!

This episode is such a great example of the power of coaching – and how a single coaching conversation can help you get unstuck.

In this conversation Kim and Sara talk about how Sara can…

• bring her existing training and experience to her role as a middle leader
• use her coaching skills to connect with others in the school community that have similar goals
• better understand the potential resistance to the work she’s trying to do
• bring this conversation to a leadership level
• consider how to shift her language to help others embrace a coaching mindset
• use existing structures at her school to create a bridge to coaching

Connect with our Featured Guest

Subscribe to #coachbetter via your favorite Podcast Player!

Bonus! Watch the Spotlight Version on YouTube!

Show Notes

Tell us about your journey to education

I didn’t plan to be a teacher, it just happened. Planned to do the Peace Corp. Finished during the recession, and didn’t want to do PC with people who were doing it for the wrong reasons (because they couldn’t find a job), so went back to teaching. First job was in the DR, at the MS level. First year started my Masters, because I wanted to do my job well. Moved to ASKinshasha (Democratic Republic of Congo) for 6 years, now in 

MS Dept Head for SS, but also work with HS. In taking on this role, I’ve had some imposter syndrome, and I’ve been working through Cognitive Coaching, and would like to bring this in, in a way that works with the role that I’m in. Building a culture of coaching in a school where it doesn’t exist – What does this look like?

What has been a strength?

School has pushed towards Adaptive Schools. Several people have been trained in CC, but most are in admin, and MLL are using AS approaches. Similar pieces around paraphrasing, pausing in meetings. We have strong educators & strong PD happening all over the place. 

Is there any potential to connect with others who are doing similar work to ask them how they feel this adaptive schools work is developing in their setting?

That’s a good point. I think yes, there could be some conversations around it and need some reflection on what works and what doesn’t. Because I know in working with different people in planning meetings sometimes we have different views on how you start a meeting and build the community. And I think that’s really important, especially in meetings where you may only meet once a month and so that relationship piece is, is not there always. Yet other colleagues are like, oh, it’s a waste of time. Let’s, let’s just move on and get into what we need to get into. So, we could have conversations about what works and what’s not working about the what, why, how we, in planning meetings, So yeah, that’s a good place to start. 

---

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.

---

Show Notes continued…

What are any ways, in addition to what we just talked about, that you could tap into the strengths, the positives, the things that are already happening?

Yeah, I think that there would be a space for pulling out the positives from those who are leading meetings, and getting some reflection from people who are participating in the meetings as well. I could ask for feedback about the process. In some ways the agenda itself is just a cultural piece. There’s an expectation that you’re using those strategies, but if people are not, I could work to find out why not.

What might be the hesitation / resistance / lack of interest from those who push back on things like an inclusion activity?

That’s a good question. Often these inclusion activities are open ended, and more personal so it does end up taking a longer time, sometimes taking half our meetings 

So hearing that there are people that are on board and would like to reflect on the process and you might be able to pull out some positives, could you also take this potential resistance and have a conversation around that with those people and maybe even the people who are also feeling a little bit like, so you, so you validate their concerns? 

Yeah, I think so. And in the meetings where I’ve built a meeting together with somebody else, we’ve had those conversations and come to a compromise about how we get people to engage in the inclusion activities. Being able to have that conversation at kind of a leadership meeting would also be powerful to get us all thinking outside the box of how we could be doing our meeting a little differently…

---

Ready to Learn More about Building a Coaching Culture?

If you’re ready to dig deeper into what a coaching culture looks like in a school or organization – 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

Connect with us!

• Subscribe to the podcast iTunes  |  Spotify  |  Stitcher 
• Follow us on social media: Twitter  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn
• Join our #coachbetter Facebook group
• Explore our courses for coaches