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 Topic: Coaching Challenges

The Task: After reviewing some of the surprising challenges that all coaches face, reflect on your own experience.

What surprised you most when you became a coach? What was your biggest challenge?

The biggest surprise for me was how I felt when I first started. I was so excited to take on this new role. To me, It was the next step to take if I was to ever leave the classroom. I never anticipated feeling so lost and lacking the confidence I had when I was a teacher in leadership roles. Those feelings really were my biggest challenge. I had to really find myself again in this new role and navigate it how I saw myself as a coach instead of thinking about how other coaches who were more experienced would do the job.

How did you overcome that specific challenge? Or find a way to work with it?

As I got out and worked with more teachers and started to see an impact, my confidence started to grow. Working with Kim throughout this time in our coach mentor meetings, in my opinion, really helped me take an accelerated path to finding my way. I stopped second-guessing myself and maintained trust in myself and the ideas I brought to the table.

What piece of advice would you share with newer coaches to be prepared for that challenge?

It is ok to feel a little lost and overwhelmed at first. You are in this position for a reason. Just keep believing in yourself and you will have a great impact on your teachers and their students!

What is a challenge you’re facing now? How are you currently managing that challenge?

My challenge now is really working on building more relationships with our secondary teachers. I dabbled here and there and started to work with a handful of teachers in middle and high school, but I want to expand my presence there. I’ve been more intentional in my own professional development to find ways to support secondary teachers and the challenges that they are sharing on our needs assessment surveys.

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Read more from The Coach participants as they share their learning from the certificate & mentorship program…

Kate’s post: Working with Adults

Karli’s post: In Practice: Post-Observation Conversation

Tracy’s post: Evaluating Your Coaching Program

Tracey’s post: Evaluating Your Coaching Program

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Level Up Your Coaching with The Coach!

If you are ready to dive deep into your coaching practice, to help you #coachbetter and build a thriving coaching culture in your school, 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.

Coaches of all levels are welcome: you’ll start the program with a self-assessment to determine exactly what the next steps are for you!