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?

I think the greatest challenge that I’ve faced as a coach is with buy-in. Also the greatest surprise. I have always been driven to seek feedback and grow as much as possible in my career. So it was a huge surprise to me when I rolled down the halls as a newly minted “coach” and within two doorways hit my first “thanks but no thanks”. I hadn’t been prepared for colleagues to see me as “more work”, rather than an easy growth and feedback opportunity. Developing buy-in was by far my biggest hurdle and remains such today.

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

Initially I engaged in conversations with the school leadership. Trying to determine what their vision for the role was and seeking strategies that they had used for teacher buy-in throughout their careers.

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

Ask questions. Ask all leadership, and even teachers what it is that they see the role of the coach doing. Understanding this baseline expectation from either stakeholder is essential in your development of the role moving forward. I don’t believe that there’s a black and white coaching role in any school. Much like our learners everyone is in a different place. Knowing what groundwork you need to establish in order to move the relationships and support forward is key.

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

In almost a decade of coaching I still face the buy-in challenge. As we change schools every so often in the International Schools network I find myself looping back to the start of asking questions around the expectations and current beliefs every few years. The only difference between now and ten years ago is that I have the confidence to drive a lot of the conversation as opposed to expecting the conversational partner to know how to answer the questions.

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

Kate: Reflecting on a Post Observation Conversation

Ashley: Measuring Your Impact as an Instructional Coach

Tracy: My Coaching Philosophy

Nicola: Taking a Targeted Risk as an Instructional Coach

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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!