Did you know that the number one indicator of student success is collective efficacy? (Donohoo, 2017).
Research shows that when we believe in one another, student learning improves.
Since you’re listening or watching this episode, I’m pretty sure that doesn’t surprise you at all.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how we can improve our collective efficacy through the lens of coaching – without hiring an instructional coach or a formal coaching program.
Because we all want to improve student learning.
And we all can benefit from coaching.
But not every school has the capacity or finances to build an instructional coaching program.
And the great news is, you don’t have to have a formal coaching program to do it.
All you need to get started is a coaching mindset.
And every single person (students included) can work towards cultivating a coaching mindset.
When we know each other better, we can work better together.
And the best part is, you don’t have to have coaches (or even to be a coach) to get started.
In fact, since you’re already an educator, you likely already have all the skills you need to be successful in embracing a coaching mindset – it’s just about applying them with attention and intentionality in your daily actions and behaviors.
When you bring a coaching mindset to all of your interactions, you’re creating an environment that enables everyone to work better together: from teachers to students to leaders to support staff.
You’re creating an environment where all stakeholders feel valued, heard and respected. This culture of coaching and caring feeds right into the classroom, because the energy, attention and intention we bring to conversations with each other can be used with our students, and to support student interaction with each other.
Plus, when we all work to embrace our own coachability – and we use a coaching approach in our interactions with others – we are laying the groundwork for building a coaching culture.
So, the coaching program you’re working to develop will be more successful when the faculty has a coaching mindset.
Or, if you’re hoping to develop a coaching program in the future, you can build the foundations by developing a coaching mindset among the faculty.
If you watched or listened to last week’s episode with Lindsay Manzella and John Stephany, you know how powerful it is to work in partnership with another colleague who has a coaching mindset. (If you haven’t listened, add it to your playlist after this episode!)
Ready to explore a coaching mindset? Let’s jump in!
(And if along the way you’re interested in learning more about a coaching mindset, check out the end of this post for more opportunities to dig even deeper!)
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 Studies by email.
The 5 Domains of a Coaching Mindset
There are 5 key domains of a coaching mindset that any educator can embrace and bring to their interactions with all stakeholders. They are:
1: Attitudes
The attitudes we hold when interacting with others directly influences the way we see each other.
A coaching mindset asks that you:
- Respect & value your colleague’s experience, expertise & perspective
- Listen with genuine curiosity to understand another’s point of view
- Hold space for others / your coaching partner
- Slow down thinking / provide time to process
- Create a safe space to be vulnerable by maintaining confidentiality
- Recognize that you are not there to fix or create “mini me”
These are not complicated. You already know how to do all of these things, but when we are so busy in our daily lives, and we already have existing interpersonal dynamics with others, it can be hard to be intentional about choosing these mindsets.
2: Skills
Skills that support a coaching mindset are concrete coaching skills.
The skills involved in a coaching mindset are:
- Listening with genuine curiosity, by seeking to understand another’s point of view
- Pausing between speaking, leaving space for other to finish their thoughts or to prepare your own before speaking
- Paraphrasing to ensure understanding
- Using tentative language like: how might… or I wonder… or what if…
- Asking meditative questions that are open ended, do not have a quick yes or no answer and intentionally promote deep thinking,
- Using invitational language to help your colleague chose the direction of the conversation, rather than deciding for yourself what role to take
- Collecting and reflecting on data, rather than emotions or drama
Ultimately, we are using these skills to see our coaching partners as learners, and we use our interactions, and our questions to deeply understand where they are at, where they would like to grow, and then we can figure out exactly which learning experiences they need to help them get to the next step (instead of just offering advice).
3: Actions
When we are interacting with others with a coaching mindset, we take actions that support ongoing reflection.
These actions include:
- Using meeting norms / agreements
- Having a shared (visible) agenda
- Following a simple, but consistent, framework for your conversation
- Asking for feedback on the experience
- Taking notes & sharing those notes with your coaching partner
When you think about how you can prepare for a coaching meeting, you might want to think about other meetings you have been to that lack an agenda, structure or purpose (we’ve all been there!). This is NOT how we want our coaching conversations to feel. We want our coaching partners to feel a sense of consistency in our work and that’s what these kind of structures create.
4: Roles
Embracing a coaching mindset requires that we consider the role we are taking in each conversation. We must ask ourselves, how are we engaging in each conversation to best support the needs of our coaching partner.
Roles that you may play in a conversation with a coaching mindset are:
- Consultant: offering advice or recommendations
- Collaborator: joint partner, co-conspirator, co-creator
- Coach: asker of excellent questions to help your coaching partner uncover what they already know
You may also wish to consider the spectrum of collaboration:
- Sharing: offering resources, no relationship required
- Coordination: arrangement of components to work together harmoniously
- Cooperation: coordination of resources or events with some potential mutual benefits
- Collaboration: joint ownership where something new is created
When we embrace a coaching mindset we need to be aware of our own role in the conversation. When we are holding space for our coaching partner, we need to “be the person they need” rather than the person we may want to be in that moment.
5: Agreements
When we embrace a coaching mindset, we are agreeing to work together in ways that mutually support our growth.
Educators that embrace a coaching mindset agree that they are…
- Growth minded
- Risk takers
- Open to sharing
- Safe to be vulnerable (psychologically safe)
As you have probably already figured out, we can really only embrace a coaching mindset when we are ready to grow. This is the environment we are seeking to create when we are coaching – as a peer, a leader or an instructional coach!
This is really just a brief introduction, and there’s so much more to each of these domains, but I hope you can see that all educators have the potential to embrace this way of interaction.
When we bring this mindset to a whole school community, we are building a culture of coaching where each stakeholder has a role to play. The key is making a coaching mindset a habit in all of our interactions.
When a coaching mindset is applied with intention & attention in interactions among all stakeholders we are empowering everyone to engage in a culture of coaching.
One important thing to note is that although everyone in our school communities can approach their work with a coaching mindset, it is likely that the instructional coach will be the only staff member who will be able to focus entirely on coaching. In the role of instructional coach, they have the capacity to focus all of their time and energy on the practice of coaching and the development of a coaching program. Although other educators may contribute to this work, they also have other competing demands and additional responsibilities. Therefore the coaching mindset becomes the lens through which they view their role, rather than the action that their role is focused on.
Watch the Video
Ready to Develop a Coaching Mindset?
If you’re curious about coaching, already a coach and need to develop this level of skill, or you’re working to build a culture of coaching – with or without instructional coaches – I invite you to join our global cohort of our course, Cultivating a Coaching Mindset.
This course is designed for ALL educators who are curious about the habits, mindset and practices of coaching, as a foundation to build a coaching culture.
It’s for…
- Classroom educators who want to bring a coaching mindset to their work with students, their families, and their teaching colleagues
- Middle Leaders who want to build a cohesive and collaborative team.
- School leaders who want to utilize coaching skills in their practice
- Aspiring coaches who want to build their coaching skillset before stepping into the role
- Current coaches who want to explore how to support their colleagues in understanding the practice and impact of coaching
After working with so many clients in our courses for coaches, and in my work with individual schools, I know how complicated it is to unpack the concrete coaching skills educators want to understand to feel confident in using them in a professional setting. This course breaks down the key components of quality coaching practices so any educator can implement them right away – including you!
In the course, you’ll dive much deeper into the 5 domains of a coaching mindset so you can begin applying coaching skills in your current role as an educator!
By the end of the course, you will …
- Confidently Embrace a Coaching Mindset: You’ll know exactly what each of these 5 domains means for you, and your school.
- Be Ready to Have a Peer Coaching Conversation: You’ll understand the key skills it takes to have a successful peer coaching conversation – and try them out!
- Understand the Impact of a Coaching Mindset: You’ll be able to advocate for bringing a coaching mindset to your school community, to create a more cohesive school culture.
- Clarify the Difference Between a Coaching MIndset & a Coaching Program: You’ll understand the ways that a coaching mindset can be a powerful foundation for a coaching program, as well as why a coaching mindset is just the first step.
Get all the details about the course at eduroleanring.com/mindset.
Cultivating a coaching mindset is for every educator who wants to work better together with their colleagues, their students and their families. Everyone benefits from the reflective practices that coaching helps create!
If you’re not sure if this is the course for you, we have tons of options to dig deeper into coaching at the level that is just right for you! Watch one of our free workshops – and uncover which course is right for you!
Find out more at coachbetter.tv/learn
Free Workshops for Instructional Coaches
If you’re ready to keep learning, try one of our FREE workshops where you’ll be able to dig deeper into the concepts in this post, and get a peek at all of our courses for coaches.
We have workshops (and courses) to support coaches at every stage of their career: from new and aspiring coaches making the move from classroom to coach; to current coaches ready to be more intentional and strategic in their practice; to established coaches leveraging their coaching experience to lead.
You can them all on our coachbetter website at coachbetter.tv/workshops
If you’re curious right now, you have questions, please reach out. You can leave a comment below, join our #coachbetter Facebook group, or find us on social media at Eduro Learning and send me a DM. I’d love to support you on your coaching journey. See you next time!
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