As coaches and leaders we are doing our best to build a positive and inclusive coaching culture, but sometimes we can be making some big mistakes without even realizing it.
When you look back on your own coaching experience – as a coach or as an educator or leader, you can probably remember a time when something didn’t quite go as planned, or wasn’t received the way we expected.
Sometimes, even with the best of intentions we end up making a crucial mistake. So what are these red flags when building a coaching culture – and what do you do instead?
That’s what today’s episode is all about!
In this #coachbetter QuickTips episode, Diana highlights 8 red flags to avoid when building a coaching culture aligned with Malcolm Knowles Principles of Adult Learning.
Along with each red flag, Diana shares some strategies, from her own experience as a coach and from our participants in The Coach Certificate and Mentorship Program, that promote a positive coaching culture, leading to greater engagement and collaboration among educators.
And if you want to avoid these red flags in the first place, that’s how we support you in our courses for coaches – where we follow the Thrive Model for Sustainable Instructional Coaching – at the level that’s just right for your experience. Find more details at the end about how the Thrive Model can help you build a sustainable and thriving coaching culture too!
Introducing Andragogy
Let’s first take a look at the principles of Andragogy, also known as Adult Learning Theory, which emphasizes that adult learners have unique needs, experiences, and motivations compared to children. This is especially important for educators moving from the classroom into a coaching role.
By incorporating these principles into our coaching strategies, we can greatly enhance the support we provide to educators in their professional growth.
These principles include:
- Need to know: Adults need to know the reason for learning something.
- Foundation: Experience (including errors) provides the basis for learning activities.
- Self-concept: Adults need to be responsible for their decisions on education. They benefit from involvement in the planning and evaluation of their instruction.
- Readiness: Adults are most interested in learning subjects having immediate relevance to their work and/or personal lives.
- Orientation: Adult learning is problem-centered rather than content-oriented.
- Motivation: Adults respond better to internal versus external motivators.
By applying these principles of Adult Learning, we can address some of the Red flags that can impact coaches and coaching teams and what should be done instead. We also have another video on adult learning that provides an overview to Andragogy, if you want to dig deeper into the principles of adult learning before exploring these red flags.
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Red Flag 1: Treating All Staff Like New Teachers
Assuming that all staff members are novices neglects the wealth of experience they bring to the table. This approach can alienate seasoned educators and stifle their enthusiasm for collaboration.
The principle of Foundation of Experience emphasizes that adults come with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Celebrate this diversity rather than grouping everyone into a single category.
What to Do Instead:
Conduct a pre-coaching survey or informal interviews to understand their individual experiences. Use this information to tailor your approach and build on their existing knowledge. By recognizing individual strengths, you validate their expertise and enhance engagement.
This has been an important part of my coaching practice – it takes time to get to know teachers and build those relationships. But once I was able to acknowledge and access the expertise in the school community more teachers could see the value in coaching and their part in it.
Red Flag 2: One-Size-Fits-All Professional Development
Providing generic professional development can lead to disinterest and frustration. What works for one teacher may not resonate with another, especially when their experiences and needs differ greatly.
The Self-Concept principle stresses that adults prefer to be self-directed and responsible for their own learning.
What to Do Instead:
Offer customizable professional development options that allow educators to choose topics relevant to their interests and goals. This approach respects their autonomy and promotes a culture of continuous learning, driving engagement. And access their expertise, experience, and ideas to share with each other. Some of the most positive feedback I’ve gotten about professional learning, was when teachers had the time and space to work with each other and find support in putting new ideas into action.
As a mentor for The Coach Certificate and Mentorship Program, providing a course that adapts to each participant’s needs, I’ve seen our participants create and modify tools and resources that fit the needs of the community of educators they are working with.
Red Flag 3: Lack of Clear Purpose
Failing to communicate the purpose and objectives of professional development can lead to confusion and disengagement among educators.
According to the Need to Know principle, adults need to understand the reasons for learning something; they seek relevance in their educational experiences.
What to Do Instead:
Always articulate the ‘why’ behind each initiative. For instance, connect the goals of a workshop to specific classroom challenges educators face. When teachers see a clear purpose, they are more likely to engage deeply and apply what they learn. Include this same principle in planning for meetings and working with individuals and teams. I’ve found revisiting those ‘whys’ regularly helps with goal setting and focus and guiding coaching conversations.
Red Flag 4: Thinking you have to be the expert
Positioning yourself as the sole expert can create an adversarial environment where teachers feel they cannot share their ideas or experiences.
The Foundation of Experience principle highlights that learning is most effective when it draws on participants’ previous knowledge and skills.
What to Do Instead:
Create collaborative learning communities where everyone’s voice matters. Facilitate discussions that allow teachers to share insights and techniques, making it a two-way exchange. This not only builds trust but also enriches the learning experience. As a coach, I’ve worked with teachers in a variety of content and grade level areas. Even if they teach content that I have expertise in myself, my role as a coach is to be a collaborative partner. Even if I need to switch into a mentor role, it is because the teacher and I agree that is what they need at the time.
In The Coach Certificate and Mentorship Program, after working through Phase 1, Finding Clarity, and gaining a better understanding of what coaching is (and is not) I’ve seen many of our participants, come to the realization that it is okay NOT being the expert and see more possibilities and benefits in coaching strategies.
Red Flag 5: Not reading the room
Failing to gauge the energy and mood of the individual or group you are working with can derail a coaching session, leading to disengagement or resentment.
Readiness is a principle that reflects adults’ interest in learning when they perceive the material as immediately relevant and beneficial.
What to Do Instead:
Be observant and responsive during coaching sessions. If the mood shifts or participants seem disengaged, adjust your approach on the fly. Use formative assessments or quick check-ins to gauge understanding and interest, and pivot your method as necessary. In coaching conversations or professional learning situations, I’ve had to remind myself to get out of my own head and really listen and observe and clarify and be okay with taking a break to reset or change course. This is also a big step many of the coaches I mentor through The Coach Certificate and Mentorship Program make through their learning. They become much more aware of observing, reflecting on, and planning for their interactions with the individuals and teams they work with. They begin to recognize how personalities and dynamics can impact interactions.
Red Flag 6: Making Assumption about Needs
Making assumptions about teachers’ needs without engaging in dialogue can lead to misguided initiatives that fail to address their real challenges.
The principle of Readiness underscores that adult learners are motivated by immediate relevance in their learning.
What to Do Instead:
Conduct needs assessments or focus groups to gather insights directly from educators. By involving them in the process, you ensure that your coaching is aligned with their professional goals and immediate needs. I’ve found that needs assessments, surveys, and check-ins need to be done along the way – not just at the beginning. I’ve seen many of the Coach participants use these assessments as insight into their own practice and approaches that may need to be modified.
Red Flag 7: Approaching Coaching from a Deficit Mindset
Focusing solely on what teachers lack can impact motivation and create an environment of negativity rather than growth.
The principle of Motivation highlights that adults respond more effectively to intrinsic motivators rather than a focus on weaknesses or deficits.
What to Do Instead:
Adopt a strengths-based approach. Frame your coaching around building upon existing skills and successes. Celebrate small wins and foster a growth mindset, encouraging educators to view challenges as opportunities for development. It can be easy for some teachers to stay focused on what is not working and our job is to help guide them towards solutions and build confidence in an authentic and respectful way. We know the many challenges of educators so I’ve taken the approach to acknowledge the challenge and then find ways to help the teacher see some light moving forward.
Red Flag: 8: Quickly planned events
Poorly planned professional learning events can come across as unprofessional and disrespectful to participants’ time, often resulting in poorly attended or unproductive events.
The Orientation principle of problem-centered learning suggests that educators prefer to engage in well-organized and purposeful professional development.
What to Do Instead:
Invest in thoughtful planning and preparation for your events. Set clear objectives and gather input from potential participants long before the event date. By ensuring that your sessions are well-structured with relevant topics that resonate with their immediate challenges, you demonstrate respect for their time and commitment, leading to more meaningful engagement.
I’ve found that teachers appreciate when both you and they are prepared for the event. And that they can see that we’ve really put a lot of thought and intention in how the time will be used.
Using Andragogy to Guide Your Instructional Coaching Practice
By avoiding these common pitfalls and grounding your approach in the principles of Adult Learning, you can create a supportive and effective coaching environment. Each principle not only illustrates why certain practices are ineffective but also guides you toward strategies that respect the unique needs and experiences of adult learners.
Remember, building trust and credibility takes time, but by engaging educators intentionally and authentically, you can become a catalyst for positive change within your institution.
So, as you embark on your coaching journey, always ask yourself: How can I apply these principles to support and empower my colleagues? Making a concerted effort to adhere to these practices can transform your coaching role into one that is respected, valued, and impactful.
Aligning each of these red flags with an adult learning principle can help clarify why and how we can ensure that the work we do to build a coaching culture aligns with the ways that adults learn best.
Understanding andragogy is usually an “aha” moment for our The Coach Certificate and Mentorship Program participants when we highlight the ways that we might need to adapt our practices for adult learners – we look more closely at these principles in Phase 3, Grow Community.
In fact, each of our courses for coaches follows all of these Principles of Adult learning so you can experience what it’s like to be a learner in that setting too. Here are a few examples:…
- We meet the Foundation of Experience principle by starting The Coach with a self-assessement survey to reflect your experience as a coach (aligned with our coaching standards) and identify YOUR specific next steps for growth – so you can align the course content to exactly your needs & your mentor knows exactly how to support you!)
- Meet the Self-Concept principle by ensuring that you’ll get the chance to create an artifact of your choice (with lots of samples to review) that is aligned to your needs for each phase of the program (or at the end of the program, depending on which course you’re in).
- Meet the Readiness Principle by providing highly differentiated learning experience options where you get to chose the action you take for each unit in all of our courses, and we further customize the learning by providing Office Hours (or a private mentor in The Coach!)
- Meet the Motivation Principle by ensuring you always have agency in the action you take in each unit, and the artifacts you create to use in your setting right away.
- Meet the Orientation principle by building our program based on these very foundations, as well as UDL, and we continue to refine and adjust based on participant feedback every single year. Many of our clients highlight that the courses they take with us are a fantastic example of UDL in practice.
So, if you’re ready to dig deeper into being more intentional in your coaching practice – or if you’re new to instructional coaching and you’re curious about getting started – join us for one of our courses for coaches.
Watch the Video
Free Workshops for Instructional Coaches
To continue your 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 educators curious about coaching, to 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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