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.
Follow Kate on TwitterThe Topic: Foundations for Success
The Task: Reflect on your leadership.
After taking some time to reflect on areas I feel strong in are building relationships, systems view, project management, listening for understanding, and I’m always trying to be balanced. I’m starting to see that I lean into the systems view and project management maybe a little bit too much. I think it would be good for me to take some of that energy and put it towards being enthusiastic about learning opportunities with teachers and students.
I understand that anyone can be a leader regardless of title. I recognize that I have been in informal leadership roles previously, but I don’t aspire to have a formal leadership position. There is something about the formal leadership roles that doesn’t feel good to me. When I read through the different leadership styles, servant and transformational leadership seemed to be the best fit for me. This gives me insight into why formal leadership roles aren’t where I want to go.
I believe I demonstrate servant leadership the most. I’m constantly asking people around me “How can I help?” Technology can often not work or have issues so I definitely support our teachers and students on this level. I believe this is effective in building trust in my community. If people know I will go out of my way to help anyway I can, they are more willing to ask for help using technology in new and different ways. I would like to think that I also use transformational leadership also, probably not as much as servant leadership. I’m always looking for ways to improve and make things better. I think this is one my original interests in ICT. It is rewarding for me to help teachers and students find more effective, creative, and efficient ways of learning and working. I do attend UOI planning and have my own office hours for each grade level. I’m a bookable resource, teachers choose to meet with me when they need help or want to co-teach with me.
The areas of growth I’d like to develop are vision, using data, and being inspiring. I think this course is helping me to re-envision my role and redefining my focus and priorities. I’m figuring out where I fit in to this evolution of the ICT teacher/integrator turned coach. This year I’m going to work on using data for my Professional Growth Model (PGM) goals. I’m thinking of ways to gather data around the G3 laptop/tablet roll out after break. I would like to ask for feedback around my coaching practice. I’m still looking at ways to do that. I would like to find ways to feel more excited and inspired about my work and pass that on to my colleagues. It’s been a stressful few years, I’m still settling into our new posting.
Read more from The Coach participants as they share their learning from the certificate & mentorship program…
Andre’s post: How to Have a Coaching Conversation
Becca’s post: Defining the Role of the Coach
Amy’s post: Planning for a Coaching Pre-Observation Meeting
Karli’s post: The Coach-Principal Partnership
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!
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