This is how you do it!

Colleagues,
 
Your feedback helps me get better, so thanks to all of you who share!
 
Speaking of feedback, my longtime friend, Nat Ellis, responded to Monday’s post on coaching:
 
I would enjoy coaching teachers. You need to listen to their teaching style and develop plans and ideas that will help them grow.  n athletics, we tell athletes the best way to do a specific skill.
 
This is a powerful insight! There are some things for which there is one way. There are many things for which there are multiple ways. How does the nature of the task influence how we coach?
 
There are lots of coaching models, but I will go with the one I know best – mine, which is heavily influenced by the work of Elena Aguilar. 
 
There are four stances of coaching (in my model, which is heavily influenced by Elena Aguilar):

1. Directive: This is what you saw in Monday’s video. Please click here to watch if you didn’t see it, 30 seconds to 1:30. There is one specific way to do something and this is how you do it. This is also the appropriate stance for someone who is struggling.
2. Collaborative: The coach and coachee (person being coached) are in a discussion and each contributes and takes turns leading the conversation.
3. Reflective: The coachee leads and the role of the coach is focused on asking good questions that help the coachee come to good answers for themselves.
4. Transformative: The coach works to help the coachee change in some fundamental way. For example, if I help a heroic leader (who does everything themselves) grow into a servant leader (who empowers others to do things), that is a transformative change.

 
These different stances work in different situations. If you want to learn more about a particular stance, let me know.
 
Do good and be well,
 
Frederick