The Power of Coaching
The term ‘coach’ is not a new term and one which is often attributed to sport and industry but rarely considered across all levels of education. Also people development in education has been done to us for many years. Think about whole staff CPD days, compulsory twilights and teaching & learning weeks; why should it change?
What actually is a coach?
Often, the term coach is often mixed up and confused with mentor. To clarify, a mentor is someone who shares information and experience to help someone grow; a coach is someone who guides someone or a group of people towards their goals and helps them reach their potential.
Does everyone need one?
Why would we not promote this to everyone? I agree it has often surprised me the real lack of perceived need or want for coaching as a tool to develop the people at all levels of the education sector, including teachers and, of course, students too.
Is this because it is not needed, seen as too expensive or something else? I think it is a matter of both, and the people who often hold the purse strings think of the most effective way to develop the whole workforce and this is often driven by cost to a one-size-fits-all model.
I (Steve) recently read a wonderful book called Trillion Dollar Coach. This book looks at the executive teams across the tech giants (including Google, Apple, Facebook) and how each was coached by one man: Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell. In this book (which is a must in my eyes), it talks about how Bill didn’t just coach, but coached people to be coaches themselves so that the lasting legacy was a development of the whole not just one individual who might leave. Remember also @matthewsyed said in Rebel Ideas that innovation is not just one person but a collective and their sharing of diverse ideas (I am paraphrasing there but you get the gist!).
Should I not be good enough as I got the job?
Well, let’s be honest: if you know everything then fair play to you but you’d probably be the only person ever to do so. Coaching is not just about how good you are or how much you know but having someone there to help you reflect upon your work and also be there to support you by asking why and helping you to communicate this.
It is about continuing to be better in a cycle of development and reflection and with a real understanding that improvement is not a finite game. (This time to reference a Simon Sinek book…who said I don’t read?!)
A coach is there to help to get the best out of you so if you or anyone in your organisation questions why, then I would simply say why not?
Why should I have one?
I have tried to outline this already but there are a few ideas as to why we might need a coach:
- To help you frame your thinking and ideas.
- To be there to challenge (constructively) around your thinking and how you got to that point.
- To help you build confidence in your approach and your skills and, at times, vindicate (or challenge) your ideas.
- To give you a sounding board beyond your echo chamber. Think about the emperor and his new clothes on this one…
- To strive to be better no matter your starting point!
This TED Talk from @Atul_Gawande is hard hitting but argues that ‘everyone needs a coach’. It discusses how commonplace it is in sports but not in all areas of life. As a medical professional, he puts things into different perspectives.
Educators as coaches?
What intrigues me is when you listen to people talk about the ‘best teacher they had’ they often do not list their subject knowledge or that amazing lesson on a Monday afternoon. They often talk about how that person saw something in them that they did not see in themselves and helped and nurtured their curiosity and their passion for something. Is this not coaching? If this is often the skill or attribute stated as being key in their development and learning then the question is: should we focus more on this in developing our teachers and educators of the future? Should we create those who have the ability to get the best out of people? I really think so!
We are really interested in what you think on the subject so please do let us know.
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