Mindset of a Lead Coach
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Some schools have an instructional or academic coach on their campus. Others have athletic coaches. Even when you have coaches on your campus, we have a new job description for you to ponder: lead coach for your campus. I know my first thought was, “Sure, add something else to the principal’s job description. We have plenty of time. Just stick it in with ‘other duties as assigned.’” Yet, I also acknowledge that a fundamental aspect of a principal’s job is to develop the staff. The reality here isn’t about whether you are a coach on your campus. You are, even if you don’t have expert coaching skills, yet. What is at issue is a mindset that the principal is the primary coach, the lead, the coach of coaches, teachers, leaders, and support staff.
Why is the mindset of being the lead coach so important? In looking at high-performance workplaces across many fields, it comes down to the manager or leader ensuring that their workplace is a high-development culture. The great news is that most schools already believe in continuous growth and development. Does yours? Does every member of your staff, including you, want to continue to get better? Would everyone be open to coaching? If not, how can you develop that belief?
As the lead coach, the goal is to be highly involved in the development of individuals. Gallup research shows that when employs recognize and use their strengths, they are nearly six times more engaged, have higher performance, and are less likely to leave (Gallup, 2019). When the primary coach can target development opportunities (roles, positions, and/or projects) to employees’ individual strengths, the employees can use unique talents and abilities with job-embedded experiences and receive immediate feedback to grow. If you have too many staff to ensure that you are highly involved in the development of each member of your campus, consider a tiered approach, where you are highly involved in the development of maybe 7-15 individuals, who are then highly involved in developing others.
As you adopt the mindset of primary coach on your campus, consider that “the fundamental driver of culture change is commitment from leadership to high-performance workplace practices that is backed up by their actions” (Gallup, 2019). It won’t be emails and the professional development sessions that will change the culture. It will be your commitment to developing individuals, including yourself in that development, and putting continued time and resources toward development that harnesses individual strengths and supports your staff in being effective.
For more, read:
DeSimone, Rob. (2019, December 12). “What High-Performance Workplaces Do Differently.” Gallup. Retrieved from: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/269405/high-performance-workplaces-differently.aspx