This is the conclusion of a four part blog series that took you on a journey to delve into six foundational practices that embody how leaders can embrace a coaching mindset. Let each practice serve as a stepping stone, guiding you towards instructional change and student success. I hope you e found it meaningful to explore how coaching builds will, skill, knowledge, and capacity, breathing life into the aspirations of educators, leaders, and the futures of the students they serve. 

• Part 1 of the series can be found HERE. 
• Part 2 of the series can be found HERE
• Part 3 of the series can be found HERE

I initiated this blog series out of a deep appreciation for the students, educators, and communities I’m dedicated to serving. As I’ve expressed in earlier posts, education transcends mere action; it’s a gift—an avenue to amplify the voices of others, acknowledge their strengths, and facilitate mutual growth and evolution over time.

Dr. James Rouse beautifully shared on social media, “Imagine all of the past versions of yourself – standing right in front of you – they are all smiling, looking back at you – they are so proud of you.” 

It’s admirable how the greatest educators I have ever known are continuously striving to take pieces of the past versions of themselves to forge connections, foster communication, encourage collaboration, and inspire innovation, all within environments that value our interconnectedness. 

While it’s crucial to hold onto the elements of our past selves, shaping our present and future selves involves being attuned to those who have helped illuminate our best qualities along our journey. How can educators sustain this cycle of personal and collective growth, continuously nurturing the best versions of themselves and others?

In the final part of this series, I’ll share three more ideas to help you grow yourself and your colleagues. You’ll become a guiding light, fostering growth through coaching conversations and providing impactful feedback channels.

I invite you to read the first three parts to this series, but you are also welcome to dive right into Part 4. 

Here we go…on to practices four, five, and six:

Grow Through Coaching Conversations: Meaningful conversations can serve as a way to illuminate and anchor purposeful professional and personal growth. David Brooks shares the following in his book, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen. “In every crowd there are diminishers and illuminators. Diminishers make people feel small and unseen…Illuminators on the other hand, have a persistent curiosity about other people. They have been trained or have trained themselves in the craft of understanding others” (pp.11-12). 

We have the ability to grow ourselves and our colleagues by illuminating new ideas through questioning. Great questioning can be the key to unlocking new possibilities. When having conversations with teachers, I have found it helpful to actively listen to their thoughts, questions, and ideas. During many conversations, two things can happen. The person listening can either SUPPORT or SHIFT the response. 

Have you ever recognized how many people you have approached with a story or problem and instead of actively listening to you and helping you feel seen, they shift the response back to themselves. Allow me to briefly define a shift response and support response:

Shift Response: Diverting the conversation to ourselves (often unintentionally). We shift to topics that center around us and provide information for the same. These responses are a hallmark of conversational narcissism.

Support Response: An effort to focus your attention on what the other person has to say, allowing you to seek information and understand the other person better. Here you encourage an individual to tell their story.

Real Scenario

Teacher Problem:  I’m struggling with how to ensure that all of my students receive small group instruction regularly. Shift Response: Leader: Oh, I totally get it. When I was in the classroom it took me a while to figure out a system that worked for me. It’s all part of the learning process. Support Response: Leader: I appreciate you bringing this up. Can you share more about how you are implementing small group instruction now? Let’s discuss potential strategies, frameworks and systems you can use to ensure all of your students receive equitable small group instruction.

Additionally, using coaching stems has been helpful in order to approach conversations to encourage reflective thinking, promote active listening, and facilitate intentional conversation. HERE are coaching sentence stems that have proved to be beneficial as I navigate this work.

Be a Lantern and Shine the Light

How can we harness the talents of individuals within our own organizations and beyond? Here is some more wisdom from David Brooks, “I often ask people to tell me about times they felt seen, and with glowing eyes they tell me stories about pivotal moments in their life. They talk about a time when someone perceived some talent in them that they themselves weren’t even able to see.”

I have found that leaders who lead with a coaching mindset do an exceptional job of recognizing the gifts in others and providing them with opportunities to shine. Great leaders can often see the amazing qualities in others that they cannot see in themself.

Here are a few ways to be a lantern and shine the light:

• Empower teachers to generously share their wealth of knowledge, expertise, and classroom practices with the wider educational community. Take, for instance, the remarkable strengths observed in teachers adept at learner conferencing, crafting comprehensive writing toolkits, and integrating language structure resources. Harnessing these talents, I entrusted them to spearhead professional learning experiences. This not only illuminates their individual brilliance but also cultivates a collective capacity for growth, empowering both them and their colleagues to take the lead in shaping educational excellence.
• Host a coaching event/teacher leader event at your school district. By inviting other instructional coaches, teacher leaders, and leaders who lead with a coaching mindset promotes collaboration, sharing of best practices, and continuous professional growth among educators. This cross pollination of ideas can instantly elevate the quality of teaching and learning experiences for both students and educators alike, fostering a culture of excellence within your own educational community and beyond.

True connection flourishes when we lead with lanterns, opening paths to guiding others with empathy, humanity, & vulnerability. Exceptional educators uncover gifts in others they may overlook in themselves. Embracing our interdependence in this journey amplifies our impact.

Present Portals for Feedback

It is important to provide teachers and leaders alike with different avenues for feedback. Seeing and hearing it in different ways can strengthen relationships, trust, and build bridges to supportive and inclusive ecosystems. Here are a few simple ways to do that:

• Show gratitude through a text or email
• Provide feedback with handwritten notes
• Use Mike Rutherford’s 30 Second Feedback strategy.

30 Second Feedback: I first learned about this strategy in Meghan Lawson’s best selling book, Legacy of Learning: Teaching for Lasting Impact. It is originated from Mike Rutherford’s book The Artisan Teacher: A Field Guide to Skillful Teaching. “In short, it is a short burst of positive reinforcement that links a specific teaching practice to a specific learning outcome.”

Below is an example of how Mike Rutherford explains it:

Examples of how I have used 30 second feedback:

Moving Forward:

As we conclude this blog series, I’d like to share that I am filled with gratitude for the incredible educators, students, and communities that I have had the privilege to serve. From the outset, this series has been driven by a deep appreciation for the transformative power of education—an opportunity to honor the past, embrace the present, and shape the future.

As we navigate the ebbs and flows of education, let us remain committed to sustaining this cycle of growth—nurturing the best versions of ourselves and others. Thank you for considering leading through a coaching mindset; I hope you have taken a few ideas with you. I am grateful that you decided to join me on this journey of discovery and growth. 

As you continue your journey and continuously evolve, “Imagine all of the past versions of yourself – standing right in front of you – they are all smiling, looking back at you – they are so proud of you.” And so am I.