Leadership Coaching Changes Schools

By: Dr. Ella M. Burton
Assistant Professor
Leadership and Counseling
Eastern Michigan University
    

     High school principals work in a complex environment. They face heightened demands for accountability, for student success, and for results. During the last year the topic of high school reform has emerged as one of the most discussed, and most contentious, educational reforms.
 
     Current attention to school leadership looks at all of the things principals might do, and treats these possibilities as if they are the things principals should do to increase student achievement. The result is an overstated picture of the job, suggesting that if schools are to succeed, principals must take on an increasing array of responsibilities including instructional leadership, organizational leadership, and community leadership.  

     Principals are expected to provide vision and instructional leadership on the one hand, and mange students, staff and community members on the other. Principals are expected to do this while at the same time maintaining a safe and orderly environment conducive to learning and high student achievement.

     The principal has the opportunity to influence each of these factors such as instructional resources, school culture and climate, community support, and people (including students, teachers, parents, district staff and business and community leaders). One might then pose the question: “How can the principal, as an instructional leader, facilitate results-driven interventions that will have the most direct and immediate impact on student learning and improvement?” Pressure to have both academic success and increased student achievement for all students creates a need for additional support for the building administrator.

     To affect success in schools, it is critical that consideration be given to supporting the work of principals in a manner similar to the professional development support provided to faculty and staff. The concept of coaching school administrators, while not new, is increasing in popularity in public schools as a means of supporting principals. Coaching can become that significant and empowering tool available to a school administrator who faces the challenge of increasing student achievement and assuring adequate yearly progress.

The Role of a Leadership Coach

     The term “coach” is most commonly applied to the person on the football field or basketball court. It is also acceptable to engage a coach for the purpose of assisting a person in an individual growth plan. Hiring a coach for the principal, however, raises the antennae of many school personnel. The paradigm is that the principal should have the personal and professional capacity to move teaching and learning to the level that produces success for all students. And yet, in many situations, principals need support to create a breakthrough in their own work. A Leadership Coach can serve as one way to provide support for the monumental task of leading the school, students, faculty, and staff to compete and succeed.

     A distinguishing characteristic of effective leaders, according to Warren Bennis, is that they are perpetual learners who are secure in learning about their work environment and who recognize the importance of assessing and evaluating their abilities and skills. It is imperative that every principal possess a passion for their work. Providing a helpful, supportive coach for principals is without precedent. However, leadership coaching is increasingly recognized as a key to develop the competency of successful leaders as they, in turn, recognize their duty to develop faculty, students and community, and are challenged by standards based reform initiatives that demand success for all student.

     Discussions of coaching generally describe a “helping” relationship intended to build organizational capacity (Hatch, 200l; Schein, 1999). At its core, coaching is a supportive helping relationship; coaches pose questions, challenge principals’ thinking, and lead them to examine ideas from new perspectives (Schein, 1999). Trust and rapport must be established, and the principal must be accepting and not view the coach as wasting time.

     The process must further obligate the principal and coach to consider questions such as:

1.) What constitutes success in the dialogue?
2.) How are confidential issues handled?
3.) What topics are part of the coaching domain and      how do they affect work performance?

Finding a Leadership Coach

     The benefits of a Leadership Coach are clear. The coach supports and assists the principal as they examine their work. The coach’s role is to affirm when appropriate but always to challenge principals, to expect reflective thinking, and to support and nurture the thoughtful consideration of alternatives for principal work.

     Many school reform models, including those advocated by the Coalition for Essential Schools (www.essentialschools.org) and The Annenburg Foundation (www.annenbergfoundation.org), include a Leadership Coach in their model.

     However, leadership coaching may not be readily available for all high school principals. Thus some alternatives have emerged. They include the following:

Identify a Local Mentor – Identify a trusted individual, either within or outside of your school district, and invite them to meet regularly with you to discuss your work. Be clear about confidentiality and about your willingness to think and contemplate how to strengthen and enhance your work.

Use the Resources of The Principals’ Partnership – Utilize the resources of The Partnership to network with other principals in your area, or across the country, who share your interests. During the Summer Leadership Institute identify an individual or individuals who might want to work with you on such a project. Raise the issue at your Partnership Team Meetings.

Contact a Local University – Contact a nearby college or university, perhaps one where you completed your training. Investigate the availability of a faculty member to talk routinely with you about your work. Remember that nearly all university faculty are expected to provide some level of service to the off-campus community. Serving as a Leadership Coach might provide an opportunity.

Check with Your State ore Regional Principals Organization – Some state leadership organizations provide an opportunity for principals to network with members. Inquire about the possibility of establishing a network of principals that could support a leadership coaching initiative.

Conclusion

     Coaching supports the refocusing of leadership in a supportive, helpful manner that is essential if principals are to flourish in the presence of current standards based reform initiatives. Coaching will be successful if the principal has the determination and capacity to change. The potential is present for coaching to become a powerful strategy for developing congruent behavior between the mission of the school and the principal. This approach to coaching provides mutual benefit to both the principal and the school. It is not a technique or a one time event, but rather should be seen as a holistic and integrative approach that has developed over time from a range of leadership approaches and developmental techniques. It is a strategic process that adds value both to the person being coached and also the bottom line of increased student learning and student performance. Coaching can offer the chance for the principal to align his behavior with the values and vision of the organization as well as make a real impact towards building healthy school culture that supports success for all.

     When all is said and done, coaching is the strategy that supports principals in a time when much is expected of them and there is little attention paid to the enormity of the task. Coaching provides a forum to support the principals’ current knowledge, skill, and disposition, and to allow them to transfer exiting skills to the task of leading schools in a time of tumultuous reform.

References:

Goldsmith, M., Lyons, L, & Freas, A. (2000). Coaching for leadership: how the world’s greatest coaches help leaders learn. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass/Pheiffer.

Hatch, T. (1998). The differences in theory that matters in the practice of school improvement. American Educational Research Journal, 3(1), 3-31.

Schein, E. (1999). Process consultation revisited: building the helping relationship. New York, NY: Addison-Wesley Longman, Inc.

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