As an experienced school leader, I would encourage you to spare one moment to consider the impact of formalised coaching and mentoring can have on your established and aspirational educational leaders. Rhodes C. & Fletcher S. (2013) noted that implementing a structured coaching and mentoring programme for aspirant, early career, and experienced leaders like headteachers can boost confidence, self-efficacy, and retention.
This aligns with my experience, reinforcing my belief that coaching and mentoring can make a difference for you and your school leaders through coaching.
My journey from failing all but two ‘O’ Levels at school to running a school was long. I passed Chemistry and Physics and I have no idea how! Upon reflection, what is clear was the transformative power that coaching and mentoring played in this journey and I am grateful to individuals like David T, David E, Janet M, Chris M, and George C and others. Who took it upon themselves coach and mentor me. I would like to publicly thank them for giving me the space and time out of incredibly busy working and personal environments, to discuss explore and learn.
Because I firmly believe that coaching and mentoring was one major reason for my change from a directionless school leaver (who was asked to leave my Sixth Form because of missing an ‘A’ Level lesson to go see Tiffany, but that is a different story) to a successful school leader. However, I was lucky, I had mentors who could give me the time and space I needed. However, the education world is busier than ever before, and that time to support leaders and future leaders is more difficult to find. Yet I know that professional coaching and mentoring will help school leaders.
There are other benefits for the employer who commissions the coaching, because it can:
A headteacher said in his feed back about coaching:
…the biggest benefit from the coaching has been the ability of the sessions to streamline my thinking…make it useable and effect real change in my leadership and school improvement.
One deputy headteacher noted about his coaching:
‘I am able to self-reflect more easily and identify potential solutions to problems…I lift my head to see the bigger picture more now.’
This trust level leader said about the mentoring she received:
‘I have found reflection and preparation time within coaching very useful…the opportunity to go back to my original goals and targets, and ensure that the work I am doing is productive and efficient rather than ‘busy work’.’
How much time do you or your staff give yourself to consider those big challenges? I would encourage you to make one change that can support your leaders to make a real difference through professional coaching and mentoring.
Because, as one Head of Faculty noted, coaching has:
‘… really helped me to [give me time to] clarify the processes of strategic thinking and to internalise [establish as core questions] the sorts if questions I should ask myself when tackling a problem.’