How would you describe the culture of your school? How did your school arrive at this culture?

Organizations of all sizes and types exhibit their own culture, which is developed intentionally or perhaps by default or inattention, or past practices. Realizing the importance of intentionally creating a culture of openness, engagement, fairness, trust, and reflective practices is increasingly important in the work of schools. All school leaders seek to be successful and show student results. Student success does not occur in a vacuum or even only through more and more attention to data. Although extremely relevant to student achievement, attention to data alone is insufficient. Students and staff require a trusting and trusted environment in which to do their work.

A coaching culture is created through day-to-day interactions within a climate of respect that includes a commitment to listening fully, paraphrasing to increase understanding and clarity, presuming the best in others and using language that aligns with that belief, and offering feedback that builds on what is working, highlighting strengths, and offering reflective questions for deeper thinking and to offer possibilities.

When these essential skills of coaching are evident on a consistent basis, the coaching culture begins to build—one person at a time—until suddenly it is prevalent and the coaching culture is sweeping the entire school.

What do visitors notice when they enter your school? How aligned is your school culture to that of a coaching culture as described below?

• Adults and students in conversation who are fully attending to one another without distraction
• Teachers who are taking risks with new and innovative instructional practices
• Meetings and informal interactions characterized by evocative and thought-provoking questions
• Individuals seeking solutions collaboratively
• Dedicated time for coaching conversations

In our work we have numerous stories of ways one committed individual can begin the impetus for a cultural shift away from a culture of top-down, fear-driven, disengaged culture toward a culture of engagement and productivity and reflective practices. Intentional conversations, development of self-efficacy through providing a safe environment for risk-taking, and providing time for reflection and coaching pave the way for a broad impact on an entire school culture.

Take for example the story of Jenny. Jenny is an experienced principal who was recently assigned to a school identified as low performing and in need of immediate attention. Jenny has the mindset of a coach leader and knows how important her behaviors are in leading the school toward an authentic turnaround headed toward significantly increased student results. She understands this will call for an intentional focus on what they (all stakeholders) want vs. what they do not want. She is committed to engaging stakeholders in thoughtful conversations that result in greater degrees of confidence, competence and the courage to achieve desired results.

To read in more detail about creating a coaching culture and stories of individuals within organizations that embody a coaching culture, read Chapter 6 in Results Coaching Next Steps: Leading for Growth and Change.