Communication
We Did It! – Measuring Impact
Congratulations! This month’s three-part focus has been on celebrating the impact of coaching from one district’s perspective. Now, we will celebrate one school’s success in a year’s time. Jackson Middle School is a technology magnet school in Garland ISD. In 2014, the school was struggling with Index 2 on the state accountability system. This index is the Student Growth…
Read MoreWays to Blab Less
Summer Reading Connections – Part III The last author, Dan, from Saturday Solutions offered a catchy title: Clarity without Blabbing. It caught my eye for the very reason that a reflective leader was working on self-assessment and decided he wanted to blab less and so he wrote Dan requesting some strategies. He was very wise…
Read MoreWant to Increase Your Self-Awareness? Ask for Feedback.
In our earlier articles this month, the focus has been on ways to increase self-awareness through considering how your ways of thinking and responding to situations aligns with the big picture of who you are at your best, as defined by your identified values and principles and who you are in the activities of each…
Read MorePositivity: Don’t Just Put a Happy Face On It
The concept of positivity has nothing to do with putting a happy face on something! This seems a bit counterintuitive, as we hear messages through songs, poetry, literature and other popular culture venues that encourage such behavior. Simply putting a happy face on something is a way of temporarily dealing with sadness or disappointment or even masking…
Read MoreYET—The Magic Word
As we continue to explore our positivity mindset and genuine, authentic, heartfelt positivity, adding the concepts of possibility and potential and the word “yet”, broadens and builds on our own self-talk and the words we offer to others. People often tell us that they have the most difficulty believing in others and offering value statements…
Read MoreFive Ways to Reduce Blind Spots
We talked earlier this month about possible blind spots in our current view of reality related to our workplace culture. Here are a few thoughts on ways to reduce blind spots. These ideas are embedded in our soon to be released Results Coaching Next Steps: Leading for Growth and Change. Listen to understand from the other…
Read MorePresuming Positive Intent and Positive Presuppositions
Welcome Back! It’s a new year, a new beginning, and that special time of the year that offers us all a fresh start! Just listen to this celebration from Principal, Amy Howell of Northwest ISD, Texas. “I wanted to let you know a wonderful celebration we had! During our coaching conversations we talked about the…
Read MorePositive Presuppositions—The Questions We Ask
In this month’s series, we have focused on the mindset of presuming positive intent. Now, we are ready for what you have all been waiting for . . . the questions. How do you construct questions so that your language matches your mindset? Here we go . . . positive presuppositions. As educators, we have…
Read MoreReasons Why I Don’t Give Advice
ADVICE: It’s a topic that never ceases to emerge when people are learning to coach more effectively. Recently after coaching a participant during one of our seminars, the question was asked, “How do you keep from giving advice?” I answered the question then and with your permission I’d like to explore the topic with you…
Read MoreCreating a Coaching Culture
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…
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