January is the time of the year that brings a feeling of renewal and recommitment. You make New Year’s resolutions around dieting, exercising, saving money, etc. With the beginning of a new semester, it’s also time to reflect on where you are as a coach leader. Consider this quote by Tony Robbins, author and professional speaker;  “Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is raise your standards. When people ask me what really changed my life… I tell them… the most important thing was changing what I demanded of myself. I wrote down all the things… that I aspired to becoming.”

One way to think about changing your expectations as a coach leader is to use the lens of illumination. Light sources shine with different levels of intensities. These varying intensities can shed a light on your progress toward becoming the best coach leader. Use the following brightness continuum to identify where you are in your use of coach-like behaviors and to consider ways to obtain mastery of coaching skills.

Let’s start with our initial light source — a flickering candle. Candles create low light and cast only a slight shadow. If you are at the candle level of implementing coach-like behaviors, you are aware of coaching behaviors but you have not applied these skills on a regular basis to daily life situations. You have not practiced the skills so that they have become a part of your normal repertoire.

Level two on the illumination scale is illustrated with a flashlight. Flashlights give off more light than a candle. They allow you to focus your light on specific items within a space. As a coach leader, you select a situation and shine your light on it. You think about what coaching skills you might use and you elect to practice your coach-like behaviors in these isolated circumstances.

Level three is illustrated with a strobe light. Strobe lights scan the environment looking for specific areas where their light needs to be focused.  As a coach leader, you are aware of situations in your school where individuals need to be encouraged or challenged and you choose to use your coaching skills to intervene.

The last level on our coach-like illumination scale is high beam lights. When you are driving at night, high beam lights allow you to see clearly everything on the horizon  — particularly, objects that are right in front of you.  Just as your driving skills are involuntary, your coach-like skills have also become automatic. Your coaching behaviors have become intrinsic and they continually impact your interactions with others.

Becoming a strong coach leader takes time, attention, and commitment.  What’s the result of your dedicated focus? You are an illumination for yourself and others.

by Edna Harris, PCC
Coaching For Results Global

Edna Harris is a founding member of Coaching For Results Global. She is certified through the International Coach Federation as a Professional Certified Coach and is a co-author of Results Coaching: The New Essential for School Leaders. To learn more about Edna and other CFR Global Coaches, go to www. CoachingForResultsGlobal.com and click on “Coaches.”