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Read below to learn how to strengthen relationships, ways to use SMART goals to improve your coaching efforts, and why a principal-coach partnership sets the tone for a successful coaching culture.

Successes Through Coach and Principal Partnerships

Grace Worrell and Melissa Llano built a very strong principal-coach partnership on trust and respect. Check out their collaborative piece to learn how.

"Our impact is felt, seen, and heard by most when we work together. . . . Relationships are the cornerstone of education. Without a collaborative relationship between a coach and the principal, coaching will not have the impact that the two hope to achieve."

Coaching Tip: Strengthening Relationships

Kathy Perret shares a four-step reflective practice (just 5-10 minutes per week) to nurture and strengthen partnerships with teachers.

"Make it a point to reach out to your 3 to 5 teachers throughout the week. These interactions can just be simple check ins. . . . The goal is to find time for brief interactions. You really don't want the teachers to think you are 'up to something' by all of a sudden showing up more than usual. Make these a natural part of your day."

The Secret Ingredient to Better Coaching: Chocolate!

Rachel Andress discovered that chocolate was a fantastic ice breaker for her teachers. Read about how she uses it to promote more effective coaching conversations in what she calls, "chocolate chats."

"The chocolate chats proved successful for me for building relationships with my coachees for two main reasons: the chocolate helped create a friendly environment and I allowed the attendees their choice to be there. I told the teachers they could stay the whole time or they could leave when they wanted to."

Making Coaching Part of Your DNA

Paul E. Smith and Jason Happ know the importance a positive coaching culture has and help uncover how to get from "I need a coach because I'm a bad teacher" to "a coach can make me an even better teacher."

"Coaching promotes a culture of treating people with dignity and professionalism, and this is beneficial in any human interaction. . . . For coaching to become a positive mindset in our schools, it needs to be a natural extension of who we are. The rhythms of coaching should not be forced, but seamless in our approach to improved educational environments."

Using SMART Goals in Coaching

Rachel Pierson highlights how transparency sets the tone for positive relationships between a coach and teacher.

"I want the people I coach to understand that I don’t have a goal to change them. I don’t automatically assume that what they're doing in their classrooms is wrong and I’m going to solve all their problems. Just ask me, I never think that I have all the answers. What I do have is the ability to think and research to find a possible solution. My goal is to help teachers and learn alongside them, and a way to build that trust is to be transparent."

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