Coaching conversations, where the teacher’s agenda emerges and develops over time, increase understanding, build trust, and promote vulnerability and risk-taking. The teacher’s agenda includes the beliefs, values, and thinking behind the teacher’s decision-making. A general guideline, I recommend, is that a coach wants to know what the teacher is thinking before sharing what the coach […]

Educational leaders working with instructional coaching, mentoring, professional learning communities, and professional growth plans are increasingly needing to address the topic of a trusting culture that promotes the vulnerability necessary for educator growth. Trust is needed for educator risk-taking. My suggested starting point for leaders building this culture of trust is to, “Say what you […]

In a recent zoom conversation, around the topic of peer coaching, the common concern about the need for trust emerged. It is frequently stated as, “We don’t have the trust among the staff that is needed for people to engage in ‘real’ peer coaching.” A similar concern often emerges when exploring professional learning communities, “Teachers […]

Examining trust and vulnerability quickly engages one in the chicken and egg question. Which comes first?  Trust can’t be created without some vulnerability being present. Trust greatly increases the likelihood that people would make themselves vulnerable. I explore trust and vulnerability often as they are key to growth from coaching and to effective teaming in […]