Build and Foster a Culture of Coaching

A coaching program more effectively sustains and scales up when the district and its schools foster a culture of coaching. But what exactly is a “coaching culture,” and how can district leaders embed this in their everyday environment?

A coaching culture simply means that teachers have had the chance to understand and accept that there are regular reflection, practice, and feedback opportunities in their workforce that are designed only to support them in their individual learning and growth without any evaluative purpose. In other words, coaching culture is about the principle of partnership. The beauty of this coaching partnership lies in developing an environment where teachers feel supported in their growth by one another and by their coach and administrators. In such a setting, there is a focus on continuous learning through inquiry and transparency, rather than performance, judgment, and self-protection. There is regular feedback—up, down, and across the school/district—grounded in a shared commitment to helping each other improve and the shared goal of boosting students’ achievement. Such an environment, fueled first by leaders willing to model vulnerability and take personal responsibility for their shortcomings and missteps, makes teachers feel safe to try new things. Results matter in this setting, but failures and shortcomings are treated as critical opportunities for learning and improving.

Tips for success:

• Districts should ensure that every teacher experiences conversations around coaching as part of regular meeting agendas. They need to consistently communicate to teachers that the purpose of coaching is to provide consistent opportunities for non-evaluative feedback and continuous learning.
• Administrators should also model the process of working with a coach to learn something new in their own practice. Said a DLP¹ coach: “I think things are contagious, especially from the top down. So if you have district leaders who are really excited and really in tune [to] what [coaching] is about and the changes that it could make, I think that trickles down to each campus administration level, and then ultimately [to] the teachers. And of course our students benefit.”
• Administrators and coaches can encourage a growth mindset among their staff by celebrating teachers who tried new strategies, tools, and approaches. This might take the form of encouraging teachers to share their success stories or their testimonials within and across schools in newsletters, on social media, on the school/district website, or at departmental or school board meetings. When testimonials come directly from teachers, they garner more trust. That said, leaders should keep in mind that word-of-mouth success stories alone will not appease teacher concerns about trying new things. Rather, the power lies in including the context of the how and what behind the success.

¹DLP refers to the Dynamic Learning Project pilot coaching program and research study that took place from 2017-20.