School systems have two organizational
structures: the formal one that is included on the charts and the informal one
that is represented in everyday relationships and interactions. Awareness of both of these organizational
structures improves your effectiveness as a coach.
Formal organizational leaders (administrators
including principals, APs, and superintendents) hold the purse strings for
allocation of not just money, but also time.
Depending on the administrator’s leadership style, they may be the solo
decision-maker about many aspects that effect teachers and students. Decisions
about staffing, scheduling, and curriculum many be made by those in formal leadership
positions – or they may be jointly made with teachers and support staff (and
sometimes student input). Even when
administrators take sole responsibility for decision-making, others within the
organization have influence. Knowing who those people are – or being one of
those people – increases your impact. This
week’s post talks about the importance of giving attention to formal
organizational structures, especially as the end of the school year approaches.
Organizational awareness is an
emotional intelligence skill that enables you to understand how you and your
role relate to the school and district system. Some coaching roles are
school-bound; others are district-level positions. It’s important to know who
makes decisions about your position and to keep those people in the know about
the goals you achieve. Often, coaching positions can be done away with when
staff allocation decisions are difficult. This is unlikely to happen, however,
if decision-makers are well aware of the direct impact coaches are having on
student achievement and if they have heard vivid stories to back up that data. If this hasn’t been an ongoing process for
you, the end of the school year is an opportune time for you to report.
As you report in formal and informal
ways to administrators, ensure that your impact is understood by connecting
your efforts with the goals of the larger systems that govern your role. Is there a goal to improve high-school
students’ graduation rates? Demonstrate
how your work with teachers on highly-engaging
instruction supports that goal. Is
there a desire to increase teacher retention?
Describe how your work supporting
novice teachers contributes to that cause.
You put your organizational awareness
to good use by reporting to those with influence in your organization. Matching your message to their mission will
ensure that you continue to have the opportunity for impact in years to come.
This
week, you might want to take a look at:
5 end-of-year tasks for instructional
coaches:
What
are you and the teachers you work with willing to shift to empower students?
Questions to support teacher and
student reflection:
A podcast on instructional coaches and
principals as partners:
That’s
it for this week. Happy Coaching!
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