******************************************************************************************************************
You
can find My Coaches Couch, the podcast (with different
content) in your favorite podcast app or at MyCoachesCouch.podbean.com.
******************************************************************************************************************
Whether
you are leading in your family, a community group, or your role as an instructional coach, Starting with the why makes
a big difference in how a recommendation is taken up or how a new program is
implemented.
Leading with
the why means communicating the purpose, cause, or belief first.
Championed by author Simon Sinek, this idea of leading with the why means
starting with the reason before offering advice or direction. When we lead with
the why, we save the what until later.
Summer is not
over yet, even though school supplies are front and center in the stores! It’s
still summer, and summer is a
season when you can strengthen coaching habits that don't require a classroom
or a coaching cycle. Whether you're encouraging a family member to try a new
restaurant, suggesting a vacation route, recommending a book to a friend, or
helping someone solve a problem, you can practice
leading with the why.
When
you lead with the why, your suggestions are received differently.
When you’re back in school, this will mean communicating first the reason
behind a recommendation, and then following up with your idea. The order of
these steps matters. Instead of beginning with what someone should do,
first communicate why a recommendation matters. When teachers understand
the reason behind a suggestion, they are far more likely to consider it, adapt
it, and ultimately use it.
The
Why Opens the Door
In situations
where we are taking some kind of leadership role, it's tempting to jump quickly
to solutions because we genuinely want to help. Yet advice offered without
context can sound like one more strategy to add to an already full plate.
Leading
with the why can change that conversation. When coaching, if teachers first
hear the purpose, they begin to see the instructional challenge, recognize its
impact on students, and understand why a particular strategy might make a
difference. The recommendation doesn’t feel arbitrary – it feels connected.
One
simple coaching equation captures this idea:
Evidence
+ Advice = Recommendation
Making
recommendations is a frequent and effective coaching tool. However, the effectiveness of coaching
recommendations rests on the teacher’s perception of their relevance. Unless the reason for the recommendation is
clear, there’s little chance that the suggestion will be used.
In
our recommendation equation, evidence is information about how instruction is
working. The evidence is most effective
when tied with student outcomes rather than being focused solely on the
teacher. Such feedback is deliberate,
explicit, and opens the door for a recommendation. Advice by itself often falls
flat. Evidence gives the advice meaning.
Here’s
an example: In a debrief session after
observing very limited classroom discussion, the coach offered this
advice: “You might try using sticks with
students’ names or some other random name generator to call on students.” What made the recommendation effective,
however, was the evidence that preceded it: “When you called on only students
with their hands raised, most of the students didn’t contribute to the
conversation.” This evidence provided
the warrant for the recommendation. The teacher first saw the need, then heard
a possible solution.
Notice
that the evidence isn't evaluative. It isn't, "You didn't call on enough
students." Instead, it simply describes what happened and connects it to
student learning. Neutral observations create awareness without creating
defensiveness.
Rather
than including an evaluative comment, information that lays the groundwork for
a recommendation is provided in a non-judgmental way. It awakens awareness of the need for change
and increases the teacher’s receptiveness to advice. Providing neutral, goal-related facts* about
performance in relation to a goal is an important “part one” of a
recommendation. Effective coaching
begins with careful observation that yields evidence of the effectiveness of
instruction.
Use
Noticings to Communicate the Why
Another way to
offer the “why” for a recommendation is by stating it as a “noticing.” I like to
memorize sentence starters so that I can prompt myself during a coaching
conversation. My sentence starter for noticings is, “I’ve noticed that when the
teacher ____, students ____.” I’ve found this handy sentence stem is
flexible and effective. The noticing can be specific to the teacher’s class:
“I’ve noticed that when you use the doc cam to model, your kids follow
directions better” or a more general observation: “I’ve noticed when teachers
use the last two minutes of a lesson for reflection, students often make new
connections.” The frame can be stated as a negative, “I’ve noticed that when
teachers move on to another student after a wrong answer, kids often shut down”
or a positive: “I’ve noticed that when teachers probe an answer that seems
wrong, they can often uncover a kernel of correct thinking to build on.”
Each
of these examples quietly answers an important question: Why does this
matter? A recommendation may come next, but the teacher has already heard
the purpose.
During
the summer (or any time you’re with family and friends), you can listen for
opportunities to explain your reasoning before offering your opinion. Instead
of saying, Before you suggest a restaurant or book, first, describe a
preference or interest. The more often you lead with purpose in ordinary
conversations, the more naturally you'll do it in coaching conversations this
fall.
Carry
the Why into a New School Year
As the
school year approaches, consider the recommendations you'll soon be making. Is there
a new initiative that will be unfolding? Starting with the why could
create authentic buy-in. During planning conversations. debriefs and informal
hallway discussions, before offering a strategy, pause and ask yourself:
Have
I helped the teacher understand why this matters?
We
can start by sharing the evidence or offering a noticing. As we connect the
instructional move to its impact on students, our recommendations matter more.
This
week, pay attention to your everyday conversations and challenge yourself to explain
the why before the what. Observe how people respond. Strengthening
this coaching habit helps new initiative and recommendations feel more like
opportunities. The strongest coaching conversations lead with the why.
This
week, you might want to take a look at:
No comments:
Post a Comment