How Do You Build Relationships With Teachers?

Today's post is brought to you by Bobbi Campbell.

Image taken from this source.

Find a Role Model:

Some of you sports’ fans might remember John Wooden. I am not a sport’s aficionado, but I am interested in what makes a good coach.  John Wooden was a good coach. He was one of those coaches who inspired his players to be better, work harder, and achieve more.  He did this by listening to his players, providing numerous instructional lessons. He always gave feedback, a heck of a lot of his time, a clear vision to his players, and he did this with more patience than I could ever imagine.

Coaching - whether it is for sports or for teaching, is complicated business.

So what does John Wooden have to do with Literacy coaching and building relationships with teachers?  I believe he had the secret formula for success, and it all began with his great relationships with his players built by his great listening skills, and his ability to respond to his players’ needs.

Imitate Your Role Model:

       

Listening is not second nature to me, but rather is something I have developed over time.  It is what I believe drives the foundation of good coaching. Wooden new this and he was a master at it.  I spent my entire first year building relationships by listening.  It was no easy task and was quite exhausting.  Sometimes you have to listen to conversations repeatedly that one might consider to be counterproductive, (Or at least I thought some of them were).  Sometimes these conversations were aimed at you directly, and sometimes it was about circumstances beyond your control.  Instead of screaming, “I am not a Teflon pan!” like I  would like to some days, I remind myself to be patient and listen – let them verbally process their angst, concerns,  or  opinions.  My job is to listen, and I spent an entire year doing just that.

Choose a Goal and Reflect:

So I spent a year listening – that was my goal.  I asked myself, what did I really do as a listener, and did listening build the strong relationships I wanted to build?  The simple answer is yes and here are some of the reasons. I listened and it allowed me to collect information and ask good questions. Listening well helped give me the pieces to the instructional puzzle, it allowed the coach or teacher to feel heard; it helped me to determine our next steps so we were constantly moving forward.  By the end of my first year, I was in sync with the needs of each individual I coached.

Continual Reminders:

Listening to teachers and other coaches is an art to do it well – a skill not to be taken for granted or ignored.  Teachers’ time is sacred, and if you do not listen carefully for those coachable moments, then you have missed an opportunity to build confidence, trust, and capacity in your teachers.  I did this, but I need to remind myself every day to listen with the end goal in mind.

Why I Need the Reminder:

One of Wooden’s attributes was his ability to be patient while listening and watching for the coachable moment – a personal nightmare for us Type A’s, we always want to jump five steps ahead and do not want to wait for anyone to catch up. I am not sure if I would consider myself completely Type A, but I really do not have a whole lot of patience.  The problem with people who struggle with listening, often struggle with patience (me).  Hence why it is something I remind myself to do EVERY day. I also have to keep telling myself, building strong relationships through listening takes time. Trust does not happen overnight, and iImpatient people who coach (me, again) struggle with the time it can take to build the relationships that ultimately, if developed properly, have a strong impact on student learning. It is really a simple formula:

Listen+Time+Lessons+Trust = Student Achievement  

Of course, it is not that simple, but over time, the relationship a coach has with a teacher matters.  If you listen, and respond to targeted needs, you will build trust.  Over time, you will improve practice. John Wooden new this formula and was quite successful because of it. I, on the other hand, am a work in progress.

Tools to use to Collect Data and Target Needs:

The tools I developed are designed for new coaches, but could also be used as a reflective tool for more experienced coaches.  I used Step One with fourteen coaches from my district.  We, as a district, are redefining the roles of coaches in all of our middle schools, so many are beginning the role of coach in their school building. Step Two was designed to be used as a planner for professional development.  Our district has a train the trainer model.  Once the coaches have been given professional development, they are then expected to deliver  the same professional development at their individual schools. The tool takes into consideration individual school data aligned to their school improvement plans (SIP).

Self Reflective Tool

What is the intended professional development topic? What essential learning will be accomplished?

How can I personalize the professional development for my building/my teachers? What data should I include?

What evidence will I see as a result? What are the “Look Fors” I will use to see if the  intended outcomes are transferred to classroom practice?