A hands-on guide for transformational coaches working in school environments
In Arise: The Art of Transformational Coaching, renowned author and coach Elena Aguilar delivers a compelling and inspirational message about how to coach in the face of daunting challenges. In the book, you’ll learn how to listen expansively in a coaching conversation, how to plan conversations effectively, how to coach across lines of racial difference, how to coach resistant teachers, and more.
You’ll learn how best to impact your clients’ “3 B’s”: beliefs, behaviors, and ways of being and explore illuminating case studies that highlight and illustrate the concepts discussed in the book. You’ll also find:
- A Transformational Coaching Rubric 2.0 providing detailed explanations of all relevant coaching domains and indicators
- Comprehensive discussions of the reasoning and theory underlying the practical strategies explained within
- Techniques for developing, maintaining, and applying emotional intelligence in your work
An indispensable “how-to” guide for transformational coaches working in school environments, Arise: The Art of Transformational Coaching is the hands-on and practical roadmap to results that professionals in this area have been waiting for.
Table of Contents
About the Author xxi
Acknowledgments xxvii
Foreword by Alexandrea Creer Kahn xix
Introduction 1
Every Child, Every Day 2
An Overview of This Book 4
From London to Oakland to Nairobi 12
The Bridge to Everything 17
1 Transformational Coaching: Why No One Can Learn from You If You Think They Suck 21
A Transformational Coaching Conversation 22
Coaching Is Professional Development 29
The Core Principles of Transformational Coaching 31
Four Theories of Action That Drive Transformational Coaching 33
A Transformational Coach’s Essential Beliefs 41
Comparing Traditional Instructional Coaching with Transformational Coaching 48
The Impact of Transformational Coaching 51
2 A Transformational Coach’s Ways of Being: How to Create the Conditions for Transformation 57
The Primary Role of Emotional Intelligence 59
The Dispositions of a Transformational Coach 66
People Remember How You Made Them Feel 77
3 The Foundational Abilities: The Cornerstones of Transformational Coaching 79
How to Coach a Teacher Who Opposes the New Curriculum 80
Coaching the Three Bs 86
Building Trust 90
Cultivating Agency 98
Navigating Power Dynamics 102
All We Need Is 15 Minutes 116
4 How to Listen: This Will Change Your Life 119
What Is Listening? 120
Common Obstacles to Deep Listening 124
How to Be a Good Listener 130
The Joy of Listening 136
5 Fifty Questions to Ask: And Four Types to Avoid 139
What Not to Do 140
Whenever Possible, Be Quiet 144
The Hardest Coaching Skill of All 146
The Coaching Stances 150
It’s Not About the Nail 159
Five Coaching Survival Phrases 163
A Little More on What to Say and How to Say It 169
Forget the Stems, Remember the Source 175
6 Listen, Think, Respond: Inside the Mind of a Transformational Coach 177
The Three Steps in a Transformational Coaching Conversation 180
An Overview of the Thinking Tools 183
Every Conversation Counts 186
7 What You Need to Know About Emotions: And Why You Don’t Need to Be a Therapist 189
But I’m Not a Therapist 191
Why Is It So Hard to Deal with Emotions? 195
What You Need to Know About Emotions 198
Stressed, Tired, and Overwhelmed 203
Trauma-Informed Coaching 207
When Did You Stop Dancing? 219
8 How to Coach Emotions: Without Making Things Weird 221
Address Core Human Needs 222
Use ACE Emotions 226
ACE Emotions in Action 234
Coach into the Spheres of Influence 238
Use Strength- Based Coaching 243
Additional Considerations When Coaching Emotions 248
9 How to Coach Resistance and Resilience: It’s Easier - and Harder - Than You Think 257
What Is Resistance? 260
Resistance Is Optional 269
Can Someone Be Uncoachable? 277
How to Respond to Resistance 281
How to Cultivate Resilience 286
Witness and Behold 292
10 How to Coach Ways of Being: Coach the Person, Not the Problem 295
The Complexity of a Way of Being 298
Coaching Core Values 305
Coaching Personality Traits 311
Coach the Person, Not the Problem 314
11 How to Coach Beliefs: Change the Story, Change the Reality 317
Recognizing Beliefs 321
Unpacking Helpful and Harmful Stories 323
Naming the Stories 328
Exploring Beliefs 331
Trust the Process 338
12 What You Need to Know About Equity: And Why We Must Start with Race 341
Why Focus on Racial Equity 344
Power, Privilege, and Identity 346
What Is Racism? 349
How Racism Manifests in Schools 354
What Is to Be Done? 358
13 How to Coach for Equity: On Building Bridges 361
Who, What, When, Where, and Why Coach for Equity 363
Cultivating Identity Awareness 365
Why Calling People Out Doesn’t Work 370
How to Change Beliefs 374
What to Say When You Hear Something Racist: A Cheat Sheet 386
How to Navigate All the Emotions 391
14 How to Coach Behaviors: It’s Time to Close the Gaps 395
How to Do a Classroom Observation 397
The Gaps Framework 407
Adult Learning Principles 417
Planning the Debrief 422
How to Coach an Open, Receptive, “Easy” Teacher 427
15 The Art of Transformational Coaching: Heart-Centered Coaching 435
The Coaching Lenses 436
Using the Coaching Lenses to Plan 439
The Art of a Transformational Coaching Conversation 446
Reflecting on a Coaching Conversation 458
Things We Don’t Talk About, Yet 461
Conclusion: All You Need Is Love 465
References 467
Appendix A: Transformational Coaching Mini-Rubric 471
Appendix B: The Core Emotions 477
Appendix C: The Coaching Lenses 481
Index 489
