Directive vs Supportive Coaching

One art of coaching is knowing when to direct, guide, and get out of the way. Initially, I thought the coaching style related to the client's experience. Novice educators would need their hands held and told what to do, while veteran staff would have the big picture and a robust toolbox and just need a nudge in one direction or another. It only took a few interactions to realize this was a gross generalization. Experience matters, but much more nuance is needed.

Some new teachers come in incredibly prepared, with parents who were educators and sound pre-teaching training. It's hard to believe that after a couple of months on the job, they aren't a decade into the classroom. Some veteran teachers seem like they never learn enough to progress independently, and after 20 years of teaching, it's more like they have had 20 first years. In some circumstances, the teacher has ample knowledge and skills but cannot determine which tool is the right one to do the job. In others, the teacher faces a brand new challenge and needs to learn from scratch.

Successful coaches can suss out the right approach for their clients based on the available evidence. What stage in this endeavor has the client arrived at? How much background knowledge does the client already have? How clear are they on the lesson's goals? How frustrated is the client, and what timeframe do they have to reach a solution? The answers to these questions provide the initial data to ascertain an opening technique. 

Limited background knowledge, minimal time, and/or high frustration levels, and the coach needs to step in and directly problem-solve. Solid experience, ample time, or low frustration/high curiosity, and the coach needs to guide the teacher's exploration. The wrong approach will surely backfire, as a slow supportive technique to the first situation will cause the teacher to throw up their hands in disgust and leave, vowing to figure it out themselves. Giving the answer to the teacher in the second scenario will disempower them and keep them from fully exploring how the idea will best work in their classes.

Starting any coaching session by finding out the current capabilities and capacity of the client is always a great starting point. Responding to this information appropriately leads to successful coaching sessions. And the technique at the onset of the meeting may change as the session goes on. Flowing back and forth between directive and supportive is often the best way to build motivation and skill through coaching.