Becoming a Confident Coach: Ten Steps to Feeling and Being Successful

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A year and a half into my role as a systems coach, I recently took some time to take a step back and examine my work.

I wanted to reflect on how I’ve grown.

• How have I embraced my identity as a coach, transitioning from sixteen years as a principal?

• What evidence of success did I have?

• How have I partnered with clients to achieve 'co-wins' in their schools?

Through this process, one idea I have landed on is the importance of confidence in our roles as coaches, and as literacy leaders in general. How we present ourselves, express our knowledge, ask genuine questions…all these things matter for our success. Others have to trust us and believe in what we say or do in order for them to grow as professionals.

I realized that, as far as I knew, there was no guide out there for building confidence as a coach. Lots of books on coaching itself, but possibly not for becoming one. So I started brainstorming steps any professional can take to make the shift toward establishing oneself as a source of expertise and support for others.

The following list is not exhaustive; it is only a starting point. I approached this topic from the perspective of a principal as well as a coach. If I were still a building administrator, what would I want to see out of our school’s instructional coach?

Here is my initial thinking.