Creating Conditions for Growth through Strategic Listening

I had spent 10 years in the classroom and three years as a teacher leader. I was about to enter my first year as a coach and I was overjoyed. Over the past 10 years, I had applied one of my core strengths from Strengths Finder 2.0 (learner) to soak up literacy knowledge. I was ready to share that knowledge with others with a heart of service.

I was naive. Not in a negative sense; I just didn’t know. I didn’t know what coaching really was. It is not just sharing your knowledge with others. Far from it. My first year I tried, but honestly, I didn’t have any idea what I was doing. With all that knowledge that I had, somehow, I still was not gaining traction.

It wasn’t until I was formally trained by Diane Sweeney Consulting then I began to see what coaching really was. It was creating opportunities for growth by strategic questioning. It was at that point I got it. I saw the power in coaching, but also the great challenge in coaching. Strategic listening is a game changer.

In Shane Safir’s Book The Listening Leader, she devotes a chapter to strategic listening. And it speaks to my coaching heart! It takes my training from Diane Sweeney and builds on that work.

When talking with a teacher, it is not just sharing your knowledge. Well, it can be, but that is not nearly as powerful as facilitating reflection and growth through very intentional conversations. Safir’s shares a sample instructional conversation that allows a coach, principal, or teacher leader to be strategic and create an opportunity for growth.

Photo by Sushobhan Badhai on Unsplash

The steps of the instructional conversation include stances one takes and what it specifically sounds like. This is what coaching is about and why coaching is hard. Being strategic takes practice. You can’t just go into a conversation and say whatever is on your mind without some intentional nature to it. Conversations are the real work of coaches. It’s where the magic happens.

Steps to Instructional Conversations

Step 1: Open with mature empathy with questions such as “How are you?" or "How are things going?” Connecting with these warm, affectionate questions communicates you care about them as people. This matters. Just as we want students to know we care about them as people, not just learners, we want teachers to know the same.

Step 2: Frame with an orientation to vision. During this time you set clear intentions for the conversations such as “I’m glad we found time to sit down together. In this time, I was hoping to…” I have found this orientation to vision always important, but particularly when you have a teacher that is an ideation person, throwing lots of ideas on the table of things they want to work on. Narrowing that vision is vital.

Step 3: Prime with affirmation by getting the brain ready for learning. Starting with a celebration is a part of this step. This is so powerful. I have found teachers to be so hard on themselves. I love that they set the bar high, but I have a heart for them because I don’t know that teachers always recognize the amazing things they do. Name it for them. And, like students, if you name it for them, they are more likely to repeat it. They are human; they will take pride in the celebration and that’s a good thing.

Step 4: Probe with reflective inquiry by tapping the teacher’s thoughts first. I found teachers are sometimes caught off guard. Coaches often encounter situations where teachers think it is a coach’s job to be a teller--tell them what they could work on, tell them a strategy, tell them what went well. I love that moment when I ask that question of “How do you think the lesson went?” There’s oftentimes a pause with a clear reflective moment for the teacher and an appreciation of what they bring to the table. It’s about them. Not the coach.

Step 5: Focus with reflective inquiry using a question such as, “Do you have student work we can look at and assess the impact of the lesson?” This is a gamechanger. Teachers are busy and have so many things on their mind. This focus question slows them down and allows them to hone in on teaching and learning.

Step 6: Prepare with a bias towards action. What I love about this step is you name one thing you are going to do, one actionable step. This makes coaching consumable, measurable and impactful. The teacher is not overwhelmed and you can have deep conversations about one aspect of teaching that could make a big impact.

Step 7: Close with mature empathy by assessing nonverbal and verbal cues. You can ask a question such as “How do you feel about working on this today?” I have found this to be a good “check” on the coaching conversation. You can tell by their reaction whether they are excited to implement, still questioning things, or confused.

As I read these steps, I reflected on my work and can name times when I have applied them. That’s a start, but the next step is to be intentional using these steps every time. Not only will they build relationships, celebrate teacher work, provide a focus for the work and actionable steps, but they will help me intentionally create opportunities for growth.

Conversations are the setting for impactful coaching. They are the game changers. Be intentional and strategic with them.

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