The 5th "C" for Creating Trust

Leading Like a C.O.A.C.H. Book Study

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Over my years as a teacher, interventionist, and literacy coach in public schools, I have worked with eight different principals, two directors of curriculum and instruction, and four superintendents.

I’ve been asked questions such as, “How are things going?”, “What do you need from me?”, or “What do you think of this?” by leaders many times. I can assure you, it was always apparent who truly wanted my thoughts and feedback and who did not. Perceptions of the intentions of each administrator affected the ways in which I would respond. Learning and expertise will not thrive in conditions that cause teachers to hide their own questions and ideas. 

As I read Chapter 3 titled “Creating Confidence Through Trust,” in Leading Like a C.O.A.C.H: 5 Strategies for Supporting Teaching and Learning, I reflected on what made the difference in my confidence: what was it that caused me to either trust in an administrator or not? From my perspective, it was a compilation of results from hundreds of small, perhaps seemingly innocuous, interactions.

Within Chapter 3, Renwick outlines four conditions of trust in schools:

1. Consistency

2. Compassion

3. Communication

4. Competence

Renwick provides a window into some actions he’s taken to exude trust, from how he interacts with teachers to how he sets up his office. As a literacy coach, I learned early on that creating trust required consecutive positive experiences and interactions.

However, there is a fifth implied factor that makes these conditions successful:

Sincerity

Sincerity made the difference in how much I trusted or didn’t trust the leaders I worked with. They all did similar things: asked similar questions, had similar offices, checked in regularly. What it came down to, though, was whether or not they believed in what they were doing.

Renwick suggests that the role of administrators is to “not change people but to support them in their own process of continuous self-renewal”. Administrators can do many things to seem trustworthy, but it is by believing an administrator to be trustworthy is what help teachers and staff have confidence in a principal.

I would urge principals, administrators, or any leader in education who reads this book to fully participate in the reflective activities found in every chapter to take stock of their own beliefs as they consider how to implement the contents into their own practices.

Sincerity is the nourishment of trust and confidence.

Genevieve Arcovio is a literacy trainer at the Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She previously spent nearly 18 years in a public school district in Western New York in various roles, including Reading Recovery teacher, literacy interventionist, and teacher. Gen is the co-creator of the Literacy Pages blog.