Group Coaching to develop reflective school leaders
The Context
A large network of international and private schools based across China and serving the 6 months – 18 years community.
The Brief
To create a programme designed to offer continuing development pathways for graduates of their in-house Leadership Development training to enhance leadership capacity across the group.
Key aspects to be included:
- Focus on behavioral aspects of leadership
- Enhance self-awareness and self-management
- Develop coaching skills
The Programme
Five monthly sessions lasting 90 minutes each*
Maximum of 5 participants per group, made up of a range of middle and senior leaders from across the foundation.
Learning enhanced by reflective tasks between sessions
Time allocated within each session for Action Learning Set style group coaching based on the needs of the individuals
Session themes:
- Introductions, intentions and goal setting
- Recognise barriers to reach full leadership potential
- Leverage unique strengths to support and enhance leadership
- Establish what’s important to you as a leader
- Moving forward and applying learning
* In future cohorts there will be an additional session, focusing on ‘Effective communication to enhance teams and school culture’.
The outcomes
“I found the discussions and potential to connect with other staff across the foundation helpful. I really enjoyed the course and found it both insightful and interesting. It opened the door to helping me understand myself as a leader in a far deeper way which has helped me have a new perspective and focus on leadership and life in general. The sessions and the tasks helped me to have a much better awareness of myself and those around me.”
Karl Coulby, Middle Leader, YWIES Guangzhou
“The time to really discuss and dig deeper into different leadership aspects has broadened my understanding of what makes a ‘good’ leader. It also allowed me to improve my own confidence in myself as a leader. Through the sessions, I have developed a greater sense of self-understanding in relation to my personal strengths and potential saboteurs, as well as a clear understanding that leadership is not a ‘one size fits all’ model. The environment was set up from the beginning to be supportive and confidential and overall very positive. While the tasks were deceptively simple on the surface, they really pushed me to think about my own thoughts, behaviours and emotions – I have gained a lot from just 5 sessions.”
This participant preferred to remain anonymous.
“The programme provided a safe space to discuss things I wouldn’t normally discuss with colleagues. The coaching helped me to see a way forward in a challenging situation; I became more aware of myself and was able to see a different way forward. It was useful to explore my own saboteurs, I have a more explicit awareness of my strengths and weaknesses and have become more aware of how to get people in my team to play to their strengths. I have become a more compassionate leader.”
Lisa Rose-Jeffreys, Senior Leader, YCIS HK
100% of the group were ‘extremely likely’ to recommend the programme to other colleagues
“Despite knowing what you want as a school sponsor, finding the right coach to partner with can be extremely challenging. The necessary meeting of minds was a breeze with Rachael. She immediately understood the brief and we were able to co-create an offer that addressed participant needs as well as my needs as a sponsor. That said, we were keen to ensure that while the impact data would be shared, no specific details of the sessions would be shared with me or anyone else. I really appreciated Rachael’s ethical approach to the partnership.
It was also essential to find a coach that truly understood the work of leaders in busy international schools. While some might argue that it doesn’t matter in good coaching, it mattered to our participants and thus, it mattered to me. Rachael allowed each leader to feel ‘seen’, she built trust not just with her but inter-relationally with the group members.
I was delighted with the outcomes from the coaching and will definitely use Rachael again in the future to work with our leaders.”
Claire Peet: Senior Manager, Professional Development and Quality Assurance
How this programme could benefit your school or group of schools.
Designed to help individuals or teams learn more about themselves as leaders, discover ways to put this learning into practice and feel empowered and confident to lead authentically. This group coaching series will make a valuable addition to your professional development cycle and will complement existing leadership training programmes by developing:
- Enhanced performance, professional relationships & wellbeing
- Increased Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
- Improved understanding of leadership strengths & areas for development
- Strengthened communication & team cohesion
- Enhanced self-reflection & awareness
- Boosted levels of confidence & skill
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