Coaching for Leadership Teams - Impact Case Study

Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership Impact Case Study

Coaching for Leadership Teams

Conversation for change Participants:

Lorraine Gurnett

Principal, Foster Primary School

In her first year as Principal of Foster Primary School, Lorraine Gurnett recognised that she would have a much better chance of implementing her vision and meeting the needs of the whole school community if she developed a shared leadership approach.

Research shows that a strong distributed leadership model designed to drive improvement in all aspects of teaching and learning is essential for facilitating sustained change and providing a progressive learning environment.

Lorraine was aware that establishing this team leadership approach was only the first step. Team members also need guidance, support and targeted professional development, as well as a strong leader who is able to empower them and encourage their growth.

To help her provide this support, Lorraine and members of her school leadership and improvement teams attended the Bastow Coaching for Leadership Teams course, which is specifically designed for educators looking to lead a professional learning culture and optimise student outcomes.

Chantelle Wanklyn

Foster Primary School

Bastow | Coaching for leadership teams

‘I really value the impact of coaching,’ says Lorraine.

‘So when this Bastow opportunity came up, I thought it sounded really interesting and it was perfect timing for our leadership team and our new school improvement team.’

As well as workshops, the course provides access to an expert coach who works closely with the team on specific areas of school improvement, including managing leadership tasks and responsibilities, problem-solving, communication and collaboration.

The course also appealed to Lorraine because she could see the potential for it to have a powerful impact on both herself and the other team members.

‘Being able to work closely together meant that my teaching staff had the opportunity to really understand what I’m about and why we need to do the things we need to do,’ says Lorraine. ‘My leadership team have been critical in implementing the vision for the school and the work they’ve done has been phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal.’

As a teacher and member of the school improvement team, Chantelle Wanklyn attended the Bastow course together with Lorraine. Despite Chantelle’s initial hesitation about her suitability for a leadership role, taking on this challenge has had a profound impact on her career.

‘I feel I’ve learned so much about what being a leader means,’ says Chantelle. ‘I’ve grown from somebody who was scared of the responsibility of being a part of the team, mostly for fear of letting people down, to a person who has a lot more faith in my ability as a team member and a leader.’

Chantelle also agrees that the shared leadership approach and the Bastow course have been highly beneficial for Lorraine, especially as a new principal at the school.

‘Learning as a group meant the responsibility of implementing and understanding the school’s direction became everyone’s responsibility.’

Chantelle found the learning highly motivating and informative, particularly the coaching sessions for their direct access to advice and support and as an effective way for the team to monitor their success and feel confident they were on the right track.

‘We started out not knowing exactly what we were getting into and how the whole thing would work,’ she says. ‘And we came away inspired and full of ideas. This enthusiasm carried throughout the year, with the high point being when we successfully delivered the whole-school professional development day.’

Pictured: Student, Foster Primary School

Coaching for deep and powerful conversations For Lorraine, the coaching provided dedicated support that responded to both her and her staff needs in a consistent way. The guidance, questioning process and opportunity to reflect gave her the ability to plan and the energy to act. ‘[The coach] would ask these probing questions about what we were doing, where we were going and how we were going to actually get there,’ explains Lorraine. ‘He asked exactly what the school improvement team was doing and how I was going to support them to do that.’

She took advantage of her time with the coach and the team to start conversations and make realistic plans for action. The coach’s impartially meant she had someone to turn to for advice and the team were free to have deep and powerful conversations.

it wasn’t like that at all. It was fantastic. Just someone guiding you and helping you to figure out where you want to go next with the team and what would benefit the school, was great. It got less nerve-wracking each time.’

Team success Taking a step back and trusting her staff to make important decisions gave Lorraine more time to concentrate on the strategic vision for the school and her staff the opportunity to develop new skills and build their confidence.

‘I think initially it may have been a bit hard for Lorraine to just hand over the reins and let us run with things, but that definitely changed throughout the process, she was coaching us along rather than telling us what to do,’ says Chantelle.

Lorraine also learnt highly effective methods and skills that she continues to regularly call on to guide her team and help her sustain the shared leadership approach.

With her newfound confidence, Chantelle continues to be an active and valued member of the leadership team. She also felt ready to take on the role of maths coordinator at the school – something she never envisaged for herself previously.

‘I’m naturally a problem solver, but I now try to sit on my hands and just listen and ask pointed questions,’ she explains. ‘And because the staff understands the process, everything is running very smoothly.’

‘Overall this has been such a positive experience, I’m glad I pushed myself to do it, because I am proud of myself and my team for all we’ve achieved. Not just as a school, but each of us personally.’

Although Chantelle initially found the coaching sessions ‘a bit daunting’, she agrees they were highly valuable.

The whole-staff professional development day was a particular highlight for both Chantelle and Lorraine. The coach supported the team to prepare for the session, which was a chance for all staff to workshop specific ideas for school improvement.

‘In the beginning, we felt like we had to have things prepared to talk about and there was a little bit of panic.

Just thinking, “I’ve got to know exactly what to say”, but Bastow | Coaching for leadership teams

‘The first part of the day involved getting input from the staff about what’s going well, what’s not going so well, what can be improved on,’ explains Lorraine. ‘Then we spent the afternoon coming up with ideas about what we’re going to do and the approaches we can take.’

Chantelle strongly believes that the team approach and support from the coach were what really made this day a success. The workshop focused on the strategic vision for the school, including new ways to engage the community.

‘We all felt so much was possible and that we could make real changes that could have a huge impact on the direction for the school,’ says Chantelle. ‘It’s more powerful when it comes from the staff and not just one person.’

Although the staff already had good relationships with each other, they embraced the opportunity to intensively work together and to follow this through in the classroom.

‘Helping the students to understand that the school has a vision and a direction gives them a confidence that everything is not random and that we are taking a holistic approach to their learning,’ says Chantelle.

It was also a good chance to strengthen their relationships and learn how to be constructive.

‘For us, it was taking it to that next level of being able to have challenging conversations,’ says Chantelle. ‘We’re always so nice to each other, and we don’t want to upset anybody, so it was about pulling down those barriers so we could be more honest with each other.’

‘Overall this has been such a positive experience, I’m glad I pushed myself to do it, because I am proud of myself and my team for all we’ve achieved. Not just as a school, but each of us personally.’

Chantelle Wanklyn

Pictured: Chantelle Wanklyn and Jenny Young

Pictured: Lorraine Gurnett with students Bastow | Coaching for leadership teams

Improving school culture Both Lorraine and Chantelle saw the coaching component of the Bastow course as a way to build their team’s capacity to assess their performance and success as teachers and leaders. It also improved their ability to communicate with each other and with students.

‘At this school we have had a tendency to rescue a lot of the time,’ says Lorraine. ‘We say “Don’t worry, I’ll do that for you”. But we now realise that people sometimes need to do things by themselves – whether they are a teacher or a student. We are trying to build the resilience of the students by using a lot of the same language with them, and that way it filters down through the school.’

Chantelle is amazed by the way the whole school community has embraced their ideas for improvement.

When the team chose ‘pride’ as the theme for the school, everyone enthusiastically participated in activities designed to identify and develop pride in the school, each other and the community.

‘The student leadership team, in particular the SRC, has inspired their classmates to understand what pride means to us,’ says Chantelle. ‘This has been a whole school effort and we are working on how to continue to build pride throughout the school, including pride in yourself, in others and in your surroundings.’

This effort included connecting with parents and specifically asking them for ideas about how pride could be incorporated into different areas of the school.

‘We sent questionnaires out to parents asking them what pride meant to them at home and school,’ says Chantelle.

‘They really embraced the idea and appreciated being involved and we had a great response.’

For Lorraine, this confirmed that parents really do care and want to actively participate in the school. Their positive reaction and willingness to contribute also emphasised to Lorraine the important part the community plays in improving school culture.

‘Parents want to know what they can do and how they can help, which is exactly what you want from your community.’

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