Thursday, September 12, 2019
Components: 2b, 2.b, 2c, 2.c, 2d, 2.d, 3a, 3.a, 3b, 3.b, 3c, 3.c, 3d, 3.d
Written by: Joseph Kanke: Statewide Coaching Coordinator
This article in no way is intended to promote this text or model of coaching over another, it is simply a resource for consideration. A special thank you to Steven Mijajlovic from CESA 2 for much of the creation of materials for the facilitator guide.
As the beginning of another school year comes to fruition, education teams across the state are looking for the perfect time with which to engage in a collaborative learning experience. In other words, it’s book study time. In my experience, these books are often chosen with great care and the chapters are divided over the course of the school year, but when it comes to the actual facilitation of the meetings, there are few who have the time to build structure into the conversation and it becomes a spattering of favorite lines and weekend plans.
If this resonates with you, and you know a group of educators who are interested in flexing their coaching muscles, consider using this The Art of Coaching Teams Facilitation Guide. This one pager lays out a suggested reading schedule along with reasoning and walks through a one hour meeting structure. It also links to a slide deck with norms and protocols as well as a collaborative document to capture the group’s dialogue.
There are so many things on our plate at the start of the year, here is one you could polish off.
*In the event you choose to use the facilitator’s guide, please consider sending feedback to joseph.kanke@cesa2.org.
If you’d like to know more about the text, The Art of Coaching Teams, I’ve copied and pasted the marketing blurb below:
The missing how-to manual for being an effective team leader.
The Art of Coaching Teams is the manual you never received when you signed on to lead a team. Being a great teacher is one thing, but leading a team, or team development, is an entirely different dynamic. Your successes are public, but so are your failures - and there's no specific rubric or curriculum to give you direction. Team development is an art form, and this book is your how-to guide to doing it effectively. You'll learn the administrative tasks that keep your team on track, and you'll gain access to a wealth of downloadable tools that simplify the "getting organized" process. Just as importantly, you'll explore what it means to be the kind of leader that can bring people together to accomplish difficult tasks. You'll find practical suggestions, tools, and clear instructions for the logistics of team development as well as for building trust, developing healthy communication, and managing conflict.
Inside these minutes you'll find concrete guidance on:
- Designing agendas, making decisions, establishing effective protocols, and more
- Boosting your resilience, understanding and managing your emotions, and meeting your goals
- Cultivating your team's emotional intelligence and dealing with cynicism
- Utilizing practical tools to create a customized framework for developing highly effective teams
There is no universal formula for building a great team, because every team is different. Different skills, abilities, personalities, and goals make a one-size-fits-all approach ineffective at best. Instead, The Art of Coaching Teams provides a practical framework to help you develop your group as a whole, and keep the team moving toward their common goals.