During the past year, ISM’s Consultants have been writing and speaking on the primary role of academic leaders as building the capacity of their faculty—that is, coaching, mentoring, supporting, and guiding faculty toward delivering your mission with excellence every day, with every student. This is a lofty goal, of course—but one that we passionately believe is vital to the success of private schools in the 21st century. This begs the question: If academic leaders (e.g., Division Heads and Department Chairs) are coaching faculty, who coaches the coaches?
The answer, we believe, is you, the School Head!
The Coaches
To “begin with the end in mind,” as Covey recommends, the ultimate goal of this process is to increase student performance, enthusiasm, and satisfaction. Our research reveals that this is best achieved by teachers who provide predictable and supportive learning environments for their students. Just as students require predictability and supportiveness to succeed, we believe that teachers require the same from the school and their administrators. To achieve this, we urge Division Heads and Department Chairs to initiate and sustain ongoing coaching and mentoring (and evaluating) relationships with their faculty members—communicating expectations and providing the support (time, attention, and resources) and (as necessary) direction that the teachers need to succeed.
Coaching the Coaches
To succeed in this role as coach, academic leaders require training—as well as coaching and mentoring from their supervisor (the Head). Therefore, we believe that it is vital for the Head to form coaching and mentoring relationships with each of academic leader. This serves two purposes.
- It provides the academic leaders with the support, guidance, and training they need to succeed in their coaching roles.
- It provides “role models” the coaching relationship that the Head wants the leadership team to have with their faculty members (i.e., it is not “do as I say” but rather, “do as I do”—a far more powerful means of teaching).
To accomplish this, the Head needs to shift his/her perspective on this role from “fighting fires” more toward “leading through example”— in this case, coaching the “coaches” how to best lead, guide, and coach faculty. The process which comes full circle by spurring each student’s performance, satisfaction, and enthusiasm, thus leading to the school’s ongoing success and sustainability into the future.
Coaching and mentoring is just one part of ISM’s Comprehensive Faculty Development model. Our new book, Comprehensive Faculty Development, will provide you with the blueprint for recruiting, developing, and retaining the mission-appropriate faculty for student achievement, $49 regular, $35 Consortium Gold. For a table of contents, more information, and a preordering option, visit the ISM Bookstore.
Additional ISM resources of interest
ISM Podcasts: Teacher Evaluation: The Four Steps of Growth and Teacher Evaluation: Comparing and Contrasting Different Approaches
ISM Summer Institute Workshop: Attracting, Evaluating, Rewarding, and Developing Faculty in the 21st Century, July 7-11 in Stowe, VT
ISM Monthly Update for Human Resources Vol 10. No. 6 Design All of Your Employee Systems Around “Characteristics” (The Zappos Example)
Additional resources for ISM Consortium Gold Members
Ideas & Perspectives Vol. 37 No. 2 A 21st Century Teacher Evaluation Model
Ideas & Perspectives Vol. 34 No. 13 New Research: The Relationship Between Faculty Professional Development and Student Performance
Ideas & Perspectives Vol. 31 No. 13 Faculty Evaluation, Student Performance, and School Leadership: An Update
