The OLi⁴ Coaching Role

An OLi⁴ coach is an experienced school leader who engages a principal in a reflective process that enables the principal to increase his or her competence with a set of evidence-based and inclusive leadership practices. The OLi⁴ coach works individually with one or more principals to provide support for the principal's developing competence with these practices. The role entails a goal-setting session with the principal to identify actions the principal will take in order to increase his or her competence with the leadership practices that he or she most needs to strengthen. It also entails monthly meetings with the principal in which a coaching protocol guides discussions of the actions the principal has taken toward accomplishing his or her goals and the results of those actions.

The OLi⁴ Coaching Function

In order to fulfill the coaching role, the coach will draw on and build his or her capabilities in four domains: effective communication, organization and structure, technical assistance, and reflexivity. Desired practices specifying each of these domains of coaching practice appear below.

Effective Communication

• The coach guides coaching conversations that follow a prescribed structure.
• The coach uses clarifying questions to gain deeper insights into the principal's situation with respect to implementing agreed-upon actions.
• The coach asks the principal probing questions to elicit self-reflection about agreed-upon actions.
• The coach sends clear, purposeful messages.
• The coach responds to the principal's explanations by using techniques of active listening (restating, asking for elaboration, and so on).
• The coach exhibits trustworthiness by ensuring the confidentiality of the principal.
• The coach shows respect for the principal by refraining from offering advice.
• The coach values the expertise of the principal by allowing the principal's emerging insights to inform action steps.

Organization and Structure

• The coach meets with the principal to develop a coaching plan.
• The coach organizes structures, time, and protocols to ensure that regular meetings with the principal take place as planned.
• The coach ensures that every meeting ends with action steps.
• The coach provides agreed-upon resources.

Technical Assistance

• The coach selects and provides resources that respond to the principal's expressed needs.
• The coach elicits feedback from the principal to help him or her identify barriers to the accomplishment of action steps.

Reflexivity

• The coach collects data about his or her own performance as a coach.
• The coach makes his or her own learning processes visible to the principal.

Barriers to Effective Coaching

When coaches experience difficulties in performing their role to their own satisfaction, they seek to identify and remove barriers to their performance. The list below includes some barriers that OLi⁴ coaches might think about when they reflect on difficulties associated with their role.

Barriers to Effective Communication

• The coach needs to practice with the protocol for effective coaching conversations.
• The coach needs to learn how to ask clarifying questions.
• The coach needs to learn and practice techniques of active listening.
• The coach needs to learn to ask probing questions that encourage self-reflection on the part of the principal.
• The coach needs to self-regulate in ways that enable him or her to maintain confidences and refrain from offering advice.

Barriers to Organization and Structure

• Coach needs to improve organizational skills.
• Coach needs to improve time-management skills.

Barriers to Providing Technical Assistance

• The coach needs to increase his or her familiarity with relevant resources.
• The coach needs to increase his or her understanding of ways to leverage change by manipulating implementation drivers.

Barriers to Reflexivity

• The coach needs to improve his or her ability to collect relevant data about his or her own coaching performance.
• The coach needs to increase his or her openness to self-disclosing his or her own learning challenges and accomplishments.