Evoking Greatness

Megan Tschannen-Moran (Ph.D., The Ohio State University) is a Professor of Educational Leadership at the William & Mary School of Education. Inspired by her fourteen years of experience as the founder and principal of a school serving primarily low-income and minority students in a distressed neighborhood of Chicago, she is motivated to work at the intersection of theory and practice so that schools grow in their capacity to serve all students well. The coaching model presented in this book sits squarely at that intersection. Megan's scholarly research focuses on relationships of trust in school settings and how these are related to important outcomes such as the collective efficacy beliefs of a school faculty, teacher professionalism, and student achievement. Her book Trust Matters: Leadership for Successful Schools (2nd Ed.) (2014) reports the experience of three principals and the consequences of their successes and failures to build trust. Another line of research explores school climate through the Vibrant School Scale that assesses the degree to which a school fosters enlivened minds, emboldened voice, and playful learning. Bob Tschannen-Moran (M. Div., Yale University) served as the President of LifeTrek Coaching International and as CEO of the Center for School Transformation (www.schooltransformation.com). Bob is a past-President of the International Association of Coaching (www.CertifiedCoach.org). He trained a s a business and life coach through Coach U, CoachVille, FastTrack Coaching Academy, and Wellcoaches Corporation. He served on the faculty of the Wellcoaches Coach Training School and co-authored a Coaching Psychology Manual (2nd Ed) (2015) with Margaret Moore and Erika Jackson. His work on Skills and Performance Coaching is included in The Complete Handbook of Coaching (3rd Ed.) (2017, Sage Publications). Using a variety of strengths-based approaches, Bob has assisted many individuals and organizations, including schools, congregations, and corporations, to build positive relationships and to achieve positive results.

PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHORS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The Promise and Practice of Coaching The Five Concerns of Coaching The Dynamic Dance of Evocative Coaching Why Evocative Coaching Works Key Points in This Chapter Questions for Reflection and Discussion CHAPTER 2 COACHING PRESENCE Evocative Coaching as a Way of Being The Mindful Coach Fostering Trust and Rapport Holding the Coaching Space Conveying Coaching Presence Creative Energy Check-In Coaching Presence in Lateral and Vertical Relationships The First Coaching Session Key Points in This Chapter Questions for Reflection and Discussion INTERLUDE: LOOP I: THE NO-FAULT TURN CHAPTER 3 LISTENING FOR STORIES The Story of Principal A and Principal B The Power of Story Evoking Coachable Stories Attentive Listening Imaginative Story Listening Key Points in This Chapter Questions for Reflection and Discussion CHAPTER 4 EXPRESSING EMPATHY Understanding Empathy Leading With Heart The Language of Compassion The Golden Sigh Key Points in This Chapter Questions for Reflection and Discussion INTERLUDE: LOOP II: THE STRENGTHS-BUILDING TURN The Learning Brief CHAPTER 5 APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY The Principles of Appreciative Inquiry SOAR: Illuminating the Best of What Is and What Might Be SOARing Into the Future Key Points in This Chapter Questions for Reflection and Discussion CHAPTER 6 DESIGN THINKING Designing SMARTER Experiments Choreographing the Coaching Dance Key Points in This Chapter Questions for Reflection and Discussion CHAPTER 7 THE DYNAMIC FLOW OF CHANGE Getting Into Flow Rolling With Resistance Honoring Ambivalence Getting out of the Way Coaching as a Catalyst for Systems Change Key Points in This Chapter Questions for Reflection and Discussion CHAPTER 8 THE REFLECTIVE COACH Coaching the Self Hearing Our Own Story Self-Empathy Inquiring Into Our Own Professional Practice Designing Our Own SMARTER Experiments Professional Coaching Code of Ethics Conclusion Key Points in This Chapter Questions for Reflection and Discussion APPENDIX: EVOCATIVE COACHING PRINCIPLES, QUESTIONS, AND REFLECTIONS REFERENCES INDEX

"Bob and Meghan Tschanen have taught me a lot about coaching, trust, and leadership, and their new book might have taught me the most. Anyone interested in coaching will learn a lot from this book, no matter how long they have been coaching, and the book's topic leadership coaching is critically important. On top of all that, the book's stories and vignettes provide a great picture of what coaching can do, in telling those stories the book should inspire anyone to feel hope. If you're interested in coaching, leadership, or if you just want to know that better possible futures exist, you should get this book." -- Jim Knight "We expect a lot from principals. They have to be managers as well as instructional leaders, and work with a variety of stakeholders all at a time when we ask them to do more with less. Fortunately, coaching is a way to help them negotiate these waters, and it is a tried and true method of professional development that helps leaders grow as learners and become better leaders. As usual, Megan Tschannen-Moran does an amazing job of providing a case for coaching and offering a step-by-step process on how to make it impactful. Tschannen-Moran is one of my favorite researchers because of her extensive work in the area of self-efficacy and collective efficacy, and when you read Evoking Greatness you will see why her work will continue to be important for decades to come." -- Peter DeWitt, Ed.D., Author of Collaborative Leadership: 6 Influences That Matter Most "Anyone who reads this book and applies the concepts will increase their effectiveness as a coach." -- Jennifer Wiley, Instructional Coach "There is a definitely a need for effective coaches to serve inexperienced school administrators. This text provides a guidebook and resources to support these coaches. It provides a model that emphasizes strengths and a positive approach. Furthermore, the authors build a strong case for the use of the story as the vehicle for the educational leader to examine possibilities and reflect upon what can be changed." -- Martin J. Hudacs, Educational Consultant "The authors of this book have cleverly marshalled and adapted models and tools used in coaching to enhance engagement with educational leaders. The book is clearly written and organized with a positive emphasis on helping coaches to inspire and motivate in order to bring out the very best in their clients, which must lead, longer term, to a better future." -- Dr. Elaine Cox, Principal Lecturer & Co-director "Leadership coaching has arisen as a powerful intervention in Relationship-Based Professional Development. In this book Megan Tschannen-Moran invites us to see into her world of evocative coaching. She demonstrates how coaching conversations can lead to a flow of energy, enthusiasm and possibilities that bring out movement in people. The author combines her theoretical knowledge with experiences as a coach herself exemplified in wonderful stories and practical examples. As a coach myself I could not stop reading because I was so curious about the next chapter. The book is a great example of how high quality professional learning can enhance educational leaders' daily leadership practice." -- Marit Aas, Associate Professor "This book reminds us how essential coaching is to the development of effective and equitable school leaders. I recommend this book to novice coaches as they begin to develop a coaching stance, as well as to veterans who are seeking to refine and extend their practice. Tschannen-Moran's strengths-based, design-oriented approach makes this book particularly important for those who supervise school leaders - theirs is fundamentally a coaching relationship, and the wisdom of these pages will inspire and accelerate their efforts." -- John Hall, Professor of Educational Leadership "When art meets science in the world of coaching you know you are in for a powerful and interesting read! In Evoking Greatness Megan and Bob Tschannen-Moran has the coach and education leader dancing in evocative learning relationship to an openness for designing experiments for transformative practice. The book is packed with coaching skills and tools for listening, questioning, storying and illuminating the way forward in leadership with a strengths-based approach. Through a process of storying with the heart and language of compassion, the coach respectfully and skillfully brings the education leader to a deep understanding of professional practice and into the flow of inspired being. This book is so important in today's turbulent, complex and ever-changing education environment - our education leaders today deserve coaches who have read this book!" -- Dr. Jan Robertson, Author