Manager Coaching Skills: What Makes a Good Coach?

The concept of “manager as coach” is increasingly popular in the management literature as a mechanism for improving employee involvement and performance. This paper summarizes a study we conducted to evaluate “coaching skills” among sales managers. The study used telephone interviews with managers' subordinates to collect data regarding managers' coaching effectiveness. During the interviews, subordinates rated their supervisors' coaching skills and provided a rationale for their rankings. This study analyzes the ratings and the comments, and outlines the behaviors associated with both high and low ratings of manager coaching skills.     

The Role of Formal Education,Technical and Management Training on Information Systems (IS) Managers' Managerial Effectiveness as Perceived by Their Subordinates

This study examined the relationship between Information Systems (IS) managers' formal education, level of technical and managerial training and their managerial effectiveness as perceived by their subordinates. The study finds that there is a strong positive relationship between the amount of technical training IS managers have received and their managerial effectiveness as perceived by their subordinates. There is also a significant relationship between IS managers' level of managerial training and their subordinates' perception of their managerial effectiveness. The managers' level of formal education was not found to have a significant relationship to the subordinates' perceived level of (their) managerial effectiveness. Finally, a regression model has been proposed to measure Information System managers'managerial effectiveness.     

Antecedents and Consequences of Coaching Behavior

Proponents of the learning organization acknowledge that leaders and managers must assume roles as coaches in organizations that aspire to become learning organizations. The concept of the manager as coach is becoming increasingly popular as a way to facilitate learning and improve employee performance. Yet, despite the research that has been done on coaching, studies generally focus on characteristics of good coaches, requisite coaching skills, and employees' perceptions of the improvement in managers' coaching skills following such training programs. This article describes some of the findings from a larger qualitative critical incident study. Specifically, the triggers for coaching and the outcomes of coaching interventions for the individual employee, manager, and organization are examined and reported here. This study identifies gaps and discrepancies, political, and developmental issues as the primary triggers for coaching. Additionally, this study suggests that managers' commitment to coaching has the potential to impact performance at the individual employee, manager, and organizational level.     

Antecedents and Consequences of Coaching Behavior

Proponents of the learning organization acknowledge that leaders and managers must assume roles as coaches in organizations that aspire to become learning organizations. The concept of the manager as a coach is becoming increasingly popular as a way to facilitate learning and improve employee performance. Yet, despite the research that has been done on coaching, studies generally focus on characteristics of good coaches, requisite coaching skills, and employees' perceptions of the improvement in managers coaching skills following such training programs. This article describes some of the findings from a larger qualitative critical incident study. Specifically, the triggers for coaching and the outcomes of coaching interventions for the individual employee, manager, and organization are examined and reported here. This study identifies gaps and discrepancies, political, and developmental issues as the primary triggers for coaching. Additionally, this study suggests that managers' commitment to coaching has the potential to impact performance at the individual employee, manager, and organizational level.     

Perceived Value of Certification as a Process for Training Managers: A Case Study From the Hospitality Industry

This paper uses a qualitative research methodology to investigate the perceived value of certification as a process for training managers in the lodging industry. Using a “stakeholder group” to provide face validity, a dual-level sample was contacted, consisting of 10 high-ranking corporate-level managers and 185 hotel general managers. Respondents were asked to determine how they would distribute resources in support of various academic qualifications, including a certification program sponsored by the American Hotel and Motel Association—the “Certified Rooms Division Executive” (CRDE). Respondents also were asked to rank qualifications in terms of utility for hiring and promotion. The following major conclusions were reached. In the hospitality industry: (a) Certification is seen as a viable methodology for training in lower-level management skills, especially among those property level general managers who have little formal education; (b) there was a clear distinction between support for certification at the corporate vice-presidential level and the property general managers' level, with property level managers expressing greater support; and (c) the CRDE is “valued” above a generic two-year degree, in both hiring and first promotion, if other “personal” factors are ignored.     

The Coaching of Teachers: Results of Five Training Studies

In this study, the results of five training studies evaluating the effects of a coaching program for use in Dutch primary and secondary schools are described. The coaches involved in these studies were: (1) school counsellors, (2) school principals, (3) mentors of beginning teachers, (4) mentors of teachers-in-training and (5) secondary school teachers. Coaching is a form of in-class support to provide (novice) teachers with feedback on their functioning and thereby stimulate the self-reflection and self-analysis needed to improve instructional effectiveness. Based on the pre- and post-training ratings of coaching conferences, a significant treatment effect was found for the coaching skills concerned with the development of autonomy (empowerment), feedback and business-like attitude. The pre- and post-training ratings from the coached teachers themselves showed a significant treatment effect for the coaching skills concerned with the planning of observational data collection. In addition, the teachers coached by trained coaches valued the coaching skills demonstrated significantly more than those teachers coached by untrained coaches. Inspection of the interactions for the adjusted post-test scores revealed different training effects for the five studies.     

Implementation Effects of a Program for the Training of Coaching Skills with School Principals∗

In this study, the implementation effects of a program for the training of coaching skills to Dutch primary school principals are described. Coaching is a form of in‐class support intended to provide teachers with feedback on their own functioning, and thereby to stimulate self‐reflection and self‐analysis in order to improve instructional effectiveness. To assist school principals in their attempts to coach teachers, a training program was designed and evaluated. Based on the pre‐ and post‐training ratings of coaching conferences, a significant treatment effect was found for the coaching skills concerned with the development of autonomy (empowerment), feedback, and agreement on classroom observational goals. The pre‐ and post‐training ratings from the coached teachers themselves showed a significant treatment effect for the coaching skills concerned with the development of improvement plans. Although the training provided for the school principals was directed at the coaching functions of consulting and confronting, the majority of the school principals conducted coaching conferences that emphasized predominantly the function of consulting.

     

Behavioral risk factors in kindergarten

Interpersonal and work-related classroom behaviors of 650 kindergarten children were assessed to identify behaviors critical for success. Thirty kindergarten teachers participated, providing behavioral ratings on all students in the fall and spring and global adjustment assessments mid-year and spring. Relative risk, a concept and methodology adopted from epidemiology, was estimated for combinations of behavioral risk factors derived from teachers' ratings. Results of the analyses of relative risk demonstrated a consistent and highly significant risk for casivity (i.e., being classified at mid-year and spring as a case of maladjustment) associated with subnormal ratings on behaviors relating to work (work-related skills) as opposed to social interaction (interpersonal skills). The findings suggest that (a) current educational concepts of “readiness” may need to be expanded beyond academic knowledge to include independent working skills, and (b) teaching of social interaction skills, while important, should not be emphasized in preschool programs at the expense of work-related skills.     

Perceptions as Measures of Training Transfer

This study investigated the extent to which trainees' perceptions of the applicability of what they learned, gathered immediately after training, can predict their perceptions of actual application of the training six months after they return to the job. It also investigated whether support to apply what trainees learned during training after they returned to the job affected their six‐month perceptions. The study found that in all cases, the six‐month perceptions were statistically significantly lower than the immediate after‐course perceptions. However, using a three‐point Likert scale, with “good” being the highest rating, the actual practical judgments about the training program retained the same rating (good) for the program that received the most job environment support. For the training program that received less support, the decisions made from the initial data and the follow‐up data were different. The initial ratings were “good,” and the follow‐up ratings were “fair.” This study suggests that the immediate after‐course perceptions of training are a reasonable estimate of the six‐month perceptions when there is substantial reinforcement from the home job environment.     

Leadership in higher education: examining the narratives of research managers from multiple lenses

This study explores the narratives behind how academics in formal leadership positions perceive their roles as leaders and their leadership development. Fifteen leaders in their varying capacities as managers of research in their universities participated to illustrate the complexities and challenges associated with their roles. Using narrative and discourse analysis, multiple lenses (“what”, “how” and “why”) were used to analyse the participants' narratives. This study then explores the impact of the leaders' perceptions on their teaching, research and graduate supervision roles. Results indicate that research managers' narratives replicate those of the storied lives of leaders with constructed images. The study concludes with some implications for policy and practice as well as suggesting the use of multiple-lens analysis as a tool for narrative inquiry.     

Relationships between student perceptions of teaching behavior and learning outcomes in college biology

This study examined relationships between student perceptions of teaching behavior and learning outcomes in college biology. One-hundred one students who enrolled in an introductory college biology course reported the frequencies of 20 overt, in-class teaching behaviors exhibited by the instructor and rated the instructor on 12 measures of teaching effectiveness. Achievement tests were administered periodically throughout the two-semester time interval. A series of simple correlations between teaching behavior factors and both achievement and student ratings revealed a complex pattern of relationships. Moderately strong relationships were found between student perceptions of “information-transmitting” behaviors and achievement, while generally stronger relationships linked behavior factors with student ratings of teaching effectiveness.     

The Spectrum of Learning and Teaching: The Impact of a Fourth-Year Anatomy Course on Medical Student Knowledge and Confidence

There is growing demand from accrediting agencies for improved basic science integration into fourth-year medical curricula and inculcation of medical students with teaching skills. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a fourth-year medical school elective course focused on teaching gross anatomy on anatomical knowledge and teaching confidence. Fourth-year medical student “teacher” participants' gross anatomy knowledge was assessed before and after the course. Students rated their overall perceived anatomy knowledge and teaching skills on a scale from 0 (worst) to 10 (best), and responded to specific knowledge and teaching confidence items using a similar scale. First-year students were surveyed to evaluate the effectiveness of the fourth-year student teaching on their learning. Thirty-two students completed the course. The mean anatomy knowledge pretest score and posttest scores were 43.2 (±22.1) and 74.1 (±18.4), respectively (P < 0.001). The mean perceived anatomy knowledge ratings before and after the course were 6.19 (±1.84) and 7.84 (±1.30), respectively (P < 0.0001) and mean perceived teaching skills ratings before and after the course were 7.94 (±1.24) and 8.53 (±0.95), respectively (P = 0.002). Student feedback highlighted five themes which impacted fourth-year teaching assistant effectiveness, including social/cognitive congruence and improved access to learning opportunities. Together these results suggest that integrating fourth-year medical students in anatomy teaching increases their anatomical knowledge and improves measures of perceived confidence in both teaching and anatomy knowledge. The thematic analysis revealed that this initiative has positive benefits for first-year students.     

The Training of Coaching Skills: an implementation study

In this study, the implementation effects of a programme for the training of coaching skills with Dutch school counsellors are described. These school counsellors are expected to provide help and support to primary school teachers. Coaching is a form of in‐class support intended to provide teachers with feedback on their own functioning and thereby stimulate self‐reflection and self‐analysis in order to improve instructional effectiveness. To assist school counsellors in their attempts to coach teachers, a training programme was designed: ‘The school counsellor as coach.’ A quasi‐experimental, treatment‐control group investigation was then set up to test the effects of this programme. Based on the pre‐ and post‐training ratings of coaching conferences, a significant treatment effect was found for the coaching skills concerned with the development of autonomy (empowerment), feedback, and purposefulness. The pre‐ and post‐training ratings from coached teachers showed no significant treatment effects. This was because the teachers were not accustomed to in‐class assistance and thus rated the coaching skills of the school counsellors quite favourably even at pre‐test.     

Promoting Student–Teacher Interactions: Exploring a Peer Coaching Model for Teachers in a Preschool Setting

Peer coaching provides an attractive alternative to traditional professional development for promoting classroom quality in a sustainable, cost-effective manner by creating a collaborative teaching community. This exploratory study describes the development and evaluation of the Colleague Observation And CoacHing (COACH) program, a peer coaching program designed to increase teachers’ effectiveness in enhancing classroom quality in a preschool Head Start setting. The COACH program consists of a training workshop on coaching skills and student-teacher interactions, six peer coaching sessions, and three center meetings. Pre-post observations of emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System of twelve classrooms assigned to peer coaching were compared to twelve control classrooms at baseline and following the intervention. Findings provide preliminary support that the peer coaching program is perceived as acceptable and feasible by the participating preschool teachers and that it may strengthen student–teacher interactions. Further program refinement and evaluation with larger samples is needed to enhance student–teacher interactions and, ultimately, children’s adaptive development.     

Evaluation of a Coaching Programme for Cooperating

SUMMARY In this study, the implementation effects of a programme for the training of coaching skills with Dutch primary school teachers acting as cooperating or supervising teachers for teachers-in-training are described. Coaching is a form of in-class support intended to provide teachers-in-training with feedback on their functioning and thereby stimulate self-reflection and self-analysis to improve instructional effectiveness. Based on the pre- and post-training ratings of coaching conferences with the teachers-in-training, a significant treatment effect was found for the coaching skills concerned with the development of autonomy (empowerment), feedback     

EFFECTS OF TEACHER–CHILD INTERACTION TRAINING (TCIT) ON TEACHER RATINGS OF BEHAVIOR CHANGE

Problem behaviors in preschool‐aged children negatively affect teacher‐child relationships and children's skill development. In this clinical replication of an initial study, we implemented Teacher–Child Interaction Training (TCIT), a teacher‐delivered, universal intervention designed for early childhood settings. The initial study evaluated the TCIT program in a sample of 4‐ to 5‐year‐old children, whereas the current study focused on 2‐ to 3‐year‐old children. Teacher ratings of children's behavior indicated a significant main effect for time on children's protective factor scores, but not on behavioral concerns. However, for children whose ratings fell in the below‐average range at baseline, significant large effect sizes were obtained for changes over time for both protective factors and behavioral concerns. Higher levels of teacher skill change were significantly associated with overall higher protective factor scores, as well as lower behavioral concern scores for children when baseline levels of behavioral concerns were high. Results provide further support for the effectiveness of TCIT as a universal intervention designed to improve children's behaviors through targeted improvements in teachers’ relationship‐building skills and classroom management strategies.     

A cross-lag analysis of longitudinal associations between preschool teachers’ instructional support identification skills and observed behavior

The present study examined the pattern of association(s) over time between (a) knowledge of and observational skills in identifying teacher–child interactions, and (b) observed behavior in the domain of instructional interaction for 405 preschool teachers enrolled in a professional development study. Teacher's knowledge/observational skills and observed instructional support behaviors with children were assessed in the fall and spring over a two-year period. During this time, the teachers were also randomized into a college course focused on interactions, then re-randomized into a coaching intervention, also focused on instructional interaction. Cross-lagged analyses suggest that prior observed behavior was the stronger predictor of change in both knowledge/observation skills and in later observed behavior, and that both the course and the coaching interventions contributed to improvements in teachers observed instructional support behavior. Mediational analyses of the course effects indicated longer-term impact on observed instructional behavior were through immediate impacts on those same behaviors, whereas long-term impacts on knowledge were through immediate impacts on both observed instructional behavior and knowledge. The results have implications for the design, delivery, and focus of professional development for early childhood educators.     

Custom-designed and safe-space coaching: Australian beginning principals supported by experienced peers form pipeline of confident future leaders

Transition from teacher to principal involves both a technocratic response based on ‘yearning for certainty’ that requisite leadership skills will be learned, and a critically-reflexive approach to adopting a new professional identity (Crow and Møller 2017. “Professional Identities of School Leaders across International Contexts: An Introduction and Rationale.” Educational Management and Leadership 45 (5): 749–758, 750). Globally, the maintenance of pipelines of confident and capable principals is a priority, but principal preparation programmes have often been described as decontextualised and inadequate (Cheung and Walker 2006. “Inner Worlds and Outer Limits: The Formation of Beginning School Principals in Hong Kong.” Journal of Educational Administration 44 (4): 389–407). Consequently, without opportunity to develop leadership strategies and reflect critically with a trusted mentor, newly-appointed principals often leave the role prematurely (Marks 2013. “Leadership Succession and Retention: It's Time to Get Serious about a Principal Retention Policy.” Leading and Managing 19 (2): 1–14). This Australian study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a Queensland Department of Education and Training coaching programme for beginning principals, designed to secure future quality leaders. A custom-built philosophy incorporated support from local master principals and a high degree of autonomy. One-on-one interviews with programme participants confirmed that: enduring professional relationships resulted from a safe-space approach; knowledge and understanding of the Australian Professional Standards for Principals (AITSL 2014. Australian Professional Standard for Principals and the Leadership Profiles. Canberra: Australian Government) increased; and feelings of empowerment and control of leadership situations accelerated. For the benefit of leadership pipelines worldwide, new principals in other contexts may be energised to continue with the complex role of being effective school leaders through similar, autonomous and peer-supported programmes.     

REFLECTIONS OF COMMUNITY-COLLEGE STUDENTS REGARDING MENTEE/INSTRUCTOR TEACHING AND LEARNING EFFECTIVENESS

This investigation used data collected from students who assessed their instructors' teaching and learning effectiveness. Instructors were community-college career and technical-education faculty enrolled in the Community College Induction Mentoring Program (CCIM), a jointly sponsored program between Iowa State University and the instructors' respective community colleges. These new faculty were involved in a structured mentor/mentee program in which the mentor was involved in a 1-day mentor training program. The mentor/mentee relationship was designed around annual goals with an action plan developed, executed, and assessed for each goal. One component of the mentor/mentee program involved documentation of an effectiveness plan, including students' perception of their mentored-instructors' teaching and, as a consequence, their own learning effectiveness. Students were asked to complete an evaluation instrument comparing their “reactions” and “learning” in classes taught by mentored instructors enrolled in the CCIM program relative to other nonmentored instructors. A total of 9 hypotheses provided the direction of the research. Student ratings were typically higher for new instructors who received peer mentoring. Mentees and mentors consistently reported a high level of satisfaction about their partnership. Supervisors voiced strong support for the program. This paper shares student survey results of mentee/instructor teaching and student learning effectiveness.