One of my favorite memories of hosting family in Rhode Island was taking them on the lighthouse tour. Many are not operational, and it was a beautiful summer day that we sped through the bay to appreciate them for their beauty, if not utility. When I think about my sessions with CLEE’s program for school leaders, NSAFE, I remember most feeling like my coach, Janelle, was a lighthouse in that miasma cloud that was a distance and hybrid learning year.
I have been connected to CLEE for 12 years now, having started in PRN to get my Administrator training, then CoP (Community of Practice) as a participant and coach, and additional coaching for CLEE. I typically support the further professional development of our other leaders and staff, but when coaxed by my Professional Development Director, and presented with the opportunity for individual and small group coaching with CLEE, I took it gratefully.
Our cohort was small, and I did appreciate hearing about the work and dilemmas of my mates, but my fondest memories were one on one coaching sessions with Janelle where she held the thread of my work and teased out current progress and next steps – the cycle of inquiry.
The result was that almost every aspect of my work improved because I actively thought about my intentions and choices. I interrogated my progress and utilized CLEE’s research/evidence-based Core Leadership practices to gauge how well I was progressing, what other choices were available and which might I make. The end result of receiving NSAFE coaching has helped me nurture beneficial leadership dispositions, specifically holding an assets-based mindset to support your team and school community during the school year.
I deeply value reflective practices and NSAFE grounds itself in this kind of transformational learning that is specific for school leaders. It is not easy work, but it is rewarding and valuable, no matter the weather, in fact, the more inclement, the more useful it will be as a guiding light.
Click here to learn more about CLEE’s Transformational Coaching