True Coaching is a Gift

From the desk of Alice…

ERG is on the eve of celebrating 11 years of business.   In those 11 years, we have managed to fine tune the process of job-embedded coaching in a way that gets results at the school level.  When we started ERG, coaching was not a mainstream idea.  In fact, coaching was almost unheard of as a way to deliver professional development to educators.

Now that it is 2015, there are many people who are considered coaches in some capacity in education.  One common myth about coaching is that something is wrong if you are on the receiving end of coaching.  This idea is totally upside down and feeds a deficit mentality.

If you think about our greatest athletes, they did not become great because they lacked coaches.  They also did not receive coaching because they were inadequate.  At ERG we believe in growing all learners.  We operate from an abundance mentality.  That means we believe that coaching is for EVERYONE because the process itself allows the ERG coach to differentiate for the needs of the individual.

In almost every arena other than education, coaches are seen as a way to get ahead, get the edge, become better in some way that was not possible prior to the coaching.  Consider the people you know who have skills coaches, swing coaches, or voice coaches.  The coaching is seen as way to excel and to take the talent that is already there and make it better.

If done correctly, coaching is a gift. It allows you another set of eyes and ears when problem solving.  It provides a support for thinking through difficult situations and a pat on the back for things that are going well.  Coaching allows you to dig deeper into pedagogy and fine tune your instructional approach.   Coaching allows space for honest conversations.

Vince Lombardi said, “they call it coaching, but it is teaching. You do not just tell them, you show them the reasons.”

True coaching results in higher achievement.  ERG is ready when you are.