How Principals Can Benefit from Leadership Coaching

Nowadays, coaching is no longer limited to someone directing plays off a football field. The benefits of coaching have become so self-evident that many professionals have adopted this important training method into their work setting. There is a lot of research that shows how coaching positively impacts professional development.

One of the more popular forms of coaching is leadership coaching. Leadership coaching can be immensely helpful for people who have stewardship over an organisation. In the education setting, principals are the ones who most benefit such coaching. Here are 5 ways of how principals can benefit from leadership coaching.

1 – Everyone needs feedback

Teachers are often the ones given regular feedback through teacher observations. However, principals can also benefit from such observations. Oftentimes, if you are in a position of leadership, people will shy away from giving you direct feedback. Having a leadership coach who is dedicated to reviewing your leadership skills is so valuable as they can provide honest and constructive feedback.

2 – Learning never stops

No matter our position or role, there is always something to learn. However, not all people realise this simple truth and can go through life thinking they already know everything. A leadership coach can help you identify what you need to improve on or what you need to learn more of. A leadership coach can help principals improve their people management skills, which is a big factor in keeping teachers happy. Fostering a safe and happy work environment is not only beneficial for teachers but students alike.

3 – Time is King

With this fast-paced life, everyone barely makes it through everything they need to do. As much as we want to do introspection and reflect on what we need to improve on, we simply do not have the luxury of time. A leadership coach is trained to quickly identify what you need to improve on and will also give suggestions on how you can improve it.

4 – Career and Professional Growth

One might argue that principals are already at the top of the career ladder and there is no other way to go up. However, career or professional growth isn’t only limited to advancing the career ladder. It also involves acquiring new skills in order to expand to new facets of education such as special education or integrating music and movement in learning. Acquiring new skills will help a principal spearhead such initiatives, thus further improving the quality of education.

5 – Connect the dots

A good leader is able to connect the dots and have everyone in the organisation work collaboratively towards one goal. The truth of the matter is, it is easier said than done. A leadership coach can help principals streamline an end-to-end process and make sure that work is done collaboratively among different departments.

Principals and school administrators are tasked to take on a multitude of responsibilities. Each decision they make not only affects the teachers, but the students under their care. Thus, it is imperative that they are fully supported and given the resources they need to succeed. As this article has emphasized, how principals can benefit from leadership coaching goes beyond the four corners of the classroom.