Transformational coaching: helping a leader develop her strategic identity

Leaders face the challenge of operating in different modes. One of these modes is embodying a strategic approach. How easy do you find it to be in that mode?

Leaders do not all have the same strengths nor is there a cookie cutter leadership shape from which all successful leaders are cut. Instead, successful leaders learn to know themselves and watch out for when they might be getting in their own way. One set of strengths can dominate, squeezing out other elements and from time to time you need to flip the script. This headteacher realised that she needed to find her strategic voice, gain confidence in how at a very practical level she could lead strategic activities, and gain a better operational / strategic balance.

Perhaps you recognise the challenge of staying in the strategic zone yourself. With the demands of busy, complex environments it can be hard to discern signal from noise, hard to find the headspace to be in helicopter mode, and difficult to have time to think clearly about the steps that are needed to create and realise a vision.

"I can’t tell you how much I have personally and professionally grown from my leadership coaching with Vicky. I cannot think of any other CPD that has had such an impact on me and as a result for my organisation. We are already seeing positive results in school due to this. Vicky’s skill in helping you to know what you need and how to do it brings real sustainable positive change to leadership."

• The Challenge: High operational focus and finding it hard to step away from this; difficulty articulating a unified vision; exhaustion from trying to be all things to all people; the need to put elements in place to a tight deadline whilst also ensuring quality and longevity of solutions.

• The Breakthrough: A new belief in the power of strategic processes; confidence in acting strategically; the ability to monitor the operational/strategic balance and be in better control of the percentages; ability to articulate the vision and the plan; a new appreciation for the power and use of objectives; identifying pivot points - points at which she could operate differently; seeing and believing that she had a strategic strand in her tool kit and finding her strategic voice.

• The Result: A successful Ofsted inspection; SEF and 3-year plan aligned; pupil attainment improvements; a more effective leadership team with greater clarity for roles and processes; improved accountability and empowerment. Across the areas of school, the client rated the impact of coaching on the organisation as 100/110 (evaluation activities).

  
  

What helped us to work together to create this transformational shift?

• First, making a commitment to analyse own practice. It takes a brave leader to look inwards, to really look, to be open minded and curious, and to engage in deep thinking. You've got to really want to be the best leader you can be. You've got to really want to maximise your impact. You've got to really want to make a substantial change - not just tinker at the edges of practice. Commitment to making change helps to show up to coaching with the right mindset and be prepared to undertake the hard thinking.

• Careful contracting. Investing time at the start of the coaching process to really set out in detail the objectives to be achieved is an essential part of the process and should not be rushed. In this case, setting the objectives also involved third party contracting with the Chair of Governors. "I found the contracting sessions really helpful to discuss and ensure the goals I wanted were the correct ones. This was something I haven't really done before and certainly not to the degree we did. The time spent on ensuring the goals were correct really helped shape the coaching and were used regularly through the coaching by Vicky to help me reflect on what had been achieved. The sessions exactly matched my priorities and again I think this was due to the clarity of the contracting session" I ensure that the goals act as a north star across multiple sessions - not a straight jacket, but a container for the work undertaken, and regular referral back to the objectives means depth of thinking can be achieved.

• Knowing own strengths. All successful leaders have one thing in common - they play to their strengths. As a leader, if strategising isn't one of your top 5 strengths, how can you use other strengths to help you? For example, perhaps your Harmony strength can help you work with groups... perhaps your Communication strength can help you build a message... perhaps your Consistency strength helps you to break the challenge into processes.. The Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment and unpacking the reports is incredibly useful for leaning into and owning leadership strengths.

• Narrative, exploratory style. All coaches have different styles, and while the GROW model is effectively used by many, it just doesn't sit right with me. Instead, I use a blended coaching style, particularly drawing from positive psychology and narrative coaching methodologies which is very exploratory in nature and an approach which I think fits the complexity of leadership at a senior level, helping me to work with the leader on current events as well as being future focused. In this case, it helped the leader to surface insights and brought about nuanced thinking that unlocked for the leader new ways of being and acting.

• Identifying pivot points. David Drake (2018) advocates finding points in which the old story can be replaced with a new story, and lines can be drawn to help leaders make the pivot. This helped the leader to spot opportunities for change, use practical strategies to make the change, and work out how to both introduce and sustain new habits and new ways of operating.

• Zooming in and out. Some sessions focused on spiraling upwards, seeing the wide view from above and noting behaviour patterns and their consequences (intended or otherwise), whilst other sessions circled downwards to look inwards. Some sessions really focused on specifics, like mapping out an upcoming meeting, unpacking a particular event, or using a concept board to really map out thinking - thus being ready to pivot! Successes help to solidify new ways of being and coaching sessions provide a safe space for trying out new thinking, new process and approaches - a sandbox.

• Depth of thinking. Various tools can help to gain a different perspective on issues, images can be useful for unlocking insights, metaphors can serve as useful thinking prompts and listening at different levels can help to circle back to grapple with fundamental points. Leaders tell me that my listening skills and my ability to make connections across sessions really help them to turn an out pouring into meaning. Challenge, in terms of spotting patterns, noticing frequency of reference to particular points, use of language, feedback, questions, and exercises to aid thinking with objectivity all helped to make reflection different from that which can be achieved alone.

• Simply creating the safe space for thinking. Many leaders find that even just knowing the session is coming up is powerful in its own right. Knowing there is a safe space to talk, to be vulnerable, to reveal struggles as well as be proud of achievements makes being a leader less isolating. Leaders often worry about revealing what they see as inadequacies and how this might impact on their standing, respect levels and relationships, or worry that their emotions will cause stress in others, or some times the people around are part of the issue! An external coach provides a safe haven to grapple with the knotty issues.

• Using Kirkpatricks evaluation model. Rather than evaluation taking place only at the end, a midpoint process detailing 'where are we now' helped the leader to plot progress, supported conversations about leadership identity and helped to explore how a shift in perspective was beginning. Crossing the threshold of change should be marked, celebrated and followed up with how to sustain the new fledgling ways of operating. Using a structured process helps to ensure gains are anchored down.

• Discussing how we worked together. Throughout the process, at the end of each session we evaluated how we had worked together, making tweaks and adjustments that ensured the whole process was as effective as possible.

• Comprehensive coaching notes. Whilst it is time consuming, both for writer and reader, I know the coaching notes really supported the leader in taking action between sessions and ensured that reflection didn't just stop at the end of a coaching session, but rather the coaching sessions served as a catalyst for thinking between sessions.

• Working at a deep level of identity. A variety of theories and models can help leaders grapple with identity, and some of these were employed explicitly or implicitly as we worked together e.g.

  • DILTs Logical Levels which helps leaders to see the links between identity and behaviours/actions;

  • the work of Argyris and Schӧn in exploring governing variables, tolerance levels (particularly useful for inner conflicts that are causing a stalemate) and double loop learning;

  • turning around statements (e.g. instead of 'I am not strategic' to 'I am noticing thoughts that I am not strategic.' making it easier to objectify);

  • belief exercises;

  • seeking to use emotion as data;

  • and mentalisaton (which helps leaders to understand different mental states - thoughts, feelings, emotions, beliefs, knowledge and perceptions). “Improved mentalization could help coachees better understand how they and others think, feel and act, which in turn can lead to increased self-awareness, better interpersonal communication and collaboration, and improved self-regulation under stressful conditions.” Hinn et al (2024).

Coaching can be an amazing workspace for rigorous thinking. Take time out from your busy day-to-day action; invest in your continued development; dedicate time and a safe space to test out own thoughts, feelings and clarity; engage in structured thinking; identify and learning how to pivot; work on identity and cross thresholds to make transformational change.

Interested in how coaching can be part of your continued development and in challenging yourself beyond set training? Does the coaching approach sound like it could work for you? Let's start a conversation.