Coaching in Education: A Leader's Perspective

August 3rd, 2024

By Héctor Navedo, Ed.D.

Coaching can mean different things, including sports coaching, tutoring, and professional development. Here I use it to describe a reflective conversation about goals and possible actions. Whitmore’s approach emphasizes developing people’s potential and supporting their own learning. The applications below are professional proposals, not a claim that every coaching intervention is effective.

Mindset and Skillset in Coaching

I propose a coaching relationship built on respect, attentive listening, and useful questions. The educator can facilitate reflection while remaining clear about the responsibilities, expertise, and boundaries of the role. Facilitation need not mean abandoning instruction when instruction is needed.

Coaching Conversations: A Learner-Centered Approach

A learner-centered conversation can invite the learner to describe a challenge, consider evidence, and examine possible responses. My aim is to create room for reflection rather than prescribe a solution prematurely. Whether the conversation helps should be reviewed with the learner.

Practical Application: The GROW Model

The GROW model, developed by Whitmore with colleagues, organizes a conversation around four stages. Performance Consultants, the organization he co-founded, describes them as Goal, Reality, Options, and Will or Way Forward.

Goal: Establish what the learner wants to achieve.

Reality: Understand the current situation and challenges.

Options: Explore possible actions and solutions.

Will: Agree specific next steps and how progress will be reviewed.

For example, in a hypothetical classroom conversation, a student might set a goal of delivering a presentation. The Reality stage could examine the student’s current experience and concerns. Options might include practice with peers or smaller audiences. The Will stage could specify a rehearsal plan. This illustrates the structure; it is not a measured result or evidence that the model works in every educational setting.

Setting Effective Goals

For planning purposes, I propose goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-framed. These criteria are prompts, not a guarantee of attainment. A target such as increasing a math test score by 10% over a semester is only a hypothetical example, not a reported coaching outcome. The choice of target, assessment, support, and review period requires judgment.

Contracting and Confidentiality

I recommend agreeing the purpose, roles, session arrangements, and applicable confidentiality limits before coaching begins. The participants should understand what information may be shared and under what circumstances. Avoid promising absolute confidentiality where the role or setting imposes limits.

Conclusion

My educational commitment is to support learner agency while maintaining clear responsibilities and access to appropriate instruction. Coaching is one possible practice to consider, not a universal substitute for teaching or a guaranteed route to transformation.

For example, a principal could invite a teacher to reflect on classroom management, examine relevant evidence, and consider strategies to try. The next conversation should review what happened and whether further support is needed.

Updated October 27, 2026.

References and source notes

Performance Consultants. (n.d.). The GROW model. Primary organizational account of the model and its development. https://www.performanceconsultants.com/resources/the-grow-model/

Performance Consultants. (n.d.). Sir John Whitmore. Primary organizational account of his coaching approach. https://www.performanceconsultants.com/about-us/sir-john-whitmore/