A Coaching Journey
Initial Meeting
Background
Taylor (the Coach) is reflecting prior to the initial meeting with Emma (Coachee). Taylor acknowledges feeling a little nervous about meeting with Emma because she is the first Family Child Care provider on the caseload for this year.
Conversation
Taylor: Hi Emma, so nice to meet you. I’m excited that we’ll get to work together now! I also wanted to let you know that, to be completely honest, I felt a little nervous about this meeting because you’re the first Family Child Care provider I’ve ever worked with.
Emma: Thanks, I’m happy to meet you, too. It’s good to hear that you were feeling nervous because I also felt anxious about meeting with you today because I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Taylor: Thanks for letting me know. I just want to have the time today to start getting to know each other and talk about how we want our coaching partnership to be. I notice you recently had a coach before me. How was that?
Emma: Well, no offense, but I’ve been teaching for over 10 years, and I don’t really think I need a coach.
Taylor: I’m not offended, and I don’t take it personally. But I’d really like to make sure our time together is valuable for both of us. Can you tell me more about your past experience with coaching? What was it like?
Emma: My previous coach talked a lot about “the continuous improvement cycle” and it felt like no matter what, we only focused on problems.
Taylor: It sounds like you felt judged by your previous coach. Is that right?
Emma: Yes, after coaching sessions I always felt like I had less confidence as a teacher, and would need time between coaching sessions to build myself back up.
Taylor: I want you to know that I’m not here to judge you. I like to focus on what’s working well and why, and then see if those strengths can carry over to other areas of practice.
Emma: You mean you won’t tell me what I’m doing wrong?
Taylor: When I’m coaching, what I think I do well is to work with my coachee and look at the data collected around their teaching practices. Then, we decide together what’s going well and why, and where there are opportunities for growth. How does that sound?
Emma: That’s a relief. It sounds like I’ll have a much bigger say in what we focus on, is that right?
Taylor: Yes. In fact, I would love for you to drive this process.
Jans, W. (2018). A coaching journey: Initial meeting. In Practice-based Coaching Certificate Course book. University of Washington
