Articles

Understanding the Roles of Coach, Mentor, and Supervisor

Anna Warren

In the world of school leadership, there’s a dance we do. It’s the dance along the continuum of supervising, mentoring and coaching. This is a good thing. With our ability to shift our dance moves from one of these to another, we serve our teachers, right where they are. Sometimes, we blend these roles, or move in and out of them in one short conversation. But, the purpose, message, and sound of each are different. Let’s take a closer look:

What is Coaching?
Coaching is a supportive relationship in which the coach serves as a thinking partner to the coachee. Through powerful questioning, and a focus on the client’s skills & knowledge, the coach guides the coachee to solution oriented and action driven outcomes.

When to Use:

To debrief or plan a lesson or situation
To process a dilemma
To set goals

Key Elements:

Strengths based
Open-ended questioning generates thinking
Allows for assessment of current reality
Options are generated by the coachee and sometimes, the coach
Future and action oriented

Sounds like:

What went well?
What do you want?
What is next?

What is Mentoring?
Mentoring is a supportive and advising relationship, often between two people who are in the same career field. The experienced mentor trains, teaches, and advises the less experienced mentee.

When to Use:

To learn and tweak skills
To observe methods & actions
To get advice
To gain knowledge
To assist in goal setting
To hear feedback

Key Elements:

Mentor is experienced & knowledgeable in the field
Advice is sought by mentee
Answers, guidance, wisdom, and support are given by mentor

Sounds like:

Let me share with you the process I used to develop my record keeping system
In that situation, I would __________
Here is a tool I used to organize my student data

What is Supervising?
Supervising is a relationship between a boss and his/her employee. The boss may direct the actions of the employee based on their skills and areas of improvement and the alignment of those skills/improvement areas with the organization’s vision, mission, and goals.

When to Use:

To ensure organizational goals are met
To ensure growth in individual performance
To evaluate performance
To set goals
To ensure accountability

Key Elements:

Most often is a supervisor to subordinate relationship
Supervisor is concerned about the organization’s goals and the individual’s performance as it relates to those goals
Supervisor gives instructions and directions
Employee acts upon directives, which drives results of their evaluation
To ensure accountability

Sounds Like:

Here is my feedback on your observation
Make sure you are making four parent contacts per week, per our communication plan
I expect to see your lessons plans in our shared folder by Friday afternoon each week

It certainly takes some skill and practice to perfect these “dance moves”! But being aware of them and their differences is a good first step. And, ultimately, your teachers benefit.

(Adapted from resources provided by Region 13 Education Service Center, Coaching and Leadership Development Center, Leadership Coach Training, 2007-2011)

Saturday, June 20, 2015