People often ask me, “what do you work with people on when you coach them?” So I decided to outline the most common reasons teachers come to me for coaching. Can you guess what they are? And if one of these resonates, check out my coaching page for more information about coaching or schedule a call to see if coaching would be a good fit for you.
Want a video summary? Here you go, friend:
Top 5 Reasons Teachers Seek Coaching
Reason #5: Considering a Career Change
For a variety of reasons, there comes a time in most teachers’ lives where you may ask yourself whether you should stay in the profession or if you should leave. Considering a career change can be scary, overwhelming, and a bit disorienting.
Coaching can support teachers considering a career change by:
- Moving beyond resentment of teaching to hope and excitement about the future ahead.
- Overcoming fears that may be in your way including not believing you can be/do something other than a teacher.
- Reconnecting with your skills and unique talents – As a teacher, you may feel like you’ve lost your sense of self by constantly putting yourself last. Coaching can uncover what’s important to you at a gut level (core values) and support you in anchoring back to what feels purposeful to you.
- Not knowing where to start – Usually career teachers (those who went to college for a teaching degree and have spent their entire career as a teacher) may have a hard time accepting the idea of not being “a teacher” and don’t know where to start in looking for another career track.
Reason #4: Challenging Class
Some teachers come to coaching because they are having a particularly difficult year, and they need a little help getting through it. This is where working with a life coach can support you by…
- Remembering what you can and can’t control
- Cultivating a positive mindset/attitude
- Repairing shaken confidence – When you have a low/struggling class, it takes a LOT of internal pep-talks, and it’s easy to get down on yourself and think you aren’t a good teacher since you can’t reach this group etc. Working with a coach can support you in reframing these thoughts to regain confidence!
- Taking care of yourself – Often when we are faced with a tough class, it takes extra hours of research and prep for lessons as well as extra time providing tutoring, interventions, and detailed feedback for students. This is when working with a coach supports you to recharge your batteries and rejuvenate your spirit!
Reason #3: Life Feels Out of Balance
As teachers, we almost always work more than 40 hours a week, which means that without intentional work, life can get out of balance really quick!!
Teachers typically work with a coach to
- Scale back the extra hours spent at work. Working with a coach can help you to stay accountable to your commitment for better work/life balance.
- Prioritize tasks so the most important things don’t slip through the cracks.
- Have more fun. Work/life balance often means finding fun ways to spend your out-of-work hours.
- Sleep more. Working with a coach can help you identify behaviors that will support healthy habits (like sleep) that keep your engine running.
Reason #2: Exhausted/Burned Out
A huge reason why teachers seek coaching is because they are at the end of their rope. Teetering on the edge of burn out, we often finally feel the push to try something new – and coaching may be just the thing.
If you are experiencing exhaustion and burn out, the first thing we’d likely explore is self-care. You MUST put on your proverbial oxygen mask first so that you can begin to see the way to sustainable living.
Coaching for a burned out teacher might focus on:
- Finding effective ways to care for and comfort yourself instead of just numbing (mindlessly escaping with nostalgia TV etc.).
- Developing a plan for sustainable management of your energy levels.
- Becoming aware of “signal emotions” like resentment that can serve to cue you to step away and shift gears.
Reason #1 Why Teachers Seek Coaching: Stress & Overwhelm
The most common reason why teachers come to me or another coach is that they are stressed and overwhelmed. They are in survival mode! It’s a combination of some of the things listed above mixed with powerful emotion that makes it hard to get/stay motivated to do the things they know they “should” be doing.
Coaching is extremely powerful for teachers in survival mode. Unlike “venting” in another teachers’ classroom after school, coaching can provide a positive, supportive space for you to make a plan for getting out of survival mode and into the driver’s seat of your life.
Here’s the truth:
- You are VERY resourceful
- You are capable of doing extremely hard things for a long period of time (or you wouldn’t be a teacher)
- You were created for a purpose on this Earth
Coaching can support you in making the shifts you want so you can move from surviving to thriving!
The bottom line:
Teaching is hard. And you can do it.
But having a coach may make it feel easier by encouraging you, empowering you, and supporting you in creating the change you want to see in your life.
So, what’s your next move?
Leave a Reply