Careful consideration must be given to who you recruit as coaches and where your recruitment efforts will be focused:  advertising to build within your program or department, or outside of your department.  Elements to prepare for recruitment and selection include coach description, coaching essentials, time commitment, an overview of the training and support that will be provided, and a Leadership Academy overview.

As you consider in-house capacity or available resources for external options take a moment to review The Leadership Academy Coaching Guide, section 2 which provides criteria for effective coaching essentials.  Preparing to be a Leadership Academy Coach requires an initial investment of time.  Participation as a Leadership Coach will span over a period of approximately 9-12 months per coaching cohort, along with the additional initial investment of 3 months of foundational coaching training. 

With the investment by the agency in training and supporting coaches, as well as the preparation investment by the coaches themselves, it is suggested that during the recruitment and selection process, you consider the opportunity for the coach to potentially serve two Leadership Academy cohorts as an important component of your capacity building and sustainability discussion. 

A Coach Description will be beneficial for communication about the expectations and responsibilities of a coach as you engage in recruitment. Experience in some jurisdictions has focused heavily on internal resources, and others have included external resources through agency partnerships such as universities and other supporting departments like HR, Office of Diversity, etc.

You may find it more amenable to have a committee nominate and select a cadre of cohorts or your jurisdiction may decide to have potential coaches apply.

It is ideal to have one coach/one participant to help ensure the availability and capacity of the coach through all three phases of coaching since this responsibility is typically in addition to their regularly assigned workload.  Once all participants and coaches have been identified, thoughtful consideration will need to be given to decisions around matching the coach with the participant.  Some things to consider include position within the agency, potential current or prior working relationship, individual characteristics, and styles, etc.  The aim here is to minimize any unnecessary barriers to establishing rapport and building the coaching relationship.

Once coaches have been selected conduct a Leadership Academy Overview and Orientation to provide context and overview information about the Academy and their role as a coach.  It is important to realize that initially there will be a heavy lift for the coaches in completing training and becoming familiar with the curriculum concepts and materials.  The Leadership Academy Coaches Guide is a valuable resource for the coaches.  The Coaches Guide provides information on the purpose, definition, and rationale of coaching; includes coaching essentials; coaching tools; coaching resources for all three phases of coaching (readiness, academy, and post-coaching); and an appendix with case scenarios illustrating real coaching experiences.  Familiarity with the Coaches Guide, as well as communication and ongoing support from the Lead Trainer providing the monthly support throughout all three phases, is critical in helping to facilitate the success of this significant component of the Leadership Academy.

Following the overview and orientation, coaches will participate in the Virtual Coaching Learning Program to support the implementation of the Leadership Academy, a 12-week foundational training program for coaches to support skill building for coaching of Leadership Academy supervisors and managers. The coaching curriculum is designed to be delivered virtually and co-facilitated by individuals who already have certification in coaching. 

After participating in the Virtual Coaching Program, participants will understand the foundations of coaching, and how coaching can be incorporated into various settings. Participants will gain knowledge of how to engage and support their client(s), and numerous skills and techniques to utilize in their practice.  Please contact Tony Mack to explore how NCWWI can support your agency’s implementation of the VCLP.

To provide effective coaching and support the transfer of learning from the Leadership Academy coaches need curriculum content knowledge, including:

• NCWWI Leadership Model
• NCWWI Implementation Phases
• Racial Equity, Inclusivity, and Biases
• Adaptive Leadership
• Strengths-Based Leadership
• Daring Leadership
• Transformational Leadership

Coaches are expected to view all curriculum materials including foundational modules, Leadership Academy modules along with participant and trainer synchronous materials.  In addition to the overview of the Academy in the orientation and their own independent review of the material, it is recommended for coaches to participate in the TOT curriculum walk-through with Leadership Academy trainers to further their exposure to and understanding of the concepts.  It is expected that additional opportunities to expand their familiarity and understanding will be available in the monthly coaches’ support sessions.

Just as coaches support participants through all three phases of coaching:  Training Readiness, Leadership Academy Coaching, and Post-Academy Coaching; coaches are supported by the Lead Trainer monthly throughout this same time. As the participant progresses, the intent of the coaching shifts from preparing for the best use of Leadership Academy training to the application of Leadership Academy training in the workplace, and likewise, monthly support for coaches will look different in progression as well.

Monthly support sessions with coaches should begin at the conclusion of the Virtual Coaching Learning Program and prior to the onset of their Training Readiness sessions with participants. In this first monthly support session, coaches may need assistance with timelines and logistics. For example, coaches will need to send an Introductory and Welcome Email to their assigned participants a couple of weeks prior to the expected timeframe to schedule the first Training Readiness session. Coaches may have some concerns about participant resistance to coaching and Coaching: Working with Resistance is a 16-minute eLearning module that can be shared during the session and complemented through group discussion.

The level and type of support needed may vary from one coach to another based on their own skill level and/or any potential dynamics in working with their assigned participant.  While support can be provided individually, it is beneficial to provide opportunities for group learning through the monthly support sessions and this will also minimize time demands placed on the person providing the support. 

With group support sessions, the confidentiality of participants is primary.  If monthly sessions are virtual, consider having coaches submit questions or issues through a private message so the facilitator of the support session can bring the issue to the discussion without anyone readily identifying the coach or participant.  If sessions are in-person, then consider having participants submit issues to the facilitator in advance.  It may be that in some circumstances support will need to be one-to-one to better address any specific concern(s).

As you plan for sustainability and replication of the coaching component for the Leadership Academy to subsequent cohorts, it can be beneficial to complete evaluations of the training and support coaches receive a Virtual Coaching Learning Program Survey, the Coaches Orientation and Curriculum Walk Through Survey, and the Coaches Monthly Support Survey. This will allow you to better tailor training and support to your agency’s needs, improving preparation and implementation of the coaching component that is critical to the effectiveness of the Leadership Academy.