EDUCATION LEADERSHIP COACHING & DEVELOPMENT

Services

Dr. Stiles offers individual, team and group services to education leaders. For the past 10 years, Dr. Stiles has partnered with the Georgia School Superintendents Association (GSSA) and worked with individual systems to achieve a variety of leadership and team development goals. The core of all engagements is to bring awareness, clarity, action and accountability to participants.

Dr. Stiles coaches superintendents and central office administrators through GSSA’s Coaching program and through Turning Points. Coaching (link to Coaching) through Turning Points often incorporates information from the Highlands Ability Battery to identify specific talents that can be leveraged. Other assessments may also be suggested. All coaching is action and results oriented. Meetings take place face-to-face and/or on the phone. Payment arrangements can be made through school systems or individuals.

Dr. Stiles also works with Central Office teams, building-level teams, and combinations of the two (district leadership) to enhance working relationships, improve communication and leverage talents. After gaining a clear understanding of project goals, recommendations are made regarding appropriate assessments , workshops, group facilitation and coaching. Dr. Stiles works closely with each entity to understand and pinpoint project objectives and customizes each project to meet those objectives.

Who Benefits

Individuals seeking coaching are typically strong performers who desire an outside resource to act as a sounding board as they navigate interpersonal issues and seek additional development to reach new goals. Clients include Superintendents, District Office, and building-level leaders.

Districts or buildings with many new to their positions, newly formed teams, groups forging new communication alliances, and groups interested in strengthening their effectiveness can all benefit from targeted workshops or group facilitation.

How It Works

Contact Dr. Stiles with a brief overview of what you hope to achieve during the engagement. She will gather information to understand and pinpoint project objectives and will recommend appropriate assessments, workshops, group facilitation and/or coaching.

You will receive a customized, concise proposal incorporating engagement scope and objectives, number of participants, length of program/workshop, engagement steps and dates, and estimated cost. Payment arrangements are agreed upon at that time.

Sample Projects

Georgia School Superintendents Association (GSSA): Superintendent Professional Development Program

Selected aspiring school superintendents attend GSSA’s 2-year leadership development program. Dr. Stiles provides modules on Personal Leadership, Coaching For Development, and Emotional Intelligence.

GSSA: Coaching For New Superintendents

Every new school superintendent in the state of Georgia can take advantage of being coached by a seasoned or recently retired superintendent. Dr. Stiles co-facilitates the training of all coach-mentors with Dr. Debra Harden at GSSA and has served as a coach to new superintendents.

Accelerated Development for New Principals

A metropolitan/urban school system wanted to accelerate the acclimation and learning for first year principals. Creating an Executive Coaching Program, the system pairs successful, veteran principals with first-year principals. The goals of the program are to promote individual principal success, reduce the knowing-doing gap of first-year principals, provide a conduit for rapid networking and resource identification, and facilitate the shift from tactical to strategic leadership during the new principals’ first year. Executive coaches are trained by Turning Points and GSSA using a customized version of CCUI’s Coaching Clinic©. A minimum of 8 documented coaching sessions takes place throughout the school year and all participants attend 4 half-day follow-up trainings. In addition to qualitative data, end-of-year program evaluations and other quantitative data is collected. The program has been in continuous use since 2007.

Team Development for New Leadership of School System

In 2011, the new superintendents of two different rural school systems wanted a developmental experience to kickoff new working relationships. All central office administrators, principals and assistant principals participated in a 1.5-day customized Team Leadership Workshop. Workshop goals included personal leadership development, team development, improved team communication, establishing criteria for the ideal team, establishing team norms, establishing team covenants, and an opportunity to put the objectives into action. All participants completed the Highlands Ability Battery prior to the workshop facilitated by Turning Points and GSSA. Half of the participants also took advantage of a 1-hour one-on-one coaching session. Participant evaluations indicated strong agreement that the workshop met its objectives. Follow-up discussions indicate continued use of the information gleaned and protocols established.

Team Development for New Leadership of Middle School

The new principal of a middle school in a small city school district wanted his administrators to recognize their talents so they could quickly put them to good use as part of the new leadership team. All participants completed the Highlands Ability Battery and received a 40-page report and 2-hour individual debrief prior to attending the 2-day Authentic Leadership Workshop facilitated by Turning Points. Participants reported a greater understanding of their own leadership talents as well as those of their colleagues, became aware of potential blind spots, developed an integrated personal vision and applied it to their career, and developed a non-evaluative language when addressing differences. Overall, they indicated that the opportunity to learn more about themselves and the people they would be working with accelerated their team development.

Taking High School Leadership Team To Next Level

A seasoned high school principal in a small school system wanted to take his leadership team to the next level and prepare them for anticipated attrition and system growth. He and 15 members of his leadership team took the Highlands Ability Battery, received a 40-page report and individual 2-hour debrief, and participated in a customized Authentic Leadership Workshop conducted by Turning Points. The overall all goal was to create a fun, unique, rich developmental opportunity. Specific workshop goals included leadership development for each individual and the team, enhanced team communication, and an opportunity to consider future roles. Evaluation feedback indicated strong agreement that the workshop met the stated objectives and participants’ appreciation for the opportunity to focus on themselves.

Leadership Doing More With Less

Facing a combination of budget cuts and anticipated retirements, a small city school system planned to reconfigure leadership responsibilities over the next 12 months. All principals took the Highlands Ability Battery and a group profile was developed. Principals then attended a half-day group debrief and a full-day coaching conversations workshop. Participants were expected to use their assessment results as they were asked to take on additional system-wide responsibilities. Principals also learned 4 coaching skills and a model for conducting coaching conversations to help build the capacity of their assistant principals and other leaders in their buildings. Based on their experience, principals recommended all assistant principals take the Highlands Ability Battery. Understanding natural leadership abilities and blind spots, and sharing a common language to describe potential contributions, continues to facilitate transitions in leadership roles.

Personal Growth For All Leaders

With a wide variety of experience levels among the leaders of a small metro city school system, the superintendent wanted to provide the entire group with a leadership development experience. Six principals and 6 central office administrators took the Highlands Ability Battery and attended a group debrief. A group profile provided participants with a system-wide reference point in addition to the Highlands norms. Participants learned about their leadership talents and potential blind spots. One month later, participants attended a one-day coaching conversations workshop facilitated by Turning Points and GSSA to learn how to incorporate coaching into their everyday leadership responsibilities. They also learned how their leadership talents could enhance or detract from using a coach approach.

Board Of Education And System Leadership Partner Up

The superintendent of a county school district used the Highlands Ability Battery and group debrief as a leadership development and bonding experience between the school system’s board of education and leadership team. Twenty-four participated including BOE members, central office administrators, principals and assistant principals. In addition to referencing the group profile during the group debrief, participants selectively shared personal results. Applications and discussions continued over dinner. Throughout the rest of the school year, the superintendent expanded on workshop take-aways as a means to remain focused on the system’s mission.

Leaders Prepare For Second-Order Change

As part of a long-range leadership development initiative, a large metro school system invited system administrators, principals and assistant principals to take the Highlands Ability Battery, receive individual 2-hour debriefs, participate in a Turning Points’ Personal Leadership Workshop, and receive one-on-one coaching. Engagement goals included creating an individualized whole-person career vision by each leader, using assessment data to enhance team dynamics and communication across the system, and ultimately building a strong foundation for the leadership team in order to optimize student learning. Thirty-one participated in the process and reported better understanding of tasks that leverage their talents, new insights about their leadership skills, and used the experience to develop long-term leadership goals.

360 Degree Feedback For Top Leaders

The new superintendent of a large metro school system wanted to establish a point of reference against which perceptions of top leaders could be compared as other system initiatives were implemented. A 360 survey of each leader’s manager, direct reports and colleagues was conducted and compared to the leader’s self-evaluation. Participants attended a workshop to review the results and a group profile. During one-on-one follow-up coaching sessions, individualized developmental plans were created and a second administration of the 360 survey is scheduled to assess changes.

Oconee County Schools: New Leadership

Forty central office and building leaders attended a 1.5-day retreat. The goals were to get a fresh start with a large number of new leaders to the system and to learn how to use the Highlands Abilities information within their teams.

Muscogee County School District: Peer Coach-Mentors For New Principals

MCSD assigns each new principal to a peer Coach-Mentor to accelerate the assimilation process and learning curve. Co-developed and facilitated by Dr. Debra Harden at GSSA and Dr. Dori Stiles at Turning Points, Coach-Mentors and Protégés attend 4 sessions per year.

Paulding County Schools: Leadership Development

Paulding County wanted to provide something “different and impactful” to their season leaders. Leaders took the Highlands Ability Battery prior to attending a half day workshop designed to understan the hard-wdiring of their leadership styles, identify their strengths and blind spots, and lay a foundation for inspiring others to build on their talents.

Bleckley County Schools: Leadership Retreats

Dr. Stiles has been part of two Bleckley Count School System Retreats, both aimed at increasing leadership skills such as Emotional Intelligence and Communication in order to achieve the system’s long-term strategic goals.