Evoking Greatness
Coaching to Bring Out the Best in Educational Leaders
- Megan Tschannen-Moran - William and Mary University, USA
- Bob Tschannen-Moran - LifeTrek Coaching International, President
Discover coaching strategies to inspire greatness in any educational leader!
Centered on evocative coaching, a person-centered, no-fault, strengths-based coaching model, this book will equip those who coach educational leaders to host engaging and productive coaching conversations. Coaches who read this book will learn to LEAD: Listen, Empathize, Appreciate, and Design, as well as to discover:
- Guidance for coaching leaders with specific questions, things to listen for, and ways to generate new ideas and motivation
- Research-based theories that ground the strategies presented in each chapter
- Real-life vignettes that illustrate the evocative coaching model in action
- Reflection and discussion questions, templates, and other materials to scaffold the learning of coaches as they innovate their way forward
"Leadership coaching has arisen as a powerful intervention to support the professional learning of leaders. In this book Megan and Bob Tschannen-Moran invite us to see into their world of evocative coaching. They demonstrate how coaching conversations can lead to a flow of energy, enthusiasm and possibilities that bring out movement in people. The authors combine their theoretical knowledge with their experience as coaches, exemplified in wonderful stories and practical examples. As a coach myself I could not stop reading because I was so curious about the next chapter. The book is a great example of how high quality professional learning can enhance educational leaders' daily leadership practice."
—Marit Aas, Associate Professor
University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
"Bob and Meghan Tschanen have taught me a lot about coaching, trust, and leadership, and their new book might have taught me the most. Anyone interested in coaching will learn a lot from this book, no matter how long they have been coaching, and the book’s topic leadership coaching is critically important. On top of all that, the book’s stories and vignettes provide a great picture of what coaching can do, in telling those stories the book should inspire anyone to feel hope. If you’re interested in coaching, leadership, or if you just want to know that better possible futures exist, you should get this book."
"We expect a lot from principals. They have to be managers as well as instructional leaders, and work with a variety of stakeholders all at a time when we ask them to do more with less. Fortunately, coaching is a way to help them negotiate these waters, and it is a tried and true method of professional development that helps leaders grow as learners and become better leaders. As usual, Megan Tschannen-Moran does an amazing job of providing a case for coaching and offering a step-by-step process on how to make it impactful. Tschannen-Moran is one of my favorite researchers because of her extensive work in the area of self-efficacy and collective efficacy, and when you read Evoking Greatness you will see why her work will continue to be important for decades to come."
"Anyone who reads this book and applies the concepts will increase their effectiveness as a coach."
"There is a definitely a need for effective coaches to serve inexperienced school administrators. This text provides a guidebook and resources to support these coaches. It provides a model that emphasizes strengths and a positive approach. Furthermore, the authors build a strong case for the use of the story as the vehicle for the educational leader to examine possibilities and reflect upon what can be changed."
"The authors of this book have cleverly marshalled and adapted models and tools used in coaching to enhance engagement with educational leaders. The book is clearly written and organized with a positive emphasis on helping coaches to inspire and motivate in order to bring out the very best in their clients, which must lead, longer term, to a better future."
"Leadership coaching has arisen as a powerful intervention in Relationship-Based Professional Development. In this book Megan Tschannen-Moran invites us to see into her world of evocative coaching. She demonstrates how coaching conversations can lead to a flow of energy, enthusiasm and possibilities that bring out movement in people. The author combines her theoretical knowledge with experiences as a coach herself exemplified in wonderful stories and practical examples. As a coach myself I could not stop reading because I was so curious about the next chapter. The book is a great example of how high quality professional learning can enhance educational leaders' daily leadership practice."
"This book reminds us how essential coaching is to the development of effective and equitable school leaders. I recommend this book to novice coaches as they begin to develop a coaching stance, as well as to veterans who are seeking to refine and extend their practice. Tschannen-Moran's strengths-based, design–oriented approach makes this book particularly important for those who supervise school leaders — theirs is fundamentally a coaching relationship, and the wisdom of these pages will inspire and accelerate their efforts."
"When art meets science in the world of coaching you know you are in for a powerful and interesting read! In Evoking Greatness Megan and Bob Tschannen-Moran has the coach and education leader dancing in evocative learning relationship to an openness for designing experiments for transformative practice. The book is packed with coaching skills and tools for listening, questioning, storying and illuminating the way forward in leadership with a strengths-based approach. Through a process of storying with the heart and language of compassion, the coach respectfully and skillfully brings the education leader to a deep understanding of professional practice and into the flow of inspired being. This book is so important in today’s turbulent, complex and ever-changing education environment – our education leaders today deserve coaches who have read this book!"
