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Testimonials
Although I have had a lot of instruction and practice in listening techniques, I believe Evocative Coaching has clarified the importance of listening and the value of being totally present; not solving problems but building on the positive.
Everything that I have learned is influencing and impacting my work with students as a teacher, as a PLC facilitator with my colleagues, and with the building and district leadership as I drop “pebbles” of the Evocative Coaching model along the pathway to our school and district’s transformation.
Each week in the Evocative Coaching Training Program I learn more and more that will impact my job. I am becoming more comfortable in using the strategies and have become much more reflective in my discussions with teachers.
Through this training program I have become a better listener; I give less advice and instead practice giving empathy. I think about how the skills I am learning can impact my students and my work environment. It has helped me detach in a good way from stressors in my environment.
The consistent focus on positive feedback really supports the self-efficacy of my staff. Being reminded of the Möbius strip with story, empathy, inquiry and design thinking has really effected how I communicate / coach my staff.
I joined this course because I wanted to transform schools; I have found instead that I have been transformed.
Through this course, I have started to really feel myself on the cusp of something quite tremendous as a professional and also as a person.
Imaginative listening is a game changer in that it allows teachers to tell their stories with full engagement. The more teachers understand their stories as stories, rather than as settled facts over which they have no control, the more teachers are cultivating a willingness to change and become lifelong learners.
By listening mindfully, quietly and reflectively when teachers tell their stories, coaches disarm resistance and evoke open dialogue which sets the stage for change. It is seldom that a person is listened to without judgment and with no agenda. This alone may be why evocative coaching is refreshing and powerful enough to transform an entire school.
When I meet with a teacher or walk into his or her class, I finally feel as if I have the tools to help them reach their potential. I took this job because I like the coaching aspect but after my first year, I was not sure if I had the “it” that caused teacher to see me as more than just a helper. I feel empowered!
Endorsements
“Evocative Coaching takes a refreshing tack when it comes to excellence in education: trust and assist teachers to develop fresh, new ideas for inspiring student learning. That method fosters genuine motivation and honors what teachers, and all people, need most to be creative and successful. Conversations can change the world and this book can change the conversation.”
~ Daniel H. Pink, author of A Whole New Mind and Drive
www.danpink.com
“If you could choose only one inspiring and resource-filled book on coaching, what do you suppose it would be? For me the answer is right here. Evocative Coaching is a gem; it’s something that should be read by anyone involved in a helping profession—and that’s everyone!”
~ David Cooperrider, author of Appreciative Inquiry
http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu
“Evocative Coaching provides a wonderful blend of solid theory and practical wisdom in bringing coaching to our schools. I appreciated its new insights on presence and listening in conversations, particularly in hearing people’s stories with greater empathy through the ‘No-Fault Turn.’ This is a much needed book for educators and communities alike in imagining what is possible for their children and youth.”
~ David B. Drake, Ph.D., Executive Director
Center for Narrative Coaching www.NarrativeCoaching.com
“Brilliantly illuminates the precious space that can exist between a teacher and a coach. As is clearly delineated in Evocative Coaching, that remarkable space holds the power to truly transform schools, one person and one relationship at a time.”
~ Jim Loehr, Ed.D., best-selling author &
co-founder, Human Performance Institute
“This practical and sophisticated book is worth reading. Evocative Coaching regards teachers as wanting to learn and coaching as skillfully getting out of the way of learning. To enhance trust, liberate creativity, and build autonomy, coaches choreograph story, empathy, inquiry and design, providing value to any professional learning community.”
~ Arthur L. Costa, Ed. D. and Robert J. Garmston, Ed. D., Professors Emeriti, California State University, Sacramento
co-authors of Cognitive Coaching www.cognitivecoaching.com
“Coaching is as much about the heart as about the head. Evocative Coaching brings together head and heart in ways that unleash the transformational potential of coaching in schools. It makes an extremely valuable contribution to the field.”
~ Jim Knight, author, Instructional Coaching www.instructionalcoach.org
“I have long subscribed to the belief that there is no such thing as teaching, only learning. Evocative Coaching turns that belief into a way of working with teachers that inspires their cooperation and engagement in the process of performance improvement. Evocative Coaching is horse sense for teachers, to paraphrase my recent book title, and it promises to make a real difference in the schools and school leaders who put its principles into practice.”
~ Monty Roberts, author of The Man Who Listens to Horses www.MontyRoberts.com
“Do you care deeply about empowering teachers, schools, and students to enjoy and benefit from the light of learning? Evocative Coaching provides a wise, practical, and content-rich guide for those of us who believe in the necessity—and the dream—of a future enlivened by successful education. I encourage you to get it, use it, and share it with others; it will make a huge difference!”
~ Marilee Adams, Ph.D., www.inquiryinstitute.com
author, Change Your Questions, Change Your Life Adjunct professor, American University, School of Public Affairs
“Evocative Coaching makes a gift to our schools and the administrators, faculty, and staff. The authors’ diverse experiences and gifts combine to present a clear and coherent model and process for transforming schools. Their model will serve in many other relationships and situations as well. It really is about transformation ‘one conversation at a time.'”
~ Ralph Kelly & Jane Magruder Watkins, authors of
Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed of Imagination www.AppreciativeInquiryUnlimited.com
“Evocative Coaching is a lovely and ambitious volume that offers a far-reaching synthesis of leading edge thinking when it comes to coaching in schools. Teachers, school counselors, and administrators will find both inspiration and practical tools for creating bold new conversations of discovery and learning. Read this!”
~ Doug Silsbee www.dougsilsbee.com
author of The Mindful Coach and Presence-Based Coaching
“Evocative Coaching is a generous gift for all of us who work to support teachers to do the vitally important job of teaching, in the most skillful and enriching way possible. As well as providing a thorough and well-documented compendium of coaching practices, Evocative Coaching presents a unique blend of two proven practices—Nonviolent Communication and Appreciative Inquiry—along with some new moves that demonstrate clearly how to engage teachers in a positive, effective, no-fault approach to continual growth and improvement.”
~ Sura Hart, certified trainer with
the International Center for Nonviolent Communication
co-author of The No-Fault Classroom, The Compassionate Classroom, and Respectful Parents, Respectful Kids
http://k-hcommunication.com
“Evocative Coaching is the best book about how to assist individuals through coaching that I have ever read. A realistic and easy to use process that everyone can learn and use.”
~ Cynthia Lemmerman, Ed.D., Ohio Department of Education
Associate Superintendent for School Improvement
“Even though I have been coaching teachers for 20 years, I’ve learned so much from the Evocative Coaching Training Program. The depth of this practice really resonates with me. I have found the Evocative Coaching model to be a fusion of so many aspects of good practice and human relations. I am convinced that this could positively transform schools, changing what we have come to believe about education.”
~ Kathleen Pietrasanta, Staff Development Coordinator
Newport News Public Schools
“I’ve been in education for 30 years and doing consulting, coaching, and professional development work for many of them. I haven’t seen anything as effective as your process and am totally excited by the potential I see.”
~ Donni Davis-Perry, Instructional Consultation Team Specialist
T/TAC at the College of William & Mary
“Thank you for writing such a wonderful book. I feel deeply moved by the warmth and love that transpires through your writing. Your approach and view on how to work with people feels like ‘coming home.’ Thank you for inviting me to part of this journey.”
~ Bettina Staudt, Teacher & World Language Department Lead
Berkeley Middle School
“Evocative Coaching will make a vital contribution to educational reform. I look forward to sharing it with people I know.”
~ Kristi Arndt, Ph.D., IAC-CC, International Association of Coaching Member, Board of Governors
