Coaching the Whole Educator
Coaching the Whole Educator is a podcast for instructional coaches, teacher leaders, and school leaders who want to strengthen their educators’ effectiveness and resilience, especially the ones who need it most. Each week, you’ll hear quick tips, proven strategies, and coaching mindsets designed to keep you on top of your coaching game.
This show is rooted in a human-centered approach, where we get things done through people’s humanity, not around it. Whether you’re new to instructional coaching or a seasoned instructional coach or leader looking for fresh perspective, you’ll learn how to focus on the mindsets and motivations driving unproductive behaviors. By getting to the root of resistance, you’ll discover how to build stronger relationships, lead with clarity, and create lasting impact in your school.
Episodes
157 episodes
#152: The Science of Depletion: Why Small Changes Can Feel Impossible
Every coach and leader has felt the sting of teacher pushback, especially when the change you’re asking for seems so small it shouldn’t cause resistance. But here’s the catch: sometimes it’s not the change itself that sparks resistance...
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Season 3
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Episode 152
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4:21
#151: Radically Simple PD Systems: Cut the Clutter & Focus on What’s Essential
In this episode, Becca Silver is joined by Tami Shaw to discuss effective approaches to designing professional development (PD) systems. Tami shares insights from her book "Radically Simple Training," including practical activities like using q...
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Season 1
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Episode 151
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23:41
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#150: A Trust-Based Observation Tool: Working from a Strengths-Based Lens
Craig Randall shares his trust-based coaching model for educators, which integrates trust-building into the observation and feedback process. The model uses regular, strengths-based classroom visits and reflective conversations to create a safe...
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Season 3
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Episode 150
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29:20
#149: How to Stress Wisely and Bounce Forward: Dr. Robyne’s 5 Pillars of Resilience
Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe shares a deeply human approach to resilience, grounded in both research and personal experience. She introduces the five pillars of resilience—belonging, perspective, acceptance, hope, and humor—as essential anchors for ...
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Season 3
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Episode 149
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26:33
#148:“I Stopped Trying to Convince Teachers... That's When Everything Changed."
Learn more about *The Resistance Remedy* On Demand CourseIn this episode, Dr. Donna Spangler shares the coaching breakthrough that changed everythi...
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Season 3
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Episode 148
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42:35
#147: He Had 17 Behavior Calls a Day—and What Finally Changed
If you feel like your days are just putting out one behavior fire after another, this one’s for you.I sat down with Hunter Flesch, Associate Principal and host of the Ed Essentials Podcast, to talk about how he moved from 17 behavior calls ...
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Season 3
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Episode 147
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33:59
#146: Stop Hoping, Start Coaching For It: Why Optimism Isn’t Optional
**Check out The Resistance Remedy HERE!**Can you lead with optimism without slipping into toxic positivity? In this episode, Jason Adair from ...
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Season 3
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Episode 143
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28:30
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#145: When Your Inner Critic Runs the Meeting
Coaches and leaders—what if the biggest resistance to change isn’t from your team… but from you? Your inner critic!In this episode, I’m joined by Amanda Younts of Midlife Catalyst to unpack the internal resista...
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Season 3
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Episode 145
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26:30
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#144: When You’re Coaching Someone Who Should Get It By Now
You know that teacher who should know better by now?The one who should care more? Be further along?Yeah… that “should” is telling on you.In this episode, we’re talking about the quiet coaching killer: holding te...
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Season 3
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Episode 144
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7:52
#143: It’s Not Transformation If You're Just Getting Compliance
We toss around the term school transformation but often it’s just accountability with better branding. In this episode, I sit down with Matt Hickson from Modern Classrooms Project to talk about what real school transformation ...
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Season 3
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Episode 143
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29:17
#142: Understanding ≠ Agreement: The Listening Shift Every Coach Needs
You don’t have to agree to understand—and in coaching, confusing the two can shut down growth before it starts.I break down the critical difference between understanding and agreement in coaching and leadership. Pulling...
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Season 3
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Episode 142
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6:34
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#141: Time Management Without the Guilt
Sick of feeling like your to-do list is your boss? In this episode, I team up with Barbara Boselli of bnow™ Consulting to break down time management in a way that actually respects your humanity—not just your calendar.We tackle the three...
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Season 3
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Episode 141
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21:04
#140: Authenticity vs. Self-Indulgence: What’s Driving Your Leadership?
We love to say “be your authentic self”—but what if what we’re calling authenticity is actually just self-indulgence in disguise?In this episode, I break down the real difference between authenticity and self-indulgence in educa...
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Season 3
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Episode 140
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4:47
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#139: High Agency Coaching: Helping Educators Take Action
What if the real barrier to change isn’t resistance—it’s how we navigate the system? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Nathan Lang-Raad to unpack high agency coaching—a powerful approach that helps educators take action, even when t...
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Season 3
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Episode 139
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25:17
#138: The Readiness Gap: What the Research Says About Why Good Ideas Still Fail
Change doesn’t fail because people are stubborn. It fails because leaders bet on urgency instead of readiness. Organizational change only sticks when people believe it’s worth it and believe they can p...
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Season 3
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Episode 138
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9:17
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#137: Coaching Alternatively Certified Teachers: Why Different Paths Need Different Coaching
Coaching alternatively certified teachers? It’s not about lowering expectations—it’s about shifting the support.These educators bring deep content knowledge—but often need help breaking it down, planning it out, and managing the c...
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Season 3
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Episode 137
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26:03
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#136: Seed and Soil: When Culture Cancels Out Your Coaching
You’ve been tossing mindset seeds onto concrete, wondering why they won’t grow. Walton & Yeager’s research confirms that powerful beliefs—like “you belong here” or “you can grow”—won’t take root just because we say them. ...
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Season 3
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Episode 136
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7:27
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#135: Why Adult Dysregulation Looks Like Resistance (And What to Do About It)
What looks like resistance is often dysregulation in disguise—showing up as avoidance, blame, or burnout. We talk all the time about helping kids manage their emotions, but what about adults? When adults become dysregulate...
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Season 3
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Episode 135
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18:30
#134: “I’m Doing It Because I Have To”—This Tool Helps You Shift That
In this episode, we’re breaking down why some teachers stay on fire while others burnout, stall out, or check out—and it’s not about how hard they’re working.Backed by Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), we’re unpacking ho...
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Season 3
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Episode 134
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6:53
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#133: The Art of Interrupting—How to Jump In Without Shutting Others Down
We’ve been taught that good listeners don’t interrupt—but what if the right kind of interrupting is exactly what great leaders do?Have you ever walked away from a conversation thinking, “That should’ve gone better”?...
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Season 3
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Episode 133
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22:29
#132: The Part of Coaching You Secretly Gave Up On: Where's Your Fixed Mindset Hiding?
Saying you always have a Growth Mindset? That’s not how it works.Your mindset shifts depending on the situation. You might embrace challenges at work—but shut down when it comes to personal goals. Mindsets aren’t one-size-fits-a...
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Season 3
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Episode 132
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5:14
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#131: Leading on Empty? How to Stop Burnout Before It Stops You
Feeling burnt out? You’re not alone.You’re trying to lead, support, coach, and hold it all together—but it’s starting to show. That quiet dread. The blurred lines between work and, well, everything else.Here’s the thing: burnout d...
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25:36
#130: Why "Kill Them with Kindness" is Killing Your Culture of Belonging
If your school avoids hard conversations, you don’t have belonging. You have politeness.We confuse being nice with building belonging. But “nice” often means silence, avoidance, and surface-level smiles. Comfort isn’t t...
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Season 3
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Episode 130
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5:36
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#129: The Clarity Cycle: Why That Same Problem Keeps Coming Back
Casey Watts has spent over 20 years in education, and she’s got a sharp diagnosis: too many schools are stuck in quiet chaos—lots of strategies, zero clarity, and a fast track to burnout.Enter the Clarity Cycle, a six-s...
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Season 3
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Episode 129
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24:02
