Purpose

Leadership coaching is an increasingly popular development tool for school principals. However, specific coaching behaviors are rarely conceptualized or examined in prior research. This study presents a coaching behavior framework and then analyzes actual coaching conversations between principals and coaches to illustrate how specific coaching behaviors create opportunities for principals to reflect and think critically about their leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on theories of interpersonal learning, the authors develop a framework of coaching behaviors to distinguish coaching inquiries and assertions that facilitate critique and reflection and, therefore, activate opportunities for learning. The authors use this framework to code transcripts of 55 principal coaching sessions. The authors analyze the prevalence of certain coaching behaviors and then examine qualitative patterns in how the use of certain behaviors shapes the nature of coaching conversations.

Findings

Only about one-third of coded coaching behaviors in the analytic sample are categorized as coaching inquiries and assertions that activate opportunities for learning. In the qualitative comparisons of extracts from coaching conversations, the authors find coaches' use of these behaviors produced richer, more meaningful dialogue.

Originality/value

Unlike much of the past research on leadership coaching, this analysis examines what happens in conversations between coaches and principals. This framework could be applied to a broad range of coaching programs intended to promote professional learning.

中文翻译：

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打开领导力教练的黑匣子：对教练行为的考察

目的

领导力辅导是越来越受学校校长欢迎的发展工具。然而，在先前的研究中很少对特定的教练行为进行概念化或检查。本研究提出了一个教练行为框架，然后分析了校长和教练之间的实际教练对话，以说明具体的教练行为如何为校长创造机会反思和批判性地思考他们的领导力。

设计/方法/方法

在人际学习理论的基础上，作者开发了一个教练行为框架，以区分有助于批评和反思的教练询问和断言，从而激活学习机会。作者使用此框架对 55 个主要辅导课程的记录进行编码。作者分析了某些教练行为的普遍性，然后研究了某些行为的使用如何塑造教练对话的性质的定性模式。

发现

在分析样本中，只有大约三分之一的编码指导行为被归类为激发学习机会的指导询问和断言。在对教练对话摘录的定性比较中，作者发现教练对这些行为的使用产生了更丰富、更有意义的对话。

原创性/价值

与以往关于领导力教练的大部分研究不同，这项分析考察了教练和校长之间对话中发生的事情。该框架可应用于旨在促进专业学习的广泛辅导计划。