Coaching vs Mentoring Jewish Day School and Yeshiva Educational Leaders

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As we know, the evolving role and responsibility of today’s Jewish day school and yeshiva head of school and principal is one of the most challenging, demanding and at times difficult  positions one can imagine.

Today, day school and yeshiva heads of school and principals are no longer exclusively responsible for the school’s academic growth and development, but serve rather as a school management team member committed a wider array of very complex, intricate and integrated responsibilities. These responsibilities  have reached new heights and complexities and are now far beyond the traditional curricular oversight and teacher supervisory roles which at one time were the  primary or traditional leadership responsibilities.

Over the past several decades, the evolving and expansive role of the senior professional in these institutions have morphed into an expansive array  of responsibilities and disciplines such as  community relations, financial resource development and fundraising, marketing, public information and communications, as well as professional teacher development and curriculum alignment, to name a few. These responsibilities include working tirelessly and effectively with the school’s board of directors and its various governance committees, creating and maintaining meaningful school-parent partnerships, developing teacher recruitment, development and retention initiatives; and, providing the school and its community with an exciting and meaningful vision and plan for the future.

When viewing these responsibilities on a more granular level, it is obvious that under the best of circumstances, one person (read head of school or principal) cannot possibly fulfill all of these leadership roles and responsibilities effectively. It is therefore imperative that the school’s leadership management team be delegated with heavy lifting and specific/discrete responsibilities.

In order for the head of school or principal to effectively and successfully fulfill  these obligations and responsponsibilities, most schools have employed a cadre of senior management staff, such as the school’s management leadership team who are delegated specific duties and responsibilities commensurate with their experience, expertise and job descriptions; and, which respond to the evolving unmet executive leadership and management needs and requirements of the school.

Although this delegation of responsibility and/or allocation of expertise across the  management team spectrum are essential, more often than not, the head of school and/or principal requires guidance and direction when trying to determine the best course of action for the team, administration and ultimately, the school. This is especially the case where the senior professional  has limited expertise, experience and/or exposure in these areas of specificity and specialization.

Remember……no one professional is expected to possess all of the knowledge, expertise or experience in  every aspect of school leadership required to lead a school effectively. This is a  reality, no matter how many members of a management team are in place to assist the head of school or principal..

This is where our conversation regarding the  critical importance of mentoring and coaching become essential and even indispensable

Mentoring vs. Coaching

More often than not, the terms mentoring and coaching are mistantingly used interchangeably – especially in education.

Although they are both potentially powerful professional development tools, they are in fact two separate and distinct processes for the manner in which we help guide and assist school leadership professionals fulfill their roles, responsibilities and obligations.

In an outstanding article by Paul G. Young in Edutopia entitled Should a Principal Use a Mentor or a Coach ? (September 9, 2022), he posits a very concise, clear and focused difference and delineation between coaching and mentoring of principals or heads of school.

In short, a coach helps educational leadership develop a plan or plans for improvement and provides direct services.

The mentor on the other hand “encourages a mentee by listening carefully, expanding knowledge, offering advice based on experience and mutually working through the myriad of complex issues that are required for long-term visioning and transformational leadership'”

In light of these two definitions, how does the head of school and/or principal make a determination regarding his or her need for one versus the other?

In the best of all worlds, it would truly be amazing if all heads of school and principals were to  have both a mentor and a coach. But, as we know, reality dictates that this is improbable in addition to it being extremely time-consuming and costly.

There are essentially three categories of school senior leaders –  the new or novice head of school/principal with 5 years or less experience and a leadership position; the veteran who has extensive experience, expertise  and exposure to school administration; and the retired, semi-retired or interim head of school/principal whose experience is somewhat sporadic and part-time, yet very extensive.

Each of these categories of leaders require a level of professional development in order to help guide them through the complex maze  of  21tst century school administrative and leadership challenges.

Coaching:

Coaching typically involves a structural process, focusing on improving specific skills or achieving particular goals, while mentoring tends to involve more long-term relationship- based approaches aimed at providing guidance, support, wisdom and knowledge based on the mentor’s experience and expertise.

Coaches oversee and guide instruction or training and offer a more formal process by which specific tasks and standards are met.

As such, coaches can help heads of school and principals by providing them with invaluable feedback, guidance in leadership approaches and strategies,  facilitating self-reflection and analysis, support in trying to problem-solve and address complex situations, helping leaders develop and cultivate their skills in order to improve their impact and effectiveness of the school, and improve the quality and quantity of instructional leadership and staff development of faculty and administrative staff.

When I began my senior executive coaching practice several years ago, I was particularly struck by the number of heads of school, principals and aspiring school leaders who knew inherently that they required some level of coaching, but were unable to actually pinpoint or identify their areas of  need or concern.

As a result of this experience, I learned within very short order how to help clients identify these areas through a variety of important and meaningful diagnostics and  self assessment inventories and self-reflection tools.

Several of the critical areas and unmet needs which surface during these sessions included:

• developing leadership skills;
• developing critical decision making skills
• obtaining self awareness opportunities;
• engaging in effective communications;
• knowing when and how to provide subordinates with honest, transparent and meaning feedback;
• identifying areas of professional growth and development; and,
• utilizing the wide array and  wealth of strategic planning skills and techniques.

Once a series of challenges and skills  were identified I would work closely with the leader to ensure that we both prioritized those areas which we both feel should be positioned at the very top of the head of school or principal’s “learning pyramid”.

These challenges or skill-sets are divided into three categories – those that were absolutely essential, those that were important and required attention; and those which although important were not absolutely essential to the success, effectiveness or impact of my clients.

It is important to note that when a head of school or principal engages a coach, the expectations of this coaching/client experience and potential outcomes must be clearly and concisely spelled out and articulated. Otherwise, both coach and client run the risk of navigating a never-ending rabbit hole. It also becomes extremely time-consuming and costly.

Parenthetically, my experience with new clients suggest that most heads of school and principals “want it all and they want it immediately” . This expectation of moving from zero to one-hundred overnight,  is just not possible. It’s unrealistic and eventually may lead to profound frustration and  disappointment. It is and unfortunate reflection of today’s zeitgeist or culture which suggests or even demands immediate results.

It is therefore imperative that the plan being developed between the coach and leader be focused, specific, concise and above all anchor in real leadership challenges affecting the leader of the school and his/her administrative team. There are no shortcuts or compromises, lest the  relationship becomes superficial and temporary in nature.

By providing a head of school or principal with a solid and well-developed coaching environment,  we seek to  increase the client’s self awareness, enhance decision-making processes, develop greater levels of internal accountability,  boost confidence and enhance better personal and professional development.

All of these amazingly impressive benefits and outcomes must be viewed through the lenses of reality such as cost, time availability/commitment required for effective coaching.

Way  too much reliance on a coach’s guidance and experience and may also lead to over-familiarity, dependency,  familiarity and/or second guessing.

The challenge here is to develop the proper balance so that the advantages of the professional relationship outweigh and disadvantages. This can only be realized if expectations are described and articulated in a written contract and/or agreement upon between the coach and client being coached.

Mentoring:

As indicated earlier, mentoring and coaching are mistakenly used interchangeably.

Unlike coaching, which is extremely concrete, prescriptive and hands-on, the concept of mentoring is used to help guide and assist the head of school or principal in their practice, through  modeling, experience and expertise as thoughtful and knowledgeable practitioners.

Mentoring requires the pairing and partnering of the head of school and principal with more seasoned and experienced professionals who can serve as close confidential advisors.

Mentors are by definition very effective listeners, they have experience and expertise needed to manage and navigate complex systems, clarify circumstance for the mentee, are proactive decision-makers, help inspire and enhance communications skills and enable the mentee to feel a sense of accomplishment, control,  ability and capacity to problem-solve and help them engage in higher order strategic thinking.

In addition, mentors maintain a close professional working relationship with the mentee based on mutual trust, confidentiality and an ability to share relevant and essential information that is data driven, It is also essential that the mentee does not become too dependent upon the mentor to resolve conflict.

Like every professional relationship, there are of course boundaries and guard-rails. There are also safeguards in order to prevent over-dependency upon the mentor for final decision-making and problem-solving..

Not unlike coaching, to be successful, the relationship between the head of school or principal and the mentor must be anchored in trust, respect and transparency.

Conclusion:

One of the most valuable gifts you can offer yourself as a head of school or principal, is the opportunity to be coached or mentored by a highly experienced professional.

Irrespective of whether one is a veteran, experienced, novice or aspiring leader, we are all in desperate need of coaching and mentoring.

More often than not, most practitioners and school leaders underestimate the powerful impact of these professional relationships and interventions. The proof to their tremendous success and impact rests with those who were fortunate enough to have benefited from a high quality mentor or coach relationship.

The potential impact of these relationships are real and profound. In fact, many new and aspiring heads of school and principals are now including  the requirements and conditions for employment on an agreed upon arrangement or contract between the board and school head, that they be permitted to engage a mentor or coach.

More often than not, many school boards are now absorbing the costs for these training interventions.  .

This requirement should never ever be viewed as a weakness on the part of the applicant, and/or a gap in leadership skill, or confidence,  but rather as a conscious and mature  effort on the part of school  leaders to be the most effective leader possible.

Dr. Chaim Botwinick, Host, Chinuch Horizons

Co-Founder, LEV Consulting Associates