Texas Voices: Attentive leadership: cultivating deep listening skills through Student-Focused Coaching

The Greek philosopher, Epictetus, is often credited with the adage, “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” In the contemporary world of education, where educators are charged with competing for the ever-shifting idea of relevance amongst the students we serve, there exists a critical need to observe and analyze humankind at a level of accuracy, depth, and speed. Decisions on instructional moves, assessment designs, and, of course, all of the countless other choices that foster and sustain the climate and culture of a campus for students and adults are all interdependent upon this one very essential skill. 

As a former instructional coach, I understood from the variety of books and blogs I had read, that listening to others was an important part of my role. However, it would not be until I would meet educational consultant and founder of Be A Change, LLC, Dr. Daryl Michel in September of 2022, that I would fully grasp that listening does not only encompass what is heard, but also what is seen and what remains unspoken. Through the initial professional development series on a book he co-authored with leading research-practitioner, Dr. Jan Hasbrouck entitled, Student-Focused Coaching: The Instructional Coach’s Guide to Supporting Student Success Through Teacher Collaboration, Dr. Michel challenged my coaching peers and I to consider the totality of communication and leverage that knowledge to better serve the teachers and; ultimately, the students within our district.