Start in the coaching conversation

After a debrief, a coach walks out sure the next step was clear. The teacher later tells a colleague the conversation felt like evaluation. No one is lying. The missing move was asking how the coaching landed. (Illustrative coach-teacher moment only. Not a named client or school.)

Most one-way coaching starts here: the coach checks whether the instructional next step was clear, and never checks how the process felt.

The principle: feedback has to travel both ways

Soliciting feedback is Tip 4 under Relationships on The 25 Tips. It is a partnership move, not a courtesy. Pair it with active listening so you hear how the coaching felt, not only whether the teacher can repeat the next step. Crush It from the Start: 25 Tips for Instructional Coaches and Leaders (SchoolRubric) treats relationships as the ground that makes every later tip usable.

Three questions, then one action

At the end of a cycle, ask two or three of these:

1. How useful was today’s coaching for your next lesson?
2. What should I do more of next time?
3. What should I change in how I coach you?

Then write one action you will try on the next visit. Do not defend your process in the moment. Capture the answer first. The free Coaching Conversation Guide gives you a structure for keeping the talk instructional while still making room for this check.

Use the same standard you ask teachers to use with students. Specific beats vague. “Your questions helped me plan tomorrow” is usable. “It was fine” is not. Ask a follow-up that forces a concrete answer, then stop talking.

Why this matters

Feedback that only flows from coach to teacher trains teachers to perform for the coach. When teachers can say how the coaching lands, you protect trust and you learn which of your habits actually help instruction.

You do not need a survey platform for this. Two spoken questions and a notebook line are enough. The point is to make feedback on your coaching a normal close to the cycle, the same way you expect teachers to normalize feedback for students.

If the answer stings, thank the teacher and revise later. Defending your process in the chair trains them to stop telling you the truth.

Try it this week

1. End one debrief with two of the three questions above.
2. Write the teacher’s answers in your notes without arguing.
3. Choose one change you will make on the next visit.
4. Tell the teacher that change out loud at the start of the next meeting.

Keep going

1. Related posts on this site: The Power of Rehearsal, How Memory Works, and How Coaching Happens.
2. Subscribe to Navigating Education: matthewrhoads.com/subscribe.
3. Templates: the Coach Toolkit and the Coaching Conversation Guide.
4. Consulting: Plan an Engagement.

The book is Crush It from the Start: 25 Tips for Instructional Coaches and Leaders (SchoolRubric).