On Saturday, I had the privilege of presenting at the Teachers Talk Connect conference in the beautiful Manchester. With just seven minutes to talk about coaching, I chose to focus on why we should move away from giving advice and towards a more coach-like mindset.
At first, I assumed I was the only coach in the room—it was, after all, a teachers’ conference. But as the day unfolded, I noticed that coaching and reflective practice wove through many of the sessions. The wonderful Dawn Cox spoke about the importance of building personal knowledge, which resonated deeply. It was great to see her again—our paths first crossed over ten years ago at the legendary Teaching and Learning Takeovers in Southampton, a brilliant event that lasted for quite a few years. Many may not know of it – more than anything, it probably shows my age, but TLT, as it was called, stood out as a highlight in my academic year. I hope Teachers Talk Connect, organised by Teachers Talk Radio can become something just as special.
The energy at Friends Meeting House Manchester Conference Centre was incredible—teachers sharing ideas, reflecting on their practice, and engaging in rich conversations. Moving from room to room, learning, sharing and laughing. Despite the challenges in education, there was such a sense of commitment and care.
So there I was, at a teacher conference, talking about coaching. And yet, despite the clear presence of reflective practice, teachers—or rather people in general—still instinctively jump to giving advice. My talk was about changing our relationship with this impulse.
This is where coaching comes in. A beautifully undefinable term, coaching can mean many things, but at its heart, it’s about asking powerful questions. In addition, as Tony Latimer, MCC puts it: “It’s just about getting them to think.”
I shared an example of working with a so-called ‘struggling’ teacher. It’s so easy to assume that with our experience, we can pinpoint exactly what they need to do differently. If only they did a bit more of this or a bit less of that, everything would improve—for them and for us. And yet, giving advice so often doesn’t work. And that’s often because our solutions aren’t their solutions. Coaching isn’t about fixing people. It’s about empowering them.
I didn’t have time to mention Timothy Gallwey’s Performance = Potential – Interference equation, but it’s one I return to often and which can be helpful. Instead of seeing a teacher as ‘wrong,’ we look at what’s getting in their way. And there’s plenty of getting in the way. Teachers work incredibly hard. Lee Parkinson’s keynote was a humbling reminder of this, highlighting the impact of workload and the way teachers are often pulled away from the very thing they came into the profession to do. It certainly wasn’t new information, but it hit hard. When you hear those statistics that he mentioned, it’s impossible not to feel a mix of frustration and deep admiration for the resilience of teachers.
Despite or maybe because of this, the day was filled with wonderful people, and just as it was wrapping up, I met two other wonderful coaches! A reminder that coaching is slowly making its way into education, even if it’s not always front and centre. It made me wonder—how many others in the room were already taking a coaching approach without even realising it?
The conference was brilliantly organised, thank you, Tom Rogers and Anneliese Yafai for being so welcoming, and it was lovely to hear Luke Hashman speak, who trained at the school I used to work at. In fact, another presenter had also trained there—another reminder of how interconnected our profession is. Teaching is a small world and, at the same time, so diverse and rich.
I left feeling energised and hopeful. Coaching has so much to offer to education, and conversations like these help it grow. If Teachers Talk Connect continues, I’d love to be part of it again—perhaps with more time to explore these ideas further.
Candida Javaid Coaching & Mentoring 