Coaching and Professional Development Program Prospectus
Introduction
Colleges and universities devote extensive amounts of time and money to searching for and hiring talented individuals. But relatively few institutional resources go into supporting and developing staff after they are on board.
Conferences and summer institutes offered by professional organizations and graduate schools of education provide some professional development opportunities. These sorts of experiences allow staff to learn about new ideas and different approaches to their work, engage with peers from other institutions, and build professional networks. But they tend to be experiences with generalized curricula that occur during a brief window in time and have limited long-term impact.
Individual coaching allows for sustained and focused work that is tied to the tasks and assignments the participant routinely encounters as part of their job. However, most institutional support for coaching either goes to people in senior leadership roles or as part of a corrective plan to remediate issues with underperforming staff members.
Based on my experience both as a long-serving senior administrator and professional coach, I believe that a focused approach to coaching talented emerging administrative leaders will promote meaningful professional development with a lasting impact, facilitate better retention of top performers, and help cultivate the next generation of institutional leaders.
Through extensive conversations with several current and former presidents, vice presidents, and deans, I have constructed a coaching program for emerging higher education leaders. JTC Coaching Plus for Emerging College Leaders is grounded in a coaching framework but also draws on my more than three decades of administrative leadership in higher education to help participants develop the skills and competencies they need to better serve their institutions and advance in their careers.
Objectives
Provide personalized professional development to emerging administrative leaders through individual and group coaching that helps participants develop skills and competencies that not only will support them in their career but will also enhance the organizational effectiveness and leadership capacity of colleges and universities.
Promote better retention of top performers.
Cultivate the next generation of institutional leaders and support internal succession planning.
Description
JTC Coaching Plus for Emerging College Leaders is a six-month program of individual and group coaching aimed at mid-career administrators as they prepare for career advancement and more significant leadership roles.
The foundation of JTC Coaching Plus is individual leadership coaching carried out in 12 biweekly sessions over a six-month period. Plus, participants will also take part in monthly group coaching with a cohort of six to eight peers. The projected program schedule/calendar is included as an appendix to the prospectus.
The individual coaching component is highly personalized, goal-centered, and tailored to help participants work on specific skills and competencies needed to take the next step professionally. In addition to initial goal setting and establishing a framework for our coaching relationship, at the beginning of the process participants will complete a Birkman Method questionnaire and debriefing to gain insight into how they function individually and as part of a team in the work setting.
Group coaching sessions complement the individual work each participant is doing by offering:
Exposure to multiple perspectives on strategies for addressing a particular issue.
Peer-to-peer learning opportunities.
Shared approaches to problem-solving.
Building/expanding a new network of colleagues.
Affirmation that the questions and challenges they are facing are not unique and that they have the ability to succeed and advance as leaders.
As with the individual coaching sessions, in group meetings the issues that participants are confronting in their actual work will drive content and serve as a springboard into professional development opportunities.
Both individual and group coaching sessions will adhere to an active coaching framework where, as part of every session, each participant will identify specific action steps for items to work on and benchmarks for holding themselves accountable to doing the work prior to the next session. Participants have continuous access to the coach by text, email, and phone at all times throughout the program.
Supervisor Check-Ins
Coaching sessions are private, and the details of conversations between coach and participants are kept confidential. However, to help ensure that the work is as productive as possible for both the participant and their institution, JTC Coaching Plus is structured to give each participant’s supervisor the option to be part of a framing conversation with the coach and participant at the outset of the coaching engagement and a check-in conversation at the mid-point of the program. These meetings are intended to be conversations between the supervisor and the participant where the coach may ask clarifying questions and act as a facilitator.
Target Participants
Professionals from a variety of backgrounds and experience levels are well suited to participate in JTC Coaching Plus, including (but not limited to):
Mid-level and dean/director/manager level administrators.
New professionals with a minimum of three years’ experience in full-time positions.
Faculty members transitioning into administrative roles.
Experienced professionals transitioning to higher ed from other sectors.
Cost
The fee for JTC Coaching Plus for Emerging College Leaders is $2,750 per participant. The fee includes:
12 individual sessions.
Birkman Method assessment ($206 fee to Birkman).
Five group sessions.
Two meetings between the coach, participant, and supervisor.
Continuous access to coach by text, email, and phone throughout the duration of the program.
Summary synopsis provided to the participant at the conclusion of the program.
Sign Up
To inquire about participating or enrolling a member of your staff in JTC Coaching Plus for Emerging College Leaders email jim@jamesterhuneconsulting.com or complete the online form at www.jamesterhuneconsulting.com/contact .
For more information about James Terhune Consulting and my professional background visit www.jamesterhuneconsulting.com .
Appendix
Projected Schedule
July
August
September
October
November
December
Note: Adjustments can be made to the schedule to accommodate the calendar needs of participants.
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