John Campbell and Christ Munro

Coaching Conversations with Jim Knight

In this episode, I had the opportunity to have an insightful conversation with TLC 2024 breakout presenters John Campbell and Christ Munro who are leading experts in the field of educational coaching and leadership development. They have collaborated on various projects and publications, including their upcoming book "Growth Talk: Brief Conversations – Big Impact," which dives into their innovative approach to leadership, emphasizing how coaching skills can enhance everyday conversations in educational settings. Our focus is particularly on brief, informal interactions that can have significant impact.

This discussion equips listeners by providing practical tools and frameworks for more effective leadership conversations:

• The Learning Conversations Map:

• A framework to help leaders identify and organize different conversational contexts
• Two axes: leader's stance (facilitative to directive) and degree of formality (formal to informal)

• Focus on Brief, Informal Conversations:

• Emphasis on making short interactions more transformational and less transactional
• Recognition that a 10-minute conversation can be significant in moving things forward

• Practical Strategies:

• "What's wanted, what's working, what's next" framework for conversations
• Tuning listening skills to focus on desired outcomes and strengths

• Application in Educational Settings:

• Recognizes the complexity and time constraints in educational leadership roles
• Aims to make existing conversations more productive rather than adding new tasks

I hope this episode offers valuable takeaways for educators and leaders looking to improve their communication skills and foster growth in their organizations. As John Campbell and Chris Munro shared, these techniques can be immediately applied in daily interactions, emphasizing that even short conversations can be powerful tools for positive change in educational settings.

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A decade of research and hundreds of in-services later, The Impact Cycle provides an all-new instructional coaching cycle to help teachers and, in turn, their students improve in clear, measurable ways. Learn more here.