Coaching the Whole Educator
Coaching the Whole Educator is a podcast for instructional coaches, teacher leaders, and school leaders who want to strengthen their educators’ effectiveness and resilience, especially the ones who need it most. Each week, you’ll hear quick tips, proven strategies, and coaching mindsets designed to keep you on top of your coaching game.
This show is rooted in a human-centered approach, where we get things done through people’s humanity, not around it. Whether you’re new to instructional coaching or a seasoned instructional coach or leader looking for fresh perspective, you’ll learn how to focus on the mindsets and motivations driving unproductive behaviors. By getting to the root of resistance, you’ll discover how to build stronger relationships, lead with clarity, and create lasting impact in your school.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 19 minutes
- Episodes
- 158
- Years Active
- 2022 - 2025
#153: Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak: Why Great Leaders Pause Before Acting
Diagnose why your team is resisting or stuck: Take the Quiz!
In this episode, Becca Silver interviews Bethany Rees about her unique approach to leadership, using the metaphor of the "bod…
#152: The Science of Depletion: Why Small Changes Can Feel Impossible
Every coach and leader has felt the sting of teacher pushback, especially when the change you’re asking for seems so small it shouldn’t cause resistance. But here’s the catch: sometimes…
#151: Radically Simple PD Systems: Cut the Clutter & Focus on What’s Essential
In this episode, Becca Silver is joined by Tami Shaw to discuss effective approaches to designing professional development (PD) systems. Tami shares insights from her book "Radically Si…
#150: A Trust-Based Observation Tool: Working from a Strengths-Based Lens
Craig Randall shares his trust-based coaching model for educators, which integrates trust-building into the observation and feedback process. The model uses regular, strengths-based cla…
#149: How to Stress Wisely and Bounce Forward: Dr. Robyne’s 5 Pillars of Resilience
Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe shares a deeply human approach to resilience, grounded in both research and personal experience. She introduces the five pillars of resilience—belonging, perspec…
#148:“I Stopped Trying to Convince Teachers... That's When Everything Changed."
Learn more about *The Resistance Remedy* On Demand Course
In this episode, Dr. Donna Spangler shares the coaching breakthrough that changed everything:
She stopped trying to convince tea…
#147: He Had 17 Behavior Calls a Day—and What Finally Changed
If you feel like your days are just putting out one behavior fire after another, this one’s for you.
I sat down with Hunter Flesch, Associate Principal and host of the Ed Essentials Podc…
#146: Stop Hoping, Start Coaching For It: Why Optimism Isn’t Optional
**Check out The Resistance Remedy HERE!**
Can you lead with optimism without slipping into toxic positivity? In this episode, Jason Adair from Southern Regional Education Board and I unp…
#145: When Your Inner Critic Runs the Meeting
Coaches and leaders—what if the biggest resistance to change isn’t from your team… but from you? Your inner critic!
In this episode, I’m joined by Amanda Younts of Midlife Catalyst to un…
#144: When You’re Coaching Someone Who Should Get It By Now
You know that teacher who should know better by now?
The one who should care more? Be further along?
Yeah… that “should” is telling on you.
In this episode, we’re talking about the quiet c…
#143: It’s Not Transformation If You're Just Getting Compliance
We toss around the term school transformation but often it’s just accountability with better branding. In this episode, I sit down with Matt Hickson from Modern Classrooms Project to ta…
#142: Understanding ≠ Agreement: The Listening Shift Every Coach Needs
You don’t have to agree to understand—and in coaching, confusing the two can shut down growth before it starts.
I break down the critical difference between understanding and agreement i…
#141: Time Management Without the Guilt
Sick of feeling like your to-do list is your boss? In this episode, I team up with Barbara Boselli of bnow™ Consulting to break down time management in a way that actually respects your…
#140: Authenticity vs. Self-Indulgence: What’s Driving Your Leadership?
We love to say “be your authentic self”—but what if what we’re calling authenticity is actually just self-indulgence in disguise?
In this episode, I break down the real difference betwee…
#139: High Agency Coaching: Helping Educators Take Action
What if the real barrier to change isn’t resistance—it’s how we navigate the system? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Nathan Lang-Raad to unpack high agency coaching—a powerful appr…
#138: The Readiness Gap: What the Research Says About Why Good Ideas Still Fail
Change doesn’t fail because people are stubborn. It fails because leaders bet on urgency instead of readiness.
Organizational change only sticks when people believe it’s worth it and b…
#137: Coaching Alternatively Certified Teachers: Why Different Paths Need Different Coaching
Coaching alternatively certified teachers? It’s not about lowering expectations—it’s about shifting the support.
These educators bring deep content knowledge—but often need help breaking…
#136: Seed and Soil: When Culture Cancels Out Your Coaching
You’ve been tossing mindset seeds onto concrete, wondering why they won’t grow.
Walton & Yeager’s research confirms that powerful beliefs—like “you belong here” or “you can grow”—won’t …
#135: Why Adult Dysregulation Looks Like Resistance (And What to Do About It)
What looks like resistance is often dysregulation in disguise—showing up as avoidance, blame, or burnout.
We talk all the time about helping kids manage their emotions, but what about a…
#134: “I’m Doing It Because I Have To”—This Tool Helps You Shift That
In this episode, we’re breaking down why some teachers stay on fire while others burnout, stall out, or check out—and it’s not about how hard they’re working.
Backed by Self-Determinatio…