Association for the Advancement of International Education

Leadership Mentoring and Coaching Program

"Teach them the quiet words of kindness, to live beyond themselves. Urge them toward excellence, drive them toward gentleness, pull them deep into yourself, pull them upward toward maturity, but softly like an angel arranging clouds. Let your spirit move through them softly."

- Pat Conroy, The Prince of Tides

AISH / AAIE Leadership Mentoring and Coaching Program

An Overview of the AISH and AAIE Mentoring and Coaching Program

Never in our lifetime has school leadership been more in the spotlight. Over the past months you have redefined the tenets of strategic thinking, tactical flexibility, innovation, creative problem-solving and the agility to pivot from one set of plans to the next as new urgencies arrive each day. You’ve done all this with your teams and community in the span of eight months. And certainly there have been days you wondered if you could please anyone in the midst of unrelenting perspectives and opinions across stakeholders.

Learning more about and enhancing your leadership skills is entirely proactive and liberating too. Knowing you are seeking to continuously improve cements your confidence to take on the challenges that are more daunting than ever before.

The AISH and AAIE Mentoring and Coaching Program is for any international school leader who wishes to be mentored, who is either fresh to the profession or seasoned with years of experience. Becoming a mentor to a colleague is rich in professional learning too. On both sides of the mentee or mentor equation, the time together increases accountability to your own effectiveness, giving focus to high-performance leadership and defining blind spots in your perspective and skill sets. Seeking a mentor or agreeing to mentor a colleague is to model people development – and it begins with you. Deciding to place yourself in a professional mentoring setting is to model humility as a learner and leader with the resolve to do what it takes to keep getting better. We hope you will get involved and we’ll support you in the process.

Program Purpose Expectations and Getting Started!

Please click below to learn more about the program.

What do we hope to achieve? What are the goals of the program?

We acknowledge from the outset that the term coaching and mentor can mean different things to different people and there are differences. But without getting into a theoretical debate, we have taken the license to use the words interchangeably and will focus on the purpose, which is to support leaders through a collaborative and personal relationship with another leader. This program was initially developed with new or relatively inexperienced leaders in mind, however we have become acutely aware that leaders at all different levels of experience and responsibility, at times, if not continually, need the support, counsel and wisdom of their colleagues. Mark and I can both testify to that and still practice it! This program therefore is designed to bring leaders together to have conversations about their challenges, their growth, and the nuances of their work. It is not intended to replace a carefully coordinated executive coaching experience but rather to connect individuals who can assist and support one another.

We hope that leaders gain from their coach’s experience. We hope that leaders feel free to ask questions and get resources and advice in areas that they identify as being most important to them at the time. We hope that they feel they have a support system in the coach or mentor and can share concerns as well as successes. Also, we hope that leaders are able to increase their professional network through the relationship they build with their coach.

We hope that mentors experience the personal satisfaction that comes from sharing one’s experience and insights and knowing that it was helpful. We hope that mentors also learn from the person they are coaching and gain understandings that contribute to their professional and personal development. And finally, we hope that coaches have a positive experience and know that they played a significant role in the success of an International Head of School.

So how do we get started?

If you are interested in coaching/mentoring or would like a mentor/coach we ask you to contact Andy at andypage-smith@academyish.org or Mark at mark@aaie.org to discuss the details. Remember that it is not experience or age based. Mark or Andy will be in contact with you to follow up personally around your needs and strengths and then allocate different individuals to coach and mentor, and help you get connected.

How do I do a good job as a mentor? What are the expectations?

The most successful mentors are good listeners. They empower the mentee rather than tell the mentee what to do. They acknowledge that every Head of School is different, and they are not looking for a copy or clone of themselves. They are consistent and they are honest. They ask questions to ensure that they understand the situation and ask the mentee to tell them how they can be most helpful. They ask questions such as, “what is some other data that might be possible to gather to help you decide?” and “what would be a proactive approach to this situation?” and “you’ve described three possible outcomes. Let’s talk through the implications of each one” and “let’s set the action steps that we discussed.” They are aware of their own limitations and make sure that the mentee doesn’t become dependent upon them but that they facilitate the mentee finding the answers that are right for them at the time. And, successful coaches stay positive!

For the mentors/coaches, our hopes are that they:

experience the personal satisfaction that comes from sharing one’s experience and insights and knowing that it was helpful;
learn from the person they are coaching and gain understandings that contribute to their professional and personal development; and
have a positive experience and know that they played a significant role in guiding and contributing to the quality of the International School Head’s performance.

How do I do a good job as a mentee? What are the expectations?

The most successful mentees are honest in expressing their goals and in providing enough information that the mentor understands the situation. They think through in advance how the coach can be most helpful to them and prepare for the meeting.

They set the agenda, knowing what they want to discuss. They don’t expect the mentor “to solve the problem” but rather are open to exploring different options and possibilities. They are vulnerable and at times, may express that they need help in clearly identifying what the issue or problem really is. They ask for feedback or a different perspective when they want it. Successful mentees don’t take up too much of the mentor’s time—they understand that they are busy people and that they have a rare opportunity to have wisdom shared.

Our hopes for the mentees are that they:

gain from their mentor’s experience as a Head of School;
feel free to ask questions and get resources and advice at the time it is needed;
feel they have a support system in the mentor to share concerns as well as successes; and
are also able to increase their professional network through the relationship they build with the mentor and related connections that grow from this opportunity.

How and when do we begin?

What do we suggest for the first phone call/Zoom/Skype/email?

Both mentors and mentees talk about their professional background and personal details. Mentees be prepared to share your career, life and development goals and mentors be prepared to listen and ask questions.

Talk about confidentiality. Mentees should be able to talk openly and share their mistakes, weaknesses and areas of vulnerability. Both mentees and mentors need to know that they can discuss situations and people and that it doesn’t go outside of the relationship.

Discuss logistics. Establish when and how you will communicate. Relationships can break down because a regular time isn’t set to communicate and because one partner doesn’t keep up with their emails or text messages. If it is a particularly busy time and you need to cancel a meeting, let your partner know, even if it is just a one-‐sentence email.

Decide how often you will talk (we encourage bi-weekly).
Decide how to schedule meetings. Is it best to email each other directly or via a personal assistant? Is an email or ZOOM call best? If you have to change the meeting time, how is that best done?
Decide how long your meetings will be.

Mentee describes first goals. How can the mentor help? Mentee should be prepared by knowing what you what to discuss and any relevant data. The mentor’s time is valuable and mentees who are prepared will benefit the most.

One element of a mentor/mentee relationship that can speed up the building of trust is a dialogue around defining how the agenda/topic for mentoring conversations is to be established. To what extent is the mentee totally setting the stage with questions for input and to what extent is the coach raising questions in areas where the mentee might be unaware?

What support does the program provide after you get started?

When and how will the program conclude?

Contact us

Coaching for Change

By Richard E. Boyatzis, Melvin Smith, and Ellen Van Oosten

"Whether you’re a boss or a colleague, a friend or a spouse, introverted or extroverted, emotional or analytic, or high or low on the totem pole, you can learn how to facilitate life-enhancing change in those around you."