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“There are many books on coaching, but this one you must have. Aguilar has written a comprehensive book on coaching that provides enormously useful ideas, concepts, and strategies in an extremely accessible form. This is one of the best books on coaching I have read and a book that will make anyone a better and more reflective leader.”

Kent D. Peterson

Emeritus Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, author of Shaping School Culture

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“Elena Aguilar’s book is an extremely practical guide to leading teams that doesn’t ignore the complexity of that important work. If you’re a coach who leads teams, this is a must read.”

Jim Knight

Author of Instructional Coaching: A Partnership to Improving Instruction

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“In The Art of Coaching Teams, Aguilar succeeds in translating her Transformational Coaching framework into a practical and heartening resource for all who coach and manage teams. She infuses 30+ years of research on emotional intelligence, team development, and leadership with her unique blend of empathy, clarity, and hope.”

Laurelin Andrade

Manager of Coaches

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“Elena’s book provides leaders with a framework to create, coach and manage effective teams – with both compassion and clarity. The powerful personal anecdotes humanize a daunting process, and the detailed scripts allow for ample opportunities to practice.”

Maia Heyck-Merlin

Author, The Together Teacher and The Together Leader

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“Drawing deeply on her lived experiences, Aguilar offers readers a path to leadership characterized by reflection, intention, and humility. In balancing the practical and profound, The Art of Coaching Teams lives up to its promise as a guide for leaders who seek to transform themselves and their teams.”

Brianna Crowley

High School Teacher and Instructional Coach, Hershey, PN

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“Anyone who believes that a school’s student culture is only as strong as a school’s adult culture would greatly benefit from reading this book. The guidelines that Aguilar provides elevate the technical “how to” and offers adaptive moves for building a transformative community in any environment.”

Yanira Canizalez

Founding Head of School, Lodestar-A Lighthouse Community Charter Public School, Oakland, CA

The Art of Coaching Teams

Explore your playbook for creating and leading thriving, resilient, learning teams that get stuff done.

Book Study Guide

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Chapter 1

Exhibit 1.1 – Dimensions of a Great Team – A Tool for Reflection

Exhibit 1.2 – Indicators of an Effective Team

Exhibit 1.3 – Do We Need a Team?

Chapter 3

Exhibit 3.1 – Team Temperature Check

Chapter 4

Exhibit 4.1 – Transformational Coach Team’s Mission and Vision

Exhibit 4.2 – Determining a Team’s Mission and Vision

Exhibit 4.3 – Transformational Coaching Team’s Core Values

Exhibit 4.4 – Team Member Roles and Responsibilities

Exhibit 4.5 – Example of a Team’s Communication Agreements

Exhibit 4.6 – Transformational Coach Team Goals, 2013-14

Chapter 5

Exhibit 5.1 – Examples of Norms

Exhibit 5.2 – Example Of Agenda For Norm Building

Exhibit 5.3 – What Do Our Norms Mean?

Exhibit 5.4 – Reflection Questions On Our Norms

Chapter 6

Exhibit 6.1 – Indicators of a Team’s Emotional Intelligence

Exhibit 6.2 – Forty-Four Ways to Build The Emotional Intelligence of a Team

Chapter 7

Exhibit 7.1 – Reflection Questions on Communication

Exhibit 7.2 – Patterns of Participation

Exhibit 7.4 – How Do I Listen?

Exhibit 7.5 – Behaviors that Foster and Undermine Effective Conversations

Chapter 8

Exhibit 8.1 – Example of an Agenda for Decision Making

Exhibit 8.2 – Decision-Making Grids

Exhibit 8.3 – Fist to Five Decision Making

Exhibit 8.4 – Consensus-Building Process Checking

Exhibit 8.5 – Decision-Making Norms

Exhibit 8.6 – Feedback on Decision-Making Process

Chapter 9

Exhibit 9.1 – Indicators of a Learning Organization

Chapter 10

Exhibit 10.1 – Example of a Team’s Meeting Schedule

Exhibit 10.2 – Outcomes for Team Meetings

Exhibit 10.3 – Meaning-Making Protocol

Exhibit 10.5 – Stages of Team Development

Chapter 11

Exhibit 11.1 – Check List for Facilitating Meetings and Professional Development

Chapter 12

Exhibit 12.1 – Reflecting on Conflict

Exhibit 12.3 – Sentence Stems for Healthy Conflict

Chapter 13

Exhibit 13.1 – School Teams’ Organizational Alignment – Example of RISE UP Middle

Exhibit 13.2 – Am I in a Toxic Culture?

Exhibit 13.3 – Indicators of Trust in Schools

Exhibit 13.4 – Organizational Conditions for Effective Teams

Appendices

Appendix A – Facilitator Core Competencies

Appendix B – Team Effectiveness Self-Assessment

Appendix C – Community Building Activities And Random Grouping Strategies

Appendix D – Facilitation Planning Tool And Facilitation Observation Tool

Appendix E.1 – Activities For Meetings – Consultancy Protocol

Appendix E.2 – Activities For Meetings – Feedback Protocol

Appendix E.3 – Activities For Meetings – Chalk Talk

Appendix E.4 – Activities For Meetings – Dyads

Appendix G – Plan For Team Building

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