I know. I know. The President of the United States gets 100 days… As a new instructional tech coach, you will only get 90 days! You may be elated to be hired as the new coach and you don’t know where to begin and you are not sure of the opportunities that will test your patience ahead or how you will greet them.
Honestly, what you do in your first 90 days of your job will determine if you flourish or will be applying for a new position in the near future.
I have been in your shoes many times and I don’t want you to repeat the mistakes I made. Read the 7 tips to accelerate you into productivity and a grab the new instructional coach checklist.
Are you ready for the 7 tips?
Promote yourself. Now this doesn’t mean you walk down the hallways of your new school with your bullhorn and letting teachers know that there is a coach in town. Promoting yourself means making and taking the permanent mental break from your old role and preparing to support others in your new role. That means, you will always be a teacher at heart but you have to remember that you have different responsibilities now. I know it is a safe area for you but the biggest threat you will face is that you continue to rest on your laurels. The dangers of sticking with what you know and playing it safe will be sure way to fail miserably.
Accelerate your learning. You need to be able to speak to your role and the initiative you are supporting. You will need to coast around the learning curve as fast as possible. This means spending time researching your role. Don’t expect everything to be given to you. Lean on your professional learning community. It may seem like you are sipping water from a fire hose on a hot summer day. You have to be systematic and focus on what you need to know and how you will learn it most efficiently. You will have to relearn how to learn. You should identify your best sources of insight.
Top questions you should ask to help your learning
Ask questions about the past: past performance, root causes, and history of change. Ask questions about the present: vision and strategy, people, processes, and early wins. Ask questions about the future: challenges/opportunities, barriers/resources, and culture.
Focus your energy. It is time to match strategy to the situation. Focusing your energy and establish clarity about the type of situation you have walked into as you confront your situation as you are deciding what you need to do in your first 90 days.
Define and secure early wins. Early wins can contribute to your credibility and create a forceful momentum. In the first few weeks, you must identify opportunities to build personal credibility by creating value. You must also adjust to the new culture. It is not about which apps you can show off but the relationships you can build!
Negotiate success partnerships. You should figure out how to build a partnership with your principal and understanding the vision he or she may have for their school. This means you should intentionally plan critical conversations about expectations, your role, and the resources available.
Build a collaborative team. You must seek to build a team that possess the skills that may fall into your areas of weaknesses. To do so you must be willing to acknowledge you don’t know everything and you must be willing to learn about others. Your success will depend on your ability to empower and influence others to stand on your side of the line.
Maintain your balance. Always preserve your ability to make good decisions. Giving meaningful insight and advice is indispensable. Remember you can’t say yes to everything. You will burn yourself out.
I have faith in you. I know you will make the best decisions during your first 90 days. I have so much faith, I created a quick checklist for you to download and print. Click the picture or click here to grab the printable .pdf.
