Coaching session #1 Wendy Dameron and Ray Symonds

I had the great pleasure of speaking with my "coachee" Ray Symonds this morning and discussing his experience with coaching as a teacher and a member of the Toastmasters association.  Ray is currently a native English teacher at a high school in South Korea, where he has lived with his wife for approximately three years now.   He enrolled in this Master's program as the degree will assist him in pursuing his dream of teaching at the university level in South Korea.  In his essay and during our discussion, he had some thoughts that struck chords within me.  He works in a culture that follows a process and it's hard to make changes when you may not be in the position to do so.  He would prefer to have a more creative experience and open dialogue in the classroom, guiding his students to discovery.  Some of his colleagues feel similarly but administration calls the shots.  Everyone talks about "changing for the better" and creativity as the big "buzz word" but when it comes to actually making creative and intelligent choices, the process of change never comes to fruition.  Further, the culture of education there is more goal oriented and quantitative, rather than qualitative.  We can speak of cultures in different regions or countries but there is also a culture to be found within any organization.  In many, policies and procedures are followed, some way past their expiration date.  People engage in downloading and judgmental listening.  We see attempts at new processes or the creation of teams but nothing really changes.  Perhaps if higher management took the time to really listen to their employees and bring them into the decision making, real teams and effective dialogue could happen.  There should be coaching opportunities and mentoring programs.  As in one of the coaching readings, Thomas Leonard describes a "synergy that occurs as a result of the coach and client relationship".  In my opinion, synergy creates a shared vision and would be a key component to positive organizational change.