411 DevelopMENTAL Coaching

Connect Conversation Coach

Based at the Seven Hills High School Vocational Innovation Centre (SHHS VIC) on Darug Land in Western Sydney, my role as Developmental Coaching Coordinator for Vocational High Schools is to spearhead an innovative initiative to improve VET student outcomes through evidence-based coaching and support.

This research project is a collaboration with generous support and guidance from the NSW Department of Education Vocational Education (Skills and Workforce Programs), Seven Hills High School Principal Matthew Saville, SHHS VIC Deputy Principal Andrew Kerr, ACU IPPE (Prof Herbert Marsh and Prof Johnmarshall Reeve), and Dr Michael Cavanagh from the USyd Coaching Psychology Unit. It involves NSW TAFE and its staff, Seven Hills High School VET Education staff, Vocational Innovation Centre industry partners, and, of course, our high school students enrolled in VET at SHHS VIC.

The pilot, first proposed in 2022 with iterations workshopped at SHHS and Wyndham College Nirimba throughout 2023 and 2024, will commence at SHHS VIC in Term 1 2025. This novel integration of autonomy-supported classrooms (teacher-led) and developmental coaching (student-led) in vocational education has the potential to provide insights into student motivation, transformation, personal growth, and well-being. In this setting, where students transition into adult learning, training, apprenticeships, further education, and first employment, the practical application of the sciences of Self-Determination Theory and Adult Development Theory presents a timely and potentially valuable contribution to educational theory, policy, and practice, both locally and globally.

NSW Department of Education to explore VET student coaching with the University of Sydney.

The NSW Department of Education has taken the lead in an innovative developmental coaching approach for VET students in High Schools. A partnership has been created between NSW Department of Education Pathways and Vocational Education Strategy, Seven Hills High School, a Vocational Education Pathways School, and the University of Sydney Coaching Psychology Unit to study how coaching might improve the challenges of student transitions from Stage 5 to Stage 6 and more adult-oriented learning environments.

Seven Hills High School in Western Sydney has a new Vocational Innovation Centre (VIC) due to open in 2023. VIC students already enrolled at the school will participate in an 8-session developmental coaching “prototype” to be delivered in Terms 2 and 3. Current teachers, work experience and prospective employers of VET students will also be given a practical guide to working with the approach, authored by Dr Michael Cavanagh, Deputy Director of the Coaching Psychology Unit at Sydney.

“We’re excited to investigate how adult development theory and its practical application through coaching could influence how we scaffold and support students throughout their VET experience. We’re even more excited about how we share those learnings for all high school students, not just at our school but across Western Sydney and the state,” said Leon Naufahu, the project lead at Seven Hills High School.

It’s back to the future with developmental coaching in 2023. I cannot wait!

For anyone experiencing loneliness or despondency, there is great power in knowing that while you have to do the hard work of change on your own, someone out there has your back.

Too many ahem LEADERS need to get over themselves. Particularly those with high technical or clinical knowledge but low people wisdom.

The only way through is through

Embracing Discomfort Can Help You Grow Leaning into those vulnerable, uncomfortable feelings could help us stay motivated and make progress toward our goals.

This is why I enjoy my work with kids so much. I meet too many under the pump to get it right to never mess up. But they don’t have to be perfect. They can fail. They can flounder. And we can learn to just be a little more patient while they do.

It’s sad to think how many people deal with this as their everyday place of work. Or worse still think this is a way to live their life outside of work.

Nothing soft about it

Emotional skills aren’t soft. They are essential.

Our emotions are the essence of what makes us human. They are at the heart of mental health, wellbeing, culture, learning, innovation, relationships —everything that matters to healthy people, organizations and communities.

Can we stop calling them "soft" skills already?

It constantly amazes me that people will work for a known proven a-hole and think that they’re going to be the one who changes them or they will be granted special treatment. Disappointment awaits.

As we head back to the office, this book is essential reading.

It’ll explain why you should never tolerate a-holes at work – and help you find out if you might be one yourself.

(It’s also my wife’s favorite business book, including those written by her husband.)