Hey there, library leader! Let’s talk about building skills that will help you:
🌟 Support your team members in taking more ownership of their work
🌟 Confidently manage conflict and change
🌟 Get your team working toward a shared purpose
Research has found that the coaching style of leadership has a “markedly positive” effect “on climate and performance.”
But what does that mean?
Coaching in this context means leaning all the way into your curiosity and asking questions that are intentionally designed to help someone find the answer that works best for them.
It’s almost cliche to say that librarians love finding answers.
You built your career being praised and promoted for having the answers and being great at your job.
It can be a little jarring to go from that to figuring out how to support others in becoming the ones with the answers and the ones who are great at those jobs.
That’s where
Leading With Curiosity
comes in!
“You’ll leave the course with enhanced tangible skills and more of the confidence needed to thrive as a coaching leader. Since completing the program, I’ve become more adept at asking insightful coaching questions during 1:1s with my direct reports, managing up more effectively, and becoming more self-aware when old habits surface – such as giving advice instead of facilitating reflection to make space for others to resolve issues.”
Lorin
You found your way here because you care about building a healthy, engaged, empowered team. You want to:
Help your team take more initiative in problem-solving
Support your team in coping with changes and uncertainty
Get your team working together toward a shared goal
Navigate conflict in a way that leads to better outcomes
Develop a culture of continuous learning & improvement
Feel confident giving constructive feedback for improvement
But you keep running into obstacles:
- Your team members don’t want to take initiative. Maybe they’ve even told you they just want you to tell them exactly what to do.
- Your team members take so much initiative on their own disconnected projects that it feels like you’re trying to herd cats right now.
- You’re really uncomfortable dealing with the confrontation, and need more tools to help you manage those difficult conversations.
- You feel like you give great advice every time your team members bring a problem to you, but then they don’t take it or only half-heartedly follow your suggestion. And that leaves the problem not really resolved.
Learning coaching skills will give you a whole new toolset to bring to these challenges.
Building a coaching culture is an investment up front that pays dividends over time.
There is no magic wand that will magically fix everything overnight. But these skills will help you make slow changes that can add up over time to a radical transformation in your relationships with your team.
Developing a coaching approach to leadership enables leaders to both:
🌟 support high performers in their ongoing development and
🌟 support those with performance shortcomings in identifying the root cause in order to find more effective resolutions
2025 Summer Intensive cohort
4 Day intensive jumpstart program
+
2x monthly ongoing support for 3 months
Get all of the details below in the program outline!
Choose your jumpstart date / time:
July 21-24
6pm London /
1pm Eastern US /
10am Pacific
July 28-31
2pm London /
9am Eastern US /
6am Pacific
Learning outcomes (click for details)
Step 1: Embrace your curiosity
We start with developing a coaching mindset, because that’s the foundation for using a coaching approach to leadership. This means really internalizing that it’s ok to be open and curious while managing others, instead of feeling like you have to have all of the answers to every problem on your own. Once you get comfortable with this mindset, you’ll be ready to start asking some great questions!
Step 2: Learn coaching skills
Next, we build your knowledge about core managerial coaching skills and some frameworks to shape your coaching conversations. These are the skills that are going to help you confidently manage through change and conflict in a way that builds trust and helps your team members feel comfortable taking initiative. Once you know the basics, we can move on to putting these skills into practice!
Step 3: Practice actually coaching
It’s easy to talk about coaching, but it’s a whole other thing to actually start coaching other people! So this program includes space to coach one another and get constructive feedback, homework that asks you to start coaching your team members, and discussions about how it went and how to improve. It feels awkward the first time, but the more you practice, the more natural it starts to feel!
Step 4: Apply a coaching approach
We’ll discuss applying a coaching approach to your specific challenges as well as common challenges like dealing with resistant employees and performance shortcomings. This stage is interwoven with the others to help you integrate the coaching mindset and skills with your everyday interactions with your team.
“This course strengthened my ability to manage managers”
Public Library Administrator
Program outline
We start with a 4 day intensive jumpstart program in July, and then follow up with twice monthly check-in meetings in August through October.
The intensive jumpstart gives you the skills, and the ongoing meetings support you in actually putting the skills into practice, so that you experience lasting change in the way you interact with your team.
Monday: Intro & Coaching mindset
90 minute interactive Zoom session + about 3 hours of homework
Tuesday: Core coaching skills
90 minute interactive Zoom session + about 3 hours of homework
Wednesday: Strategies & practice
90 minute interactive Zoom session + homework
Thursday: Practice sessions
90 minute interactive Zoom session
Ongoing support
Twice a month in August through October, you’ll have access to:
⭐️ Email sharing another resource to continue your learning
⭐️ Live Zoom session (60 minutes) with a flexible agenda to meet the needs of the group that day. That may include time to:
- Discuss the latest shared resource
- Receive coaching to help you navigate a challenging situation
- Practice coaching another participant to get live constructive feedback
I highly recommend attending the check-in sessions to get the best results, but they’re not mandatory.
“I would tell a colleague to absolutely sign up for this if they were interested in developing their skills as a manager or leader. This program helped me develop my active listening skills, be less reactive and more reflective, and to feel less overwhelmed as a manager with a large number of direct reports.”
Jenny
Who will get the most out of this program?
Those who regularly have opportunities to practice using coaching skills at work will get the most out of this program.
That generally means people who manage a team, whether that’s 2 student employees or a whole library system.
There are some exceptions to that, though. The skills we discuss are valuable in a wide range of contexts. So if you do a lot of mentoring or lead active committees and work-groups, even if you don’t officially supervise anyone, this could be a fit.
Past participants have included a library faculty member who supervised student assistants, department heads, deans, and a higher ed administrator whose unit included the library. And participants have come from both academic and public libraries.
If you’re not sure whether you’re a fit, let’s talk. I hate pushy sales tactics, so this will be just a no-pressure, no-obligation conversation.
Worst case scenario, we agree that the program isn’t the best fit for you right now, and we both got to meet someone who cares about making libraries better for library workers!
“I particularly appreciate the small group setting, which has significantly enhanced the learning experience by making it easier to engage in productive conversations and practice new skills in a supportive environment. Connecting with other leaders and sharing insights has been invaluable”
CJ
Why enroll in THIS program?
⭐️ It was created by a librarian for library leaders, focusing on the skills and scenarios that library leaders experience
⭐️ Intentionally designed to optimize building new leadership habits
⭐️ The approach and skills are grounded in coaching as defined by the International Coaching Federation
⭐️ Participants put these skills into practice and receive constructive feedback, improving their effectiveness in using these skills with their teams
One of the critiques of other programs to help managers develop a coaching approach is that it’s a lot easier to talk about it than to actually put it into practice.
So we start with discussions, but move into a structure for participants to practice actually using a coaching approach to help one another work through small challenges they’re facing.
“The skills learned apply to any leader. I’d also share that the cohort model is really great for allowing them to reflect on their own work context and get a better understanding of how to approach their leadership development, as well as the support and networking opportunities that the cohort provides.”
Ian
Who’s facilitating the program?
Hi, I’m Angela, a former librarian and an ICF-certified professional coach!
As a librarian, I focused on learning to use a critical pedagogy approach to teaching information literacy.
As I moved into leadership roles, I adapted the skills I built in the classroom. That focus on critical pedagogy influenced the way I facilitated meetings and the way I led my team.
And then, I learned about coaching. And that felt like the next step in my journey toward working to empower people.
Now I want to bring some of what I’ve learned as a professional coach back to support library leaders in building healthier workplaces that empower instead of burning out their workers.
How do I apply?
1️⃣ Complete the registration form.
2️⃣ Once notified of acceptance, either pay by credit card or receive an invoice to submit to your admins for payment.
Tuition
Pay in your local currency with adaptive pricing provided by Stripe.
Early bird rate
Pay in full by May 15
$1800 USD
Regular rate
Payment due by July 15
$2150 USD
Take your learning to the next level
Experiencing individual coaching while learning about how to coach others can enhance your learning and help you be more effective in using these new skills.
As a participant in this program, you have the opportunity to add on 4 months of individual coaching at a significantly discounted rate.
✅ 8 sessions, 45-60 minutes each
This coaching can focus on unique challenges that you’re dealing with, like:
- Struggling to manage conflict between members of your team
- Employee retention issues
- Being completely overwhelmed by a team that comes to you to solve every tiny detail for them so that you barely have any time for your own work
- Leadership development goals beyond those directly addressed in the program
Price: $1500
Payment may be combined with payment for the group training or paid separately.
This discounted price is available until the group program is 25% completed.
Full testimonials
So much of this program was valuable to me! I found it particularly useful to be able to practice using a coaching approach and to get feedback on that in a supportive environment. It was also really affirming to hear that others are struggling with some of the same management challenges that I face. Being a manager can feel really isolating and it can be hard to get support within my own institution, so having this group of like-minded managers to share with was extremely valuable to me.
I would tell a colleague to absolutely sign up for this if they were interested in developing their skills as a manager or leader. This program helped me develop my active listening skills, be less reactive and more reflective, and to feel less overwhelmed as a manager with a large number of direct reports.
~Jenny Dale, Department Head
Participating in this cohort program was transformative. The small, intimate cohort fostered valuable connections, allowing us to openly share frustrations and best practices as we navigated the complexities of adopting a coaching mindset as leaders in academic libraries.
In addition to Angela’s curation of the rich array of tools, skills, speaking prompts, and extensive resources—ranging from articles to podcasts—what truly stood out was the personal growth I experienced with my cohort. I developed more of my unique approach to leadership, rooted in coaching principles. The program emphasized the precise definition and value of adopting a coaching mindset. It equipped me with the skills to ask powerful, open-ended questions that drive professional (and personal) development for myself and others. I learned that developing a coaching approach requires the knowledge that working with others in this way is a live, dynamic, reciprocal relationship that requires time, attention, intentionality, and care.
This class is invaluable if you’re seeking practical, hands-on experience in coaching peers. You’ll leave the course with enhanced tangible skills and more of the confidence needed to thrive as a coaching leader. Since completing the program, I’ve become more adept at asking insightful coaching questions during 1:1s with my direct reports, managing up more effectively, and becoming more self-aware when old habits surface – such as giving advice instead of facilitating reflection to make space for others to resolve issues. Angela’s approach is an excellent balance of asking challenging questions, while maintaining an approachable style. She’s instrumental in helping you elevate your leadership skills while having fun.
~ Lorin Jackson, Assistant Director and Professor
The most valuable aspects of [this program] have been learning practical inquiry-based techniques and connecting with a supportive cohort of library leaders. Your program showed me how to help team members develop their own solutions rather than me giving them immediate solutions. This approach integrates well with my servant leadership style.
What would you tell a colleague who is considering signing up for this program about your experience and the value you got from the program?
I would tell them this would be a great way to start their leadership professional development journey. The skills learned apply to any leader. I’d also share that the cohort model is really great for allowing them to reflect on their own work context and get a better understanding of how to approach their leadership development, as well as the support and networking opportunities that the cohort provides.
~ Ian Coronado, Dean
It was very practical. I appreciated the definitions and different models presented. The chance to have hands-on practice in class and discuss our successes and struggles in the real world was very helpful.
This course strengthened my ability to manage managers, in particular helping them develop through finding their own way of doing things, rather than suggesting my way.
~ Public Library Administrator
I particularly appreciate the small group setting, which has significantly enhanced the learning experience by making it easier to engage in productive conversations and practice new skills in a supportive environment. Connecting with other leaders and sharing insights has been invaluable in building my own coaching habits. The peer learning aspect of the program has offered diverse perspectives and practical strategies that have enriched my journey towards becoming a more effective and empowering leader.
Angela’s guidance on practicing active listening and embracing curiosity has significantly altered my approach to leadership to help build a more empowered and collaborative team environment. The program’s focus on enabling us to facilitate growth within our teams, rather than providing direct answers, has changed how I interact with my team and deepened my understanding of my role as a facilitator of their professional development. This course also encourages me to reflect on my default behaviors that may hinder progress towards my leadership goals.
~CJ Ivory, Interim Dean
More FAQs
Can this count as professional development?
Yes! Past participants have used professional development funding from their employer to pay for their enrollment.
Here is a one page pdf to help you make the case for your employer to approve funding.
What forms of payment do you accept?
I accept payment by credit card or direct deposit, no paper checks.
I also accept electronic transfers in British Pounds and Euros. We can do the exchange rate math when payments are due.
What is the refund policy?
I don’t offer refunds on this program unless something truly out of your control prevents you from participating. In that case, I will offer you the choice of rescheduling to join a later cohort or receiving a refund of the purchase price minus payment processing fees, available until the date of your cohort’s first meeting.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me to discuss them before you enroll. I’m happy to discuss the program via email or video chat.
Will this program lead to any sort of certification?
No. This program focuses on adapting a coaching mindset and using some core coaching skills to become a more effective leader, but it is NOT a formal coach training program and will not lead to any sort of formal certification.
“Angela’s guidance on practicing active listening and embracing curiosity has significantly altered my approach to leadership to help build a more empowered and collaborative team environment.”
CJ