What is Blended Learning?

Blended learning is a style of education in which participants learn using electronic and online media as well as traditional face-to-face teaching. Coach2Lead integrates both online modules as well as in-person interactions.

“It’s easier to act your way into a new way of thinking, than think your way into a new way of acting.”
 ~ Jerry Sternin

Adopting a coaching mindset and learning how to coach people to their own best solutions is a skill best learned through a blended learning approach.

This approach also fits the busy schedules of working executives, who learn best when skills are immediately applicable to their everyday challenges and activities. That’s why we designed Coach2Lead using a blended learning format, in a series of structured learning modules that include critical content, structured practice, personal reflection, and on-the-job application.

Listed below are the elements of the program and how they are meant to work together to enable an entirely new approach to lead others.

Recorded Online Learning Modules

All of the content necessary to learn the performance coaching approach has been captured on video and placed online in a state-of-the-art e-learning platform. This enables self-paced anytime, anywhere access for today’s busy executive. This also enables unlimited review and “make-up” review if live elements of the program are missed. For more on the benefits of this feature, see our description of our e-learning environment and the benefits of “flipped classroom” learning.

Live Learning PowerPoint Modules

Some organizations prefer live, face-to-face training, so we also include fully editable PowerPoint presentations with complete instructor notes that we used to create the online module in the event you want to teach all or part of the program live. You can use the PowerPoint’s to kick-off the program at a live event or executive retreat, or choose live in-person or virtual formats if that best suits your audience.

Interactive Field Guides

Each of the core modules comes with an interactive participant Field Guide that is meant to serve as a personal diary documenting the performance coaching journey. Committing reflections by writing them out, is an adult learning best practice that speeds learning and helps leaders integrate new behaviors into their primary leadership style. The field guides encourage participants to save a personal record of their growth and learning as a performance coach, developer of people, and progress towards becoming an inspiring career coach.

Facilitated Practice Session PowerPoints

The coaching mindset is acquired and performance coaching skills are learned through practice and application. That’s why Coach2Lead has three blended learning components focused on putting coaching skills to the test of application in the real world. One of these components is supervised practice sessions that have participants immediately begin applying each of the core content modules in real-play coaching dialog with fellow learners. Designed for easy facilitation, these structured sessions provide safe, supervised practice and opportunities for group reflection & sharing – where real learning and behavior change occurs in a fun, safe and challenging environment.

On-The-Job Practice and Learning Assignments (Fieldwork)

Every Coach2Lead module includes assigned fieldwork that challenges participants to begin putting what they have just learned into practice in the real world.

This component is about immediately making a difference on the job, putting new questioning and listening skills to work through performance coaching. Greater self-awareness and new behaviors begin to take hold as leaders resist old habits of telling people what to do and instead coach them to their own best solutions. The fieldwork is designed to help leaders new to coaching experience the benefits of coaching while they are still learning their coaching skills. This immediate application is what helps leaders quickly adopt the coaching mindset, as they begin seeing the impact of developing the thinking of their people. 

Coaching Practice Buddy Structure

The 3rd practice component in Coach2Lead is the peer-to-peer buddy practice coaching structure.  All participants are assigned one or two coaching buddies with whom they share their journey of learning to coach as a leadership skill. This is about safe learning together in self-supervised practice sessions.

It is easiest to learn & practice performance coaching with a buddy or two. Each Coach2Lead module includes suggested dyad or triad work between facilitated sessions to practice skills, share insights and challenges, and practice the art of performance coaching with others who have that same goal.

Other Coaching Resources & Links

Coach2Lead learning modules contain the essential information needed to learn performance coaching. They are designed to create efficient change in both mindset and behavior, and the entire program is designed to create this leadership transformation in as little time as possible.

However, coaching as a leadership skill is a rich topic, and there are many wonderful resources to be explored once you are committed to developing yourself as a leader who coaches others. That’s why we include additional resource links within each module: whitepapers, websites, blogs, books, videos, TED talks, and similar resources devoted to performance coaching.

Developing others through coaching is a lifelong learning process and practice, and we encourage Coach2Lead graduates to explore the many enrichment opportunities available to them.