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Coaching for Water Resilience�Empowering Ag Advisors to �Partner with Small Scale Growers�11.21.24

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Listen – Observe – Practice

Intros and Context

Role of a Coach

Coaching Tools Overview

Coaching Tools Demo

Coaching Tools Practice

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Rethinking Ag Technical Assistance

  • Conventional paradigm:
    • TA provider as expert
    • Role of TA provider is to provide information and solve problems
    • Role of producer is to accept information and solutions provided

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Challenges with the Current Paradigm

  • TA providers feel pressure to be experts
  • TA providers feel disempowered to provide support in areas where they lack expertise
  • TA providers feel responsible for producer success
  • Promotes “one size-fits all” solutions
  • Not meeting producer needs

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Producer Perspectives

“Technical assistance providers . . . are dismissive. They don’t believe you can succeed or in what you do.”

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“Some technical assistance providers don’t see themselves as service providers; they see themselves as gatekeepers. They don’t approach their work from the ‘I’ll meet you where you are at’ point of view.”

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“Technical assistance providers need to care about their jobs. Take time to ask questions and learn about the farmer - humanize the situation.”� 

“I wish technical assistance providers would see themselves as care workers or case workers.” �

“The only difference between the technical assistance provider and the farmer is power. Technical assistance providers have to be an extension of the farmer.”�

“Folks are looking for a hand in, not a hand out. Just asking for an open door: Can you help unlock the door?”

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“Be prepared to be honest and vulnerable. You don’t have to know all the answers.”

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What if We Shift the Paradigm?

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Embracing the TA Provider’s Many “Hats”

Coaching

Mentoring

Informing

Advocacy

Less Active Role

Directive Role

Facilitative Role

More Active Role

Coach

  • More facilitative and less active in decision making and action

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Information/Resource Provider

  • More directive and less active in decision making and action

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Mentor

  • More facilitative and more active in decision making and action

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Advocate

  • More directive and more active in decision making and action

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Coaching Principles

  • The coachee is a capable and resourceful individual
  • The coach’s goal is to foster resilience and self-reliance help the coachee identify their �sense of control

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Core Coaching Tools

CONSTRUCTING A MAP

REFLECTIVE LISTENING

COACHING QUESTIONS

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Constructing a Map

X

X

Current Location

Destination

Barriers

Landmarks

Celebration

A

B

C

Barriers

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Construct a Map

  1. Enter your ‘Current Location’ (Where are you now?)
  2. Enter your ‘Desired Destination’ (Where do you want to get to?)
  3. Identify Possible Routes (What are 3 possible actions you can take to get to where you want to be?)
  4. Evaluate Pathways (What happen if you did ___?)
  5. Support Durability and Accountability (How will you know you are heading in the right direction? Let’s touch base in 2 weeks.)

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Reflective Listening

Level 1: Organizing Content

Level 2: Identifying Underlying Interests, Motivations and Meaning

Level 3: Full Body Intuition

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Coaching Questions – Getting Curious

  • Questions prompt us to explore and seek answers or clarity
  • As a coach, just being curious is often enough
  • Help them map out a path
  • If at first you don’t succeed . . . try a different question

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“I am curious to know…”

“Tell me more about…”

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“I have no special talent, I am only passionately curious.”

- Albert Einstein

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Perspective Changing Questions

Time Bound Questions

Future-oriented

- “If everything worked out, where would you be a year from now?”

Past-oriented

- “How have you dealt with similar situations?”

Third-Person Questions

Be the advisor

- “If I were dealing with this situation, what advice would you give me?”

Bring in other perspectives

- “What advice do you think your _____ would give you on this?”

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Macro vs Micro Questioning

In the Weeds Questions (Micro)

Breakdown labels

- “When you say you want to succeed, what does success look like to you?”

Action planning

- “How would you go about starting out?”

In the Trees Questions (Macro)

Label the issue

- “If you were to oversimplify the issue, how would you describe it?”

Get out of the moment

- “How does this relate to your larger goal?”

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Coaching Mindset

Consider Consent

Check Internal Dialogue

Be Curious*

High Ask, Low Tell

Partner, not a solver

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Coaching and Institutional / Systemic Barriers

  1. Validate barriers and challenges
  2. Help sort for in control and not in control – “What do you have control of in this situation?”
  3. Coach on items / issues / goals that are within control

…and advocate or find resources for items / issues / goals not within control

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Putting it Together:�Coaching Tools Demo

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Practice in �Small Groups

In your groups of 3:

  1. Choose roles
    • Coach
    • Coachee
    • Observer
  2. Practice coaching for ~10 minutes
    • Coachee provides question/problem
    • Refer to coaching tools handout for ideas
  3. Debrief for ~ 2 minutes
  4. Switch roles and repeat 1x