Leadership Training Institute Coaching Model

The LTI offers trainees a series of unique coaching opportunities both during and after the in-person Institute. The term “coaching” is used rather than “mentoring” in order to be more inclusive of the variety of advice-giving relationships needed across the career life span. Mentoring typically connotes an intensive, long-term relationship with considerable time and personal commitment on both parts. Coaching encompasses both brief, targeted discussions regarding specific areas of concern (personal, professional, practical) as well as longer, collaborative relationships.

Trainees will receive four distinct forms of coaching through the LTI:

(1) Open Coaching Sessions

During the in-person Institute, trainees will participate with LTI faculty via one-to-one and small group open coaching sessions. Discussion during these sessions will be open-ended with no set agenda or script. These are excellent opportunities for networking and building rapport with LTI faculty.

(2) Experiential Coaching Sessions

During the in-person Institute, trainees will participate with LTI faculty via one-to-one and small group experiential coaching sessions. Discussion during these sessions will focus on specific topics, including exercises for practice and feedback. The specific topics covered during these sessions will be based on trainee preferences and requests. Some examples of possible topics include:
  • Job interview & CV
  • Contacting a funder
  • Negotiating a workplace contract
  • Grant application review
  • Presentation skills
  • Preparing your tenure case
  • Conflict management
  • Hiring or managing staff

(3) On-going Coaching Sessions

Following the in-person Institute coaching experiences, each trainee will be paired with one LTI faculty member based on mutual preferences. Each coaching pair will meet with one another (via phone or in person) a minimum of one time every three months for a year (i.e., 4 meetings).

(4) Ask-An-Expert

For the one year following the in-person Institute, trainees will be able to ask the advice of all LTI faculty via the website's Ask-An-Expert service. Faculty are listed on the website with their particular areas of expertise (e.g., IRB, HR, grant funding, networking) about which they are willing to respond to emailed questions. Trainees can email specific questions in the listed areas of expertise through the website's Ask-An-Expert service. Faculty responses to questions are sent to the trainee as well as LTI staff. If LTI staff feel the Q&A is applicable to a broader audience, it is included in an anonymous, searchable archive on the website for all trainees and faculty to access.

Once a trainee is accepted into the 2008 LTI, the following coaching activities will occur:

Before the LTI:

Matching trainees with coaches
  • Trainees rank order faculty in terms of preference for one-to-one meetings
  • Faculty rank order trainees in terms of preference for one-to-one meetings
  • LTI staff make pairings and set up the schedule for one-to-one meetings to occur during the LTI
  • Trainees rank order which experiential exercises are of greatest interest to them

During the LTI:

Open coaching sessions
  • Occur during lunch
  • Trainees and faculty meet in matched pairs or small groups (based on pre-LTI rankings by faculty and trainees)
  • Trainees participate in a total of 1-2 open coaching sessions (each with a different faculty member)
Experiential coaching sessions
  • During allotted times
  • Trainees and faculty meet in matched pairs (based on pre-LTI rankings by faculty and trainees)
  • Trainees participate in a total of 2-3 experiential coaching sessions (each with a different faculty member)
  • LTI staff provide scripts ahead of time for role plays/exercises, as needed
  • Specific topics follow temporally close to a related presentation, if possible (e.g., a coaching session reviewing the trainee's CV after a presentation about how to write a good CV)
Evaluation
  • At the end of the LTI, trainees and faculty rate their one-to-one experiences

Following the LTI:

LTI staff review trainee and faculty ratings of their one-to-one experiences and form matched pairs

Each trainee-faculty pair meet with one another (via phone or in person) a minimum of one time every three months for a year (i.e., 4 meetings)

Faculty and trainees will communicate via the Ask-An-Expert website service beginning in January