While the expectations and challenges facing K–12 educational leaders are considerable and significantly increasing, the support they receive in training, leadership development, and ongoing support has been limited in range and relevance. Although Cognitive Coaching is not a leadership development program, per se, Cognitive Coaching is a model of coaching that has been highly regarded and frequently requested by administrators, teachers, consultants, and literacy coaches in K–12 education, and the components of this coaching model can serve as a basis for leadership development. Previous research about Cognitive Coaching has highlighted the benefits of Cognitive Coaching for students, teachers, administrators, and people in fields outside of teaching. This qualitative study, in the tradition of interpretative phenomenological analysis, focuses on the experiences and perceptions of five educational leaders both in being coached and in using Cognitive Coaching as part of their leadership practice. For these leaders, the story behind mastering the skill and not the concept includes engaging in what is simple but not easy, daring to be vulnerable, embracing service and authenticity, and leaning into the value practices of leading with a learning mindset, confident humility, self-awareness, mindfulness, and intentionality to align their behavior with their values. The findings indicate that Cognitive Coaching is about more than cognition; it is rooted in affect and values. Embracing vulnerability is foundational to Cognitive Coaching and leading as a Cognitive Coach. To get to daring vulnerability, Cognitive Coaching leaders need to be authentic and have service at the heart. Keywords: educational leader, Cognitive Coaching, leadership development, professional development, vulnerability, authenticity, service, affect, emotion, confident humility
","abstract_html":"<p>While the expectations and challenges facing K–12 educational leaders are considerable and significantly increasing, the support they receive in training, leadership development, and ongoing support has been limited in range and relevance. Although Cognitive Coaching is not a leadership development program, per se, Cognitive Coaching is a model of coaching that has been highly regarded and frequently requested by administrators, teachers, consultants, and literacy coaches in K–12 education, and the components of this coaching model can serve as a basis for leadership development. Previous research about Cognitive Coaching has highlighted the benefits of Cognitive Coaching for students, teachers, administrators, and people in fields outside of teaching. This qualitative study, in the tradition of interpretative phenomenological analysis, focuses on the experiences and perceptions of five educational leaders both in being coached and in using Cognitive Coaching as part of their leadership practice. For these leaders, the story behind mastering the skill and not the concept includes engaging in what is simple but not easy, daring to be vulnerable, embracing service and authenticity, and leaning into the value practices of leading with a learning mindset, confident humility, self-awareness, mindfulness, and intentionality to align their behavior with their values. The findings indicate that Cognitive Coaching is about more than cognition; it is rooted in affect and values. Embracing vulnerability is foundational to Cognitive Coaching and leading as a Cognitive Coach. To get to daring vulnerability, Cognitive Coaching leaders need to be authentic and have service at the heart. Keywords: educational leader, Cognitive Coaching, leadership development, professional development, vulnerability, authenticity, service, affect, emotion, confident humility</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Pavlock, Kimberly Coupe"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Leadership and Counseling","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["David Anderson, EdD","Mary Bair, PhD","W. Douglas Baker, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:47Z","subjects":["educational leader","Cognitive Coaching","leadership development","professional development","vulnerability","authenticity","service","affect","emotion","confident humility","Education","Educational Administration and Supervision","Educational Leadership"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1184","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["David Anderson, EdD","Mary Bair, PhD","W. 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Although Cognitive Coaching is not a leadership development program, per se, Cognitive Coaching is a model of coaching that has been highly regarded and frequently requested by administrators, teachers, consultants, and literacy coaches in K–12 education, and the components of this coaching model can serve as a basis for leadership development. Previous research about Cognitive Coaching has highlighted the benefits of Cognitive Coaching for students, teachers, administrators, and people in fields outside of teaching. This qualitative study, in the tradition of interpretative phenomenological analysis, focuses on the experiences and perceptions of five educational leaders both in being coached and in using Cognitive Coaching as part of their leadership practice. For these leaders, the story behind mastering the skill and not the concept includes engaging in what is simple but not easy, daring to be vulnerable, embracing service and authenticity, and leaning into the value practices of leading with a learning mindset, confident humility, self-awareness, mindfulness, and intentionality to align their behavior with their values. The findings indicate that Cognitive Coaching is about more than cognition; it is rooted in affect and values. Embracing vulnerability is foundational to Cognitive Coaching and leading as a Cognitive Coach. To get to daring vulnerability, Cognitive Coaching leaders need to be authentic and have service at the heart. Keywords: educational leader, Cognitive Coaching, leadership development, professional development, vulnerability, authenticity, service, affect, emotion, confident humility
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Getting to the heart of leading as a Cognitive Coach"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["David Anderson, EdD","Mary Bair, PhD","W. Douglas Baker, PhD"],"dc:creator":["Pavlock, Kimberly Coupe"],"dc:date.available":["2023-06-28T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["While the expectations and challenges facing K–12 educational leaders are considerable and significantly increasing, the support they receive in training, leadership development, and ongoing support has been limited in range and relevance. Although Cognitive Coaching is not a leadership development program, per se, Cognitive Coaching is a model of coaching that has been highly regarded and frequently requested by administrators, teachers, consultants, and literacy coaches in K–12 education, and the components of this coaching model can serve as a basis for leadership development. Previous research about Cognitive Coaching has highlighted the benefits of Cognitive Coaching for students, teachers, administrators, and people in fields outside of teaching. This qualitative study, in the tradition of interpretative phenomenological analysis, focuses on the experiences and perceptions of five educational leaders both in being coached and in using Cognitive Coaching as part of their leadership practice. For these leaders, the story behind mastering the skill and not the concept includes engaging in what is simple but not easy, daring to be vulnerable, embracing service and authenticity, and leaning into the value practices of leading with a learning mindset, confident humility, self-awareness, mindfulness, and intentionality to align their behavior with their values. The findings indicate that Cognitive Coaching is about more than cognition; it is rooted in affect and values. Embracing vulnerability is foundational to Cognitive Coaching and leading as a Cognitive Coach. To get to daring vulnerability, Cognitive Coaching leaders need to be authentic and have service at the heart. Keywords: educational leader, Cognitive Coaching, leadership development, professional development, vulnerability, authenticity, service, affect, emotion, confident humility
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1184"],"dc:subject":["educational leader","Cognitive Coaching","leadership development","professional development","vulnerability","authenticity","service","affect","emotion","confident humility","Education","Educational Administration and Supervision","Educational Leadership"],"dc:title":["Getting to the heart of leading as a Cognitive Coach"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Leadership and Counseling"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:47Z"}