The Anti-Jinx

Sure enough, if I whine and complain about something it turns out AWESOME! The Coaching program last night went extremely well and was actually fun!

It was held in a hall with a bunch of round tables with linens and a catered dinner. Each table was assigned to each group of coaches. My group of coaches was very cool. I had two classmates, one guy and one woman. There were three other alumni coaches. One works for the state, one is a professor, and one is in corporate acquisitions. The professor and I hit it off like gang-busters. Granted, he got his degree the year I was born but I'm multi-generationally friendly. The dinner was yummy with a pseudo Thanksgiving theme complete with pumpkin pie. I was very proud of myself - I loaded up on veggies with a bit of meat and skipped the pie. The guy classmate and I had fun chatting. We've had a class together before plus he's kind of cute (sadly he's married). The woman classmate was very aloof and distant. I couldn't get a good read on her. Each group has 5 coaches and 1 coordinator. Our coordinator was the state employee guy. Orientation was conducted during dinner and was a complete snoozefest reiteration. I took that time to go through my packet of forms.

Finally, we went set out to our assigned class-room to meet our students. I was assigned to observe a guy. The students have an hour to read 3 short cases and discuss solutions. We observe how they interact as a team with our focus on how to help our assigned student. My guy turned out to be the team bulldozer, trying to lead but not listening to people and only supporting his own idea. It's funny how you wind up cheering for the student you're assigned. I wasn't cheering, I was cringing and shaking my head. I was happy I had a lot to work with because I have NO idea how to coach a team member who doesn't speak. There was another guy who was the perfect team member and I completely wanted to swap students. But noo the Professor was assigned to observe him.

Then, the coaches left and met to discuss our impressions. I had a lot of tips and critiques passed along for my guy. Finally, around 10pm, we have one on one coaching sessions with our students. This was actually a lot of fun. We have a lot in common and he took my feedback seriously with no defensiveness. Plus, we have the same sense of humor and taste in TV. He's a good guy who is close to his family and hasn't encountered a situation where he'll have to modify his behavior. That time is fast approaching since he's a Junior, though! In the end, we had a good laugh and I gave him my business card. Oh yeah, the paper I have to write? It's just 2 pages. I finished it this morning. No more complaints from this corner.