HANNAH GOLAMGOUSE-TORAUB, INDUCTION TUTOR, NORTH LONDON SECONDARY SCHOOL AND SENIOR LECTURER IN TEACHER EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON, UK
ANIQA KHALIQ, SENIOR LECTURER IN TEACHER EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON, UK
Introduction
Professional development target-setting, embedded in annual reviews and appraisals, alongside coaching and mentoring, can encourage conversations and actions that support personal growth and career progression (Tariq and Syed, 2017). Coaching can offer vital support, visibility and validation, particularly for employees from marginalised communities, who often face systemic barriers to advancement (Otaye-Ebede and Shaffakat, 2024), helping individuals to navigate complex institutional cultures. Showunmi et al. (2015) have shown how ethnicity, gender and class intersect in British women’s leadership experiences, evidencing that ethnic minority women report fewer opportunities, limited access to networks and reduced prospects for promotion, requiring additional support to overcome systemic barriers. Marginalisation is often compounded by limited awareness of informal organisational dynamics and exclusion from networks essential for progression (Wyatt and Silvester, 2015), indicating that advancement depends not only on performance but also on navigating unspoken systems of power (Arday, 2018).
This case study examines the use of the REGROW coaching model (Grant, 2011) in supporting professional advancement. The REGROW model builds on the GROW (Goal, Reality, Options, Way forward) coaching model, developed by John Whitmore (1992) and colleagues, by adding in Review and Evaluation phases to the process (Grant, 2011). These opportunities for reflection enable individuals to recognise key strengths and successes (Moon, 2006), nurture intrinsic motivation and commitment to personal growth (Whitmore, 2017) and develop a sense of personal agency (Whitmore, 1992), resulting in continuous development, enhanced motivation and job satisfaction.
When analysing the use of coaching within the workplace, Whitmore (2017) and Grant (2011) suggest that setting specific and actionable goals can boost motivation and a sense of purpose. To ensure that this takes place, opportunities to reflect on current positions and discuss barriers and challenges to progression are embedded within coaching conversations, and steps to achieve goals are created (Brockbank and McGill, 2012). This creates increased self-awareness – a precursor to meaningful change – and the ability to explore strategies for overcoming challenges, fostering autonomy and empowerment (Clutterbuck et al., 2014) and envisioning positive changes in current roles in a safe, non-judgmental space (Brockbank and McGill, 2012; Kraft et al., 2018). The coaching process, embedded with opportunities for reflection, enables an analysis of setbacks as part of the learning process, rather than as personal or professional failure, and encourages practising self-compassion, helping to build resilience and break negative thought patterns.
Aims
- To evaluate the impact of using the REGROW coaching model in supporting progression
- To create a sense of belonging and equity through the use of coaching conversations.
Methodology
As an assessor for AdvanceHE fellowship applications, I (Aniqa) am frequently approached by staff seeking guidance. In summer 2023, five staff members requested support with their fellowship applications, but the three ethnic minority staff members also sought advice on strategies for career progression. Further conversations revealed disparities in knowledge of professional networks, the training available and developmental opportunities.
To address this, one-to-one coaching sessions using the following six-step REGROW model structure (Grant, 2011) were set up for each member of staff:
- REGROW Step 1: Reflect on progress to date and set the focus for the coaching session
- REGROW Step 2: Discuss the current opportunities available and any challenges faced
- REGROW Step 3: Explore options available towards progression within professional development goals or personal development
- REGROW Step 4: Support the decision-making process of next steps towards set focus
- REGROW Step 5: Reflect on additional support that may be needed to meet goals or other set objectives
- REGROW Step 6: Evaluate.
The focus of these sessions was to reflect critically on personal development, use coaching conversations to navigate barriers or challenges, and explore pathways to career progression and development. Staff were encouraged to critically reflect on and evaluate prior experiences that were informing or influencing decision-making, and open-ended questioning was used to draw out alternative options or solutions where barriers existed. The coaching sessions took place online, providing a safe space in which to discuss developments and challenges faced. Coaching conversations were used to probe, explore and discuss plans and ideas, and any assumptions, strengths or weaknesses shared were explored in further detail, through open-ended questioning on how these could be challenged or used to further support progress.
Impact
The REGROW coaching model was used with all five members of staff during the last academic year and resulted in renewed motivation for professional and personal growth, a realignment of career pathways to fulfil aspirations, a sense of belonging and increased engagement with internal and external networks for career progression and the development of research profiles.
Hannah shared written reflections on how these coaching sessions impacted her:
“My journey into higher education [HE] began in 2008, when I took on roles as an hourly paid lecturer across several institutions. Over the next 15 years, I navigated the often-unpredictable landscape of academia – an experience marked by many moments of uncertainty, self-doubt and the quiet, recurring question: “Am I really good enough?” Despite the challenges, one constant remained – a coach who, though initially not formally assigned, was always there. Their guidance played a vital role in shaping not only my professional development but also my sense of identity within the academic community. They offered encouragement when I needed it most, helped me reflect critically on my practice, and gently challenged the limiting beliefs that held me back – support that was instrumental in helping me move from feeling like an outsider to recognising my place (and potential) within the sector.
Having secured a part-time senior lecturer role in HE, these coaching sessions were formalised and adopted the REGROW model as the coaching framework to help navigate my career journey in HE. These sessions made space for open-ended questioning, gentle challenge and self-reflection and were instrumental in reframing limiting beliefs and recognising the value of prior experiences, leading to securing a full-time permanent position at the university and a course leadership role. This process not only supported progression into leadership roles but also demonstrated the transformative potential of coaching on career progression when applied with intentionality.
The coaching sessions didn’t focus on providing solutions but instead encouraged reflective dialogue. For example, when I hesitated to apply for a course leadership role, convinced that I lacked the necessary experience, instead of being persuaded otherwise, I was asked, “What would being ready for this role look like to you?” and “What experience do you already have that aligns with those expectations?” The coaching conversations used encouraged me to pause and reassess my own narrative and acknowledge the wide range of experiences I had overlooked, such as 25 years of teaching, experience as an assistant head and induction tutor, leading professional development training, mentoring trainee teachers and working with partner institutions in curriculum design.”
Hannah Golamgouse-Toraub
The success of the REGROW coaching model and the profound impact that it had on Hannah’s development led to adopting the model as part of her own professional practice as a teacher, teacher educator and colleague.
She has since embedded the REGROW model to support the professional development of school staff, using coaching conversations to open dialogue for overcoming perceived barriers and to help to set purposeful goals in support of applications for successful career advancement. Coaching conversations are used to draw out formal and informal experiences of leadership already gained in other roles, supporting staff to recognise transferable skills that they have, and regular reflections and evaluations enable staff to develop self-confidence and map out actionable goals in self-development.
Hannah also uses the REGROW model within tutorials and in placement visits for goal-setting and reflective discussions around classroom practice and observation feedback with trainee teachers. She has created an environment where learners are able to navigate positive and challenging feedback constructively and find ways in which to develop practical strategies for self-improvement. The reflective processes that have been implemented, alongside the coaching conversations used, have been captured in action plans, revisited in tutorials and evaluated through self-reflection and mentor feedback. This iterative process mirrors the coaching that was received and is now offered to support trainees to build confidence, develop autonomy and engage meaningfully with their professional journey.
Recommendations
What began as a solution for supporting staff in professional development has evolved into inclusive practices that foster growth among staff, students and peers. Embedding critical reflection within the REGROW model (Grant, 2011) has created opportunities for knowledge and skill development, while establishing safe spaces in which to navigate barriers and challenges in progressing towards leadership roles.
Recommendations to support inclusive access to leadership opportunities and career progression:
- Embed a reflective coaching model within professional development conversations to create space for staff to critically examine practice, assess impact of actions taken and identify barriers and challenges to progression.
- Co-create staff progression pathways, set purposeful goals and share knowledge of networks and training
- Use coaching conversations to enable deeper dialogue around behaviours and characteristics that influence progression, while offering diverse perspectives on the effectiveness of practice.
