Our Coaching Philosophy

RemoteU has a unique coaching approach and we'd like to explain it to you.

Before we begin though, I'd like to point out that this coaching framework has two purposes. First, it will provide context for the type of coaching you are about to receive a lot of. And second, it paints the picture of the type of coach we hope you become.

We will challenge you
We will show you how to do it
Everyone needs coaching

1. Our coaching approach is unique because we focus on making students aware of where they are falling short.

"A coach can be measured on two fundamental dimensions: challenge and support. In my sample of roughly 200 coaches, the vast majority are an 8 or 9 on support, and a 3 or 4 on challenge. I suspect the same dominant phenotype is found among therapists and shrinks. What distinguishes Waitzkin and the handful of the other extraordinary coaches I’ve encountered is they are a “10” on support AND a “10” on challenge. When you interact with a coach in this category, it’s like a really good emotional and mental work-out — they’re pushing you hard, in a loving way." (Graham Duncan)

We are your outside eyes and ears

"Élite performers, researchers say, must engage in “deliberate practice”—sustained, mindful efforts to develop the full range of abilities that success requires. You have to work at what you’re not good at. In theory, people can do this themselves. But most people do not know where to start or how to proceed. Expertise, as the formula goes, requires going from unconscious incompetence to conscious incompetence to conscious competence and finally to unconscious competence. The coach provides the outside eyes and ears, and makes you aware of where you’re falling short. This is tricky. Human beings resist exposure and critique; our brains are well defended. So coaches use a variety of approaches—showing what other, respected colleagues do, for instance, or reviewing videos of the subject’s performance. The most common, however, is just conversation." (Atul Guwande)

2. Our coaching approach is unique because we show you how to do it

Most "coaches" or managers who say their coach really just put pressure on their team. We expect managers to be domain experts

"It’s teaching with a trendier name. Coaching aimed at improving the performance of people who are already professionals is less usual. It’s also riskier: bad coaching can make people worse." (Atul Guwande)

"There was a moment in sports when employing a coach was unimaginable—and then came a time when not doing so was unimaginable. We care about results in sports, and if we care half as much about results in schools and in hospitals we may reach the same conclusion." (Atul Guwande)