Transformative Coaching for Faculty and Staff in Higher Education

What if the most transformative tool in higher education isn’t another initiative, but a better question? This compelling volume shows how coaching—rooted in deep listening, presence, and curiosity—can unlock meaningful change across our campuses. Whether you’re an experienced or new coach in academic leadership, educational development, or career services, you’ll find fresh insights for supporting growth, navigating conflict, and cultivating more humane, effective institutions. More than a manual, this rich collection offers invitations to rethink how we lead, how we support others, and how we show up—in our institutions and in ourselves.

Michael Palmer, Professor & Barbara Fried Director, Center for Teaching Excellence, University of Virginia, USA

This book felt like a conversation I’ve been waiting to have. It brings together many thoughtful voices, people who know higher education from the inside, and offers practical insights into how coaching can support real, systemic change.

I appreciated the recognition of how coaching already lives in our day-to-day work across higher education, and found the chapter on educational development especially resonant given my own experience working with faculty.

Throughout the volume, the writing is clear and grounded, with welcome attention to ethical practice, equity, and sustainability.
Whether you are just starting out or well into the work, you will find something valuable here.

Isabeau Iqbal, Senior Educational Developer, Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, University of British Columbia, Canada; Professional Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation

What a joy to see the publication of this book and the timing couldn’t be better! This edited volume will find welcome readers among faculty, staff, and leaders at colleges and universities. The authors demystify coaching and share the myriad ways in which the practice has the potential to not only transform the lives of individual faculty and staff members but to also transform academia and humanize the work that we do. Never has there been a more crucial period in higher education for making the case for coaching.

Mary L. Churchill, Associate Dean and Professor of the Practice, Boston University, USA

Transformative Coaching provides a comprehensive set of tools helpful to higher ed professionals across a range of faculty and staff roles and responsibilities. Chapter authors provide a complex and nuanced understanding of challenges and opportunities for coaching in the contexts of higher ed. The book offers guidance for those new to coaching as well as those looking to deepen their approaches to coaching faculty, staff, or student colleagues. Whether readers focus on key chapters or read cover to cover (highly recommended), they will find thoughtful explorations of the skills, frameworks, and mindsets that make powerful coaching experiences possible.

Deandra Little, Associate Provost of Faculty Affairs and Professor of English, Elon University, USA