The Art of Coaching Teams: Building Resilient Communities That Transform Schools

The Challenge It Addresses

Leading a team is one of the most challenging roles in education. You are expected to facilitate collaboration, drive results, and build a positive culture—all without a formal playbook. The Art of Coaching Teams addresses this exact gap: it is the manual you never received when you signed on to lead a team. Whether you are a new instructional coach, a veteran principal, or a teacher leader, this book provides the concrete, actionable framework you need to transform a group of individuals into a resilient, high-functioning team.

About The Art of Coaching Teams: Building Resilient Communities That Transform Schools

The Art of Coaching Teams, by Elena Aguilar, is a comprehensive guide to building and leading teams in educational settings. Published by Jossey-Bass in 2016 as a First Edition, this book moves beyond theory to deliver practical strategies for every stage of team development. It covers designing effective agendas, facilitating productive meetings, navigating conflict, and fostering a culture of trust and collaboration. The core premise is that strong teams are the engine of school improvement—and that team leadership is a skill that can be learned and refined.

Elena Aguilar brings decades of experience as a coach, consultant, and author to this work. Her previous book, The Art of Coaching, has become a staple in schools nationwide, and this companion volume extends those principles to the team context. The book is structured to be used as a reference: you can read it cover-to-cover or jump directly to the chapter that addresses your current challenge.

Who Will Benefit Most

This book is written for anyone who leads or supports teams in schools. Its primary audience includes:

• Instructional coaches who facilitate grade-level or department teams
• School principals and assistant principals responsible for building leadership capacity
• Teacher leaders who chair committees or lead professional learning communities
• District administrators designing professional development for team leaders
• Consultants and external coaches working with school teams

If you have ever felt frustrated by unproductive meetings, unclear roles, or low trust on a team you lead, this book is for you. It is equally valuable for new leaders seeking a foundational framework and for experienced leaders looking to refine their facilitation skills.

What You Will Learn

The Art of Coaching Teams delivers a complete toolkit for team leadership. Here are the core competencies you will develop:

• How to design agendas that focus on outcomes, honor time, and engage all participants
• How to make decisions using clear, inclusive processes that build commitment
• How to establish effective protocols for collaboration, problem-solving, and reflection
• How to boost your own resilience as a leader so you can sustain your energy and effectiveness
• How to navigate conflict productively and strengthen relationships on your team
• How to build trust and psychological safety so that team members take risks and share openly
• How to create a shared vision and align team goals with school improvement priorities

Each chapter includes concrete examples, templates, and reflection prompts that bridge theory and practice. You will finish the book not just with new ideas, but with a plan for implementation.

Why This Book Stands Out

Most books on team leadership are either too theoretical or too generic. The Art of Coaching Teams stands apart because it is rooted in the specific realities of schools. Elena Aguilar understands the pressures educators face: limited time, competing priorities, and the emotional weight of the work. Her strategies are designed to work within those constraints, not add to them.

Competing titles often focus on corporate team models that do not translate to education. Others offer a single tool or technique without a cohesive framework. This book provides both a comprehensive system and detailed, step-by-step guidance. It also addresses the often-overlooked dimension of leader resilience—acknowledging that you cannot build strong teams if you are running on empty.

The book is also highly practical. It includes reproducible templates for agendas, protocols, and planning tools that you can use immediately. This is not a book you read and set aside; it is a resource you will return to throughout the school year.

Who Wrote This Book

Elena Aguilar is one of the most respected voices in coaching and school leadership. She is the founder of Bright Morning Consulting, a firm that provides coaching and professional development to educators worldwide. Her first book, The Art of Coaching, has been widely adopted by schools and universities and is frequently cited in the field of instructional coaching. She brings a rare combination of deep practical experience and a clear, accessible writing style.

The publisher, Jossey-Bass, is an imprint of Wiley that specializes in education, leadership, and professional development. Jossey-Bass has a long history of publishing influential works by leading practitioners and researchers. This institutional backing adds a layer of quality assurance and credibility to the content.

When you choose this book, you are learning from a proven expert and a trusted publisher. The strategies in these pages have been tested in hundreds of schools and refined over years of practice.

Final Assessment

Yes. If you lead teams in an educational context, this book is an essential investment. It will save you hours of trial and error by giving you a clear, research-informed approach to team facilitation. The tools and templates alone are worth the price—they will improve your meetings, your relationships, and your results from the first week.

The book is particularly valuable for instructional coaches who are expected to lead teams but rarely receive training in how to do so effectively. It fills a critical gap in professional development and provides a shared language and framework that teams can adopt together.

We recommend reading it with your team or with a group of fellow leaders. The reflection prompts and protocols are designed for collaborative learning, and the book’s structure supports ongoing use as a reference.

Download The Art of Coaching Teams: Building Resilient Communities That Transform Schools Now

You already know that strong teams are the key to school transformation. Now you have the manual to build them. Order your copy of The Art of Coaching Teams today and start leading with the clarity, skill, and resilience that your team deserves. This First Edition from Jossey-Bass is the definitive guide for educators who are ready to move from surviving to thriving in their team leadership role. Add to cart now and take the first step toward building a truly resilient community.