Coaching Culture and the Four Types of Teachers with Nicole S. Turner, ep. 270

Some teachers resist coaching! Others lean in!
Why is that? What’s behind the difference?
In Episode 270, I sit down with my coaching BFF, Nicole S. Turner, to chat about coaching culture and the four types of teachers in schools.
Together, Nicole and I discuss what coaching culture is, why it matters, the biggest barriers that get in the way, and simple steps you can take to reach every teacher on your campus. You’ll learn how you can help shift the culture from “coaching is another thing” to “coaching is what we do here!”
Nicole shares tips for getting buy-in, clarifying your role, and working with teachers who are resistant or disengaged. You’ll learn strategies for addressing past trauma and negative experiences around coaching. Plus, Nicole discusses how to launch a coaching program and offers guiding questions for planning.
If you’ve ever wondered why teachers avoid you in the hallway or call you a “snitch” behind your back, this episode will flip your thinking and help you shift mindsets across your campus. Listen now!
Below are highlights from the episode!
Why Coaching Culture Matters
During the episode, we pull back the curtain and look at the deep-rooted reasons teachers don’t engage with coaching support. Nicole tells us the problem often isn’t resistant teachers. It’s teachers who don’t understand our role. They may also have been burned by past experiences, so they’re guarding themselves.
That’s why Nicole keeps two quotes close when she’s working with a school to build a coaching culture:
“Coaching is a support system, not a person.”
“Coaching shouldn’t be another thing. It should be the way we do the work.”
Nicole says that when coaching is viewed from this lens, teachers start to be more receptive to coaching because they understand the role and what coaches do on campus. This clarity reduces resistance, but ultimately it’s the coaching culture that leads teachers to feel a sense of partnership! Teachers begin to say, “That’s my coach, we do coaching, and this is what we do!”
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It includes forms, templates, and everything you need to get organized for instructional coaching! Coach teachers and document your coaching work with these printable and editable tools. Grab the Instructional Coach Binder Megapack in my TpT Store!
The Four Types of Educators and Instructional Coaching
You can’t shift the culture unless you know who your audience is: their history, trauma, and needs. Nicole explains that to get buy-in, you need to know who you’re talking to so you can tailor your approach and relieve some of the stressors.
When working with a new school, Nicole has coaches sit with the principal or leadership team to review Dr. Anthony Muhammad’s book, Transforming School Culture. Drawing from his work, Nicole outlines four types of teachers found in every school.
1️⃣ Believers: Passionate about the school’s mission and actively support positive changes. They jump at new opportunities and make coaching easy.
2️⃣ Tweeners: New or less experienced teachers, open to change but may lack strong opinions or commitments. They don’t really know what coaching is and can be influenced by colleagues. They’re just feeling coaching out.
3️⃣ Survivors: Focused on just getting through the day. They’re overwhelmed and resistant to change because they feel like they have a system that is working for them, and the coach is asking them to do something different. Often, they have a lot going on in their life outside school (i.e., a sick family member). They’re not being difficult. They’re at their maximum capacity and can’t take on any more. Nicole tells us that when we identify the “survivors”, we shouldn’t see them as negative but rather look at where they are in their lives and what’s going on.
4️⃣ Fundamentalists: Teachers who have been teaching for a long time and are deeply rooted in past practice. Because they’ve watched so many initiatives fizzle out, they’re often skeptical about new ideas and reluctant to embrace change. They’ve become skeptical and don’t believe the new initiative is going to be followed through on.
By first identifying these groups and understanding their unique perspectives, you can craft messaging and systems that earn trust rather than reinforce resistance.
Nicole acknowledges that some people may view categorizing teachers negatively because it feels like labeling. However, she says, in order to speak to someone’s trauma, we need to label it! She clarified that while you wouldn’t approach a teacher and outright call them a “survivor”, for planning purposes, it’s helpful to understand these distinctions.
Creating a Coaching Culture
You won’t change culture by giving a flashy Canva presentation at the beginning of the year and then never mentioning coaching again! Nicole says that building coaching culture means introducing what coaching is, talking to traumas, explaining how we support teachers, and giving a coaching report at every staff meeting.
Here are a few things she recommends doing to build a coaching culture:
✅ Coaching Plan Launch: At the beginning of the year, the principal and coach present a coaching plan for the building to the staff. The principal presents the “why”, aligning it to data and the school improvement plan. The coach presents the “how”, making it clear the ways she can support teachers. This makes the coaching culture clear and visible.
✅ Monthly Coaching Reports: Use staff meetings to give a coaching support report. Shout-out the teachers you’ve been working with and highlight things happening in their classrooms.
✅ Address Traumas Head-On: Many teachers have had negative experiences with coaches, and that influences their willingness to dive into coaching work. Don’t let past bad experiences dictate current coaching relationships. Acknowledge “the trauma,” clarify your role, and name what you will (and won’t) do to build trust.
Questions To Determine Your Next Moves
Ready to create your coaching plan? Nicole offers three questions to help you identify where your school currently stands and what moves you should consider:
- How do teachers currently view coaching?
- What challenges do you anticipate when you introduce coaching as a school improvement process, not just something to do?
- What strengths already exist that you can build upon?
Answering these honestly sets you up to design PD and support systems that match your staff’s needs and experiences. This will go a long way to building a positive coaching culture!
Coaching Culture and the Four Types of Teachers
I had so much fun recording this episode with my coaching bestie, Nicole! Super proud of us for staying on task too!
This episode is full of practical strategies and ideas to help you build a coaching culture on your campus. Plus, you’ll learn about the four types of teachers you’ll meet in schools.
Listen now to Coaching Culture and the Four Types of Teachers with Nicole S. Turner!
Topics and Questions Discussed in Episode 270 – Coaching Culture and the Four Types of Teachers with Nicole S. Turner
- Coaching culture and the four types of teachers
- Why coaching culture matters
- Challenges when establishing a coaching culture
- Clarifying the coach’s role
- Strategies for addressing past trauma and mistrust around coaching
- Four types of teachers: believers, tweeners, survivors, and fundamentalists
- Shifting coaching culture
- The importance of unified leadership when launching a coaching program
- Guiding questions for honest reflection and strategic planning
Turning Insight Into Action: Practical Steps You Can Take After Listening
Here are simple actions you can take today:
1️⃣ Grab the Instructional Coaching Binder Megapack – Editable Forms, Calendars, Planning Tools
The Instructional Coach Megapack includes everything you need to start coaching today! There are over 900 pages of printables and editable forms to support you in observing classrooms, planning PLCs and units with teachers, professional development, documenting, and organizing! Click here to get your copy now and visit my TpT Store to check out all my coaching resources!
2️⃣ Sign Up for the 5-Day Coaching Resistant Teachers Challenge
If you have teachers who close the door when you walk by, openly complain during PLC meetings, or flat-out refuse to work with you, you’re in a tough spot…but a common one! Coaches have had to figure out how to reach teachers who are resistant to coaching and change since the day the first coach came to be. Let me help you!
Head to buzzingwithmsb.com/resistance and get the five-day coaching resistant teachers challenge sent right to your inbox! It’s a short video each day with a workbook to help you work through this challenge and change your coaching relationship. You’ll love it!
3️⃣ Get Your Ticket for The Simply Coaching Summit
If you haven’t attended a Simply Coaching Summit, you’re missing out on the best collection of coaching PD that you can watch on the couch! It’s my favorite virtual event of the year, and you can grab your ticket for an incredible price!
This year’s theme is: Building Your Instructional Coaching Playbook! I’ll be presenting a session about action plans and how you can support every teacher at your school with a 3-tiered approach. It’s full of actionable strategies you and your administrator will be able to turn around and use at your school! Grab your ticket here!
About Nicole S. Turner
Nicole S. Turner is an instructional coaching consultant, author, and founder of Simply Coaching Company and the Simply Coaching Summit. She helps instructional coaches and school leaders build stronger systems for instructional support that actually lead to classroom impact.
Ready to listen?
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Learn more
- Episode 4 – Providing Feedback to Teachers That’s Constructive and Kind
- Episode 37 – An Honest Virtual Coaching Conversation with Nicole Turner
- Episode 70 – Building Your Coaching Community with Nicole S. Turner
- Episode 140 – Improving Our Communication with Teachers with Nicole S. Turner
- Episode 193 – The Principal’s Role in Instructional Coaching with Nicole S. Turner
- Episode 269 – Coaching Culture Starts with the Leadership Team with Dr. Christy Lamb
- Buzzing with Ms. B on Instagram
- Join My Facebook Group: Instructional Coaching with Ms. B
- Free Five-Day Challenge: Coaching Resistant Teachers
- Simply Coaching
Helpful Resources
- Instructional Coach Binder Megapack – Editable Forms, Calendars, Planning Tools
- Instructional Coaching Binder Megapack – Editable Forms, Documents & Tools on TpT
- Buzzing with Ms. B TpT Store
- The Confident Literacy Coach
- Simply Coaching Summit
- Book: Transforming School Culture: How to Overcome Staff Division by Anthony Muhammad
Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite listening app

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Podcast produced by Fernie Ceniceros







