The Bright Morning Podcast with Elena Aguilar

This week we are replaying an earlier coaching tools episode where Elena provides an overview of the ACE framework, one of the core strategies for coaching resilience.  The ACE framework is one that has been utilized in many of the coaching conversations episodes, including one we will be replaying next week: Virtual Reality: Confronting Self Doubt.   This episode is for you if:  You have question...

This is a Behind the Designs episode in which Elena pulls back the curtain to provide expert advice on holding spaces for transformation. Today she’s sharing the strategy you need for coaching clients who are experiencing strong emotions.  This episode is for you if:  You’re looking to strengthen your coaching practice  You are tempted to go into fix-it mode when your client is struggling  You don...

On today’s episode Elena coaches an instructional coach who works at a school that is the top performing high school in the state where despite their considerable success, students of color are being underserved. While this reality is known and discussed at the district and school-wide level, disparities are not being addressed at the individual classroom level. Elena’s coachee wants to change tha...

In this Coaches’ Corner episode Elena shows up as your coach and expertly guides you through some exercises and prompts to consider if you are looking to coach for equity.  This episode is for you if:  You want to coach for equity  You want to support others in discovering their why for coaching for equity  Mentioned in this episode:  Mind the Gap (handout) 3 Bs: Behaviors, Beliefs and Ways of Bei...

“What should my kick-off conversations look like?”  In this short Behind the Design episode Elena walks us through how kick-off conversations with clients provide the opportunity to lay the foundation for Transformational Coaching. She shares some unique considerations, and some specific questions, for kick-off conversations taking place this 2021-22 school year. This episode is for you if:  You a...

How do you approach a coaching role in a new (largely undefined) coaching program? Today Elena shares her advice for what you need to consider on the front-end to set your coaching program up for success.  Note: This is a “take two” episode. The originally released episode was a coaching conversation on the same topic that has been removed at the request of the coachee.  Mentioned in this episode:...

Today on the podcast Elena coaches a former principal turned regional administrator in a power packed 30-minute conversation. The two thought they were going to be focusing on navigating conflict but you’ll hear how with one insightful question the focus shifts to providing the space to reflect on the past turbulent year and what is possible when emotions are explored and we root in our individual...

Today Elena pulls back the curtain on three of her own experiences navigating conflict: with a co-worker, a managee and a manager. She shares her top three tips and one important awareness to hold if you are looking to skillfully navigate conflict in your life and relationships.  This episode is for you if:  You’re a conflict avoider and want to grow your skills to engage more confidently  You jum...

This week Elena is in conversation with Trisha Moquino, the founder of Keres Children's Learning Center (KCLC) in Cochiti Pueblo, NM. KCLC is a Keres-language revitalization school that uses an intergenerational approach to immersion and dual-language with Montessori pedagogy. It is one of very few schools in the country that provides children with the opportunity to learn through their herit...

This is a Quarterly Wisdom episode. Today Elena explores two foundational understandings that are essential if you want to have conversations that allow for transformational and deep connection. First, what the phrase “every conversation counts” means and how it is a core belief of every Transformational Coach. Next, what a Transformational Coach must believe about their role relative to their coa...

 our final week on break from recording new episodes we’re replaying one of our favorite mini-episodes from Elena’s How to Feel Better program. Earlier this spring we aired daily episodes for this four week program and today we’re bringing you one that is relevant all year long: How to Make Changes that Last. If you’re looking to make behavioral changes in pursuit of the life you want to live, thi...

In this repeat of this  mini-episode Elena walks you through the second Feel Better exercise in the How to Feel Better Week 2 Program Guide: “Reflect on Last Year" as we journey through week 2 in the four week program.  Sign-up for the (free!) How to Feel Better 4-week program

 We’re taking a short summer break on the podcast. Over the next three weeks we’ll be replaying a few of our favorite mini-episodes from Elena’s How to Feel Better program. Earlier this spring we aired daily episodes for this four week program and today we’re bringing you one that is relevant everyday: How am I Feeling? While the program has concluded, you can access all episodes and the weekly gu...

This is a different type of episode, one where we unpack a coaching conversation. If you listened in on Monday, you know Elena coached a white leader around working across lines of racial difference, specifically around where to draw a line in cross-racial relationships when behavior has become problematic.  It is possible to create boundaries with cultural competence and humility, yet too often t...

This is a coaching episode. Today Elena coaches a school leader, who identifies as white, as she considers how she wants to lead through ongoing interracial conflict with one of her team members. This conversation illuminates many pressing questions for conversation, including when you draw a line between creating space for people to speak their truth and enabling a toxic work environment. This ep...

Today’s episode is the first of its kind, designed to provide you with some of the benefits of working with your own Transformational Coach. We’re calling these the “Coaches’ Corner,” during which Elena expertly holds the space and provides you with prompts for reflection.  Grab your notebook and something to write with; today it’s time to design your summer of learning. Over the next thirty minut...

 This is a Behind the Design Episode, the first in its kind that pulls back the curtain on the decisions we make to create the conditions for transformation. Today Elena applies the five habits necessary for all conversations and learning spaces where our goal is to connect, reflect and honor growth to end-of-year conversation. This episode is for you if: You’re looking to grow your design and fac...

This is a “What Do You Say When…” episode, the first of its kind designed to explore some of the most commonly asked questions we receive from coaches and managers looking to support others in those moments when they feel stuck. On today’s episode, Elena pulls back the curtain on how she thinks about and responds to the common refrain of, “I don’t know how…”  This episode is for you if:  You’re cu...

This is a coaching tool episode. Today Elena takes you behind the scenes to explore how and why she uses the confrontational stance in her coaching conversations. This stance was used repeatedly in episode 67, so we suggest listening in to that coaching conversation if you haven’t already.  This episode is for you if:  You could benefit from a quick primer on the difference between facilitative an...

This is a coaching conversation. In this episode Elena coaches a veteran school-based coach seeking to increase the impact of their coaching sessions. Together they explore who defines the terms of a coaching conversation and what is needed to step into your fear when you realize a change in course is needed.  This episode is for you if:  You want to hear powerful uses of the confrontational stanc...

This is the final episode of our special edition How to Feel Better podcast series. Today Elena gets us ready to engage in the final two exercises in the Week 4 Guide: What Has Helped You Feel Better?  and the Week 4 Wrap Up.  Listen in as we celebrate whatever part of the program you took part in and embrace a, “what I did was enough” mindset. Because you are always enough.   Sign-up for the free...

In this mini-episode of the Feel Better program , Elena walks you through the fourth exercise in the Week Four How to Feel Better Guide: A Post-Pandemic Plan. It’s time to start thinking about what we want to start, stop and keep doing in the post-pandemic world...and Elena has the tool to help you get to it!  Sign-up for the free Feel Better program here.  Rate and review the podcast!  Click here...

Note  This is  the correct version of the episode that was originally released  on April 20, 2021 .  Sorry for the confusion.  In this episode Elena walks you through the second episode in the Week 4 How to Feel Better Guide : How to Make Lasting Change. Tune in to hear the 15 lessons you need to know if you are looking to make behavioral changes in your pursuit of feeling better and crafting the...

In this mini-episode of the Feel Better program , Elena walks you through the third exercise in the Week Four How to Feel Better Guide: Letting Go. Get ready to let go of what is holding you back so you are able to step forward into the life you want to lead.  Sign-up for the free Feel Better program here.  Rate and review the podcast!  Click here for full show notes, including everything mentione...