Bright Morning Blog

Best-selling author and coaching expert, Elena Aguilar, shares her wisdom about coaching, leading teams, and designing and facilitating transformational professional development.

It’s time to celebrate!

September 25, 2023

It’s the end of September, a month that usually feels especially long and full for all of us. The end of a month, (or week or year) offers a natural moment to reflect, as well as to celebrate, and so here are some “Look Back” prompts for you, or to offer your coachees.

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It’s time to celebrate!

September 25, 2023

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The coaching question that’s like a mini-earthquake

September 18, 2023

I think about my coaching questions as being like warm hugs or cold showers, or mini-earthquakes. I wrote about the cold shower question a few weeks ago and am curious whether any of you tried it!

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This question is like an ice bath

September 4, 2023

There’s a coaching question I love to ask clients that feels like a cold shower or an ice bath.

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What you’re likely missing when onboarding folks to an established team

August 14, 2023

Many organizations focus on orienting new team members to the technical aspects of a job and their roles and responsibilities. That’s necessary. Few organizations focus on intentionally bringing new teammates into the organization’s culture. Which is unfortunate, because that is game-changing.

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How we onboard new team members to our culture

August 7, 2023

In a healthy culture, team members thrive and the organization is far more likely to meet its goals and fulfill its vision. So when Bright Morning recently onboarded new team members, we made the decision to prioritize bringing them into our culture in their first months on the team.

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What I’m doing differently in meetings this year

July 31, 2023

Do you facilitate team meetings? If so, is there anything you want to do differently this school year in regards to how you design and facilitate meetings?

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10 Post-Facilitation Reflection Questions

July 25, 2023

I am still processing all that I learned at our team retreat in Boulder. One thing I feel really good about is that we accomplished our primary objective—for people to build relationships and connections. I recall dozens of moments during the retreat when that happened, and I can trace that back to intentional and specific design. I designed for connection—I was clear on that being the purpose of the retreat. I attended to a hundred little details that served this purpose—from considering who was paired with whom for activities to the activities that we engaged in. I consistently attended to emotions—I scanned faces and bodies and tones of voice for how people were feeling; when I noticed trepidation or confusion, I named it and paused the conversation and clarified; I cultivated playfulness and joy, because those are powerful avenues for connection. I was very aware of power dynamics and strove to mitigate those as much as possible. And so much more. I could probably write an entire book about leadership and PD just through unpacking one retreat. […]

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Say, “Goodbye,” to Imposter Syndrome

July 10, 2023

I have delivered hundreds of presentations and keynotes. Last Friday was the first time I didn’t experience imposter syndrome. As I prepared for my first in-person keynote since November 2019, I wondered if I’d feel rusty or nervous in front of the 500 leaders in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Schools. I didn’t. I felt energized. And it went well. Really, really well. I didn’t need the applause or appreciative feedback after the speech because I knew in my body and spirit that what I shared hit home and was relevant, useful, and resonant. […]

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Bright Morning Podcast

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Disrupting Myself with Zaretta Hammond

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Bright Morning Blog

It’s time to celebrate!

It’s time to celebrate!

The coaching question that’s like a mini-earthquake

This question is like an ice bath

What you’re likely missing when onboarding folks to an established team

How we onboard new team members to our culture

What I’m doing differently in meetings this year

10 Post-Facilitation Reflection Questions

Say, “Goodbye,” to Imposter Syndrome

Elena’s Weekly Wisdom Newsletter

Bright Morning Podcast

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How to Prepare for a Coaching Conversation in Five Minutes

How to Set Goals with Your Coachees

How to Introduce Yourself as a Coach

How to Introduce Coaching to New Clients

The Six Elements of Transformational Coaching

The Six Most Important Things to Know If You're a New Coach

Proactively Mitigating and Responding to Harm in Group Spaces

Facilitating PD: Post-Event Reflection

Designing PD: Reflection Before the Event

Designing & Facilitating Team Meetings - Part 2

Designing & Facilitating Team Meetings: Part 1

Navigating Contagious Negativity

Can I Coach Here?

When Someone Is “Too Far Gone” for Coaching

When “Equity” is Prohibited

Coaching Conversation: Finding Your Power

Coaching Conversation: ACE In Action

Three Resilience Boosters You Haven’t Heard Before

The Role of “Self-Care” for Educators

What do we mean by “every conversation is an equity conversation?”

Coaching When You’re the Boss

Responding When Emotionally Activated

How to Build Your Team’s EQ

How to Close Your Coaching Conversations

How to Determine Your Coaching Conversation Area of Focus

Coaching Resistance Part 1: What is Resistance?

You Want to Coach for Equity? Start Here.

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Creating Classroom Community in a Pandemic

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Empathy Work with Keiko Elizabeth

Staying in the Fight with Nick Cains

Coaching For Equity with Lori Cohen

Unfettered Access to My Humanity with Tre Johnson

Taking Myself Off Mute with Aneesha Jacko

Is This Courage? with Prentis Goodman

Coaching Up with Jill

Disrupting Myself with Zaretta Hammond

Coaching to Create Boundaries with Kathrina

“My Name Is…” with Ja Young Ahn

Transformation starts here