If you've ever worked with a client who made sweeping generalizations about students or colleagues,

or who interpreted a situation in a way that seemed biased or overly rigid,

or who kept repeating a behavior that clearly wasn't serving them or their students,

then this episode is for you.

Hello, friends. Welcome to the Bright Morning podcast. I'm your host, Elena Aguilar,

and in each podcast episode, you'll hear me demonstrate how you can lead conversations

that build connection and spark change.

Today, I'm sharing a live coaching demonstration featuring a tool that is as practical as it is

transformational. This is the ladder of inference. You'll hear what it sounds like to help a client

climb down the ladder of inference. We'll explore how to slow their thinking, examine assumptions,

and open up new perspectives.

Before we begin, I encourage you to engage with the Ladder of Infference skill session that is in the coach learning library.

And that session walks you through when to use the ladder, what coaching questions align with each rung, how to address

bias and identity safety, and what to do when clients resist exploring alternative

interpretations.

It also includes a video recording of this coaching demonstration and a debrief

conversation where I pull back the curtain on my coaching moves. Okay, here's what you need to know

about this role play demonstration. I will be coaching Antoinette, who will be channeling a middle school math teacher.

Antoinette is working with the same students that she taught last year as she made the decision to

loop with the class. Antoinette and I have worked together for the past two years, and we have a positive relationship.

So the conversation that you're about to hear takes place after my first observation in her classroom this year,

and after Antoinette has received the diagnostic data for her class.

...