Let me set a scene. For the record, Vince was the one who asked me to interrupt him abruptly when he rambled. And I didn't call it rambling. Those were his words, not mine. But when his answer to a question started taking on a life of its own... again... I cut in. "Vince, let's pause. We were deciding on an exit ticket and that sparked lots of other ideas. So let's come back to that. Which exit ticket are you going to use?" Vince looked relieved. "I was doing it again, huh? Thanks for that. Let's use the second question. I think it's a better measure of the learning target."
Here's the thing. When I’ve asked teachers (and other coaching clients) about their experiences at the end of a coaching partnership, one thing they often express appreciation for is the focus in our work.
Somehow it still always surprises me that this is one of the aspects of our work that teachers highlight. But it makes sense and serves as a great reminder. Every day, teachers make hundreds of decisions. From the moment students walk in until the last paper is graded, it’s a constant stream of pulls for attention, big and small.
While being responsive is essential for effective teaching, it can also be exhausting. That’s why, as coaches, one of the most important responsibilities—and greatest gifts—we can offer is helping to maintain focus. Teachers are giving us their limited time and energy. So we owe it to them and their students to ensure that our work stays purposeful and on track.
Why Focus Matters
Maintaining focus in coaching meetings, follow-up tasks, and next steps creates both direct and indirect benefits for teachers and students.
For one, honing in on specific goals or areas for growth accelerates progress. Scattering attention, energy, and resources dilutes impact, but focused efforts lead to measurable successes—successes that are motivating in themselves and can create powerful momentum.
Equally important, when we take responsibility for maintaining focus, we reduce the teacher’s mental load. They can settle into coaching conversations, trust your support in decision-making, and leave with clear, actionable next steps that are aligned to the goals they're invested in. Yes, they’re the ones doing the work in their classrooms, but the coaching space can serve as a reprieve from the multidirectional pull that characterizes so much of the rest of a teacher's day.
How to Maintain Focus in Coaching Meetings
Clarify Objectives
Start every coaching meeting by creating shared clarity around the goal for your time together. Try something like:
“We’ve been working on [specific goal]. What specifically are we working to accomplish today?”
“When we last met, we decided to [action plan]. Is that still our top priority for the next [X] minutes?”
This isn’t about controlling the conversation. It’s about ensuring that your time together is as valuable as possible by aligning your efforts.
When the Conversation Drifts
Even with the best intentions, coaching conversations can naturally meander. Here are four ways to bring the focus back without finger-wagging and while respecting teacher agency:
✨ Partner Through the Drift
"I’m hearing you’re thinking about decisions for student grouping now. We were working on selecting a discussion protocol. Would you like to shift gears, or do we want to return to our initial goal?"
This approach validates the teacher’s new line of thinking while gently surfacing the shift in focus. By offering a choice instead of redirecting the conversation unilaterally, you maintain trust and partnership. Sometimes the new direction does need attention—and that’s okay! Discussing the merits of different grouping strategies can be useful. But the key is making the choice intentional, not accidental.
✨ Normalize and Plan Forward
Sometimes teachers are apologetic for "going off topic". Some have a tendency to branch off into other ideas that surface along the way. Rather than guess how to be supportive in these moments, just ask. People will tell you.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. I hear your desire to move this forward, though. If we go off in another direction in the future, what’s the most supportive thing I can do?"
This response removes any shame or frustration while honoring the teacher’s commitment to growth. By co-creating a plan for handling future moments of drift, you turn a potential sticking point into an opportunity for deeper collaboration.
When Vince, who was a super verbal processor, asked me to interrupt him when he veered off topic, the most supportive thing I could do was cut him off. And I did it because he asked me to, because he was committed to his goal, and he knew I was committed to supporting him.
✨ Return to Purpose
When the conversation drifts, there may be a specific reason and connection to the goal. Other times we've just lost sight of the goal. Rather than guess whether there's a point, invite the teacher to make potential connections explicit.
"Let’s pause for a moment. Earlier, you said you wanted to leave today with [specific outcome]. I just want to check. How does this connect to that goal?"
This gentle redirect works by grounding the conversation in the teacher’s stated priorities. It invites reflection and sharing instead of correction, helping them reconnect with their own motivations.
✨ Acknowledge Questions Beyond Scope and Offer Options
Sometimes a teachers asks a question where the answer will take away from the focus of the meeting, whether because it's rhetorical, off-topic, or requires more time than is available to also achieve the goal. Something like this can help:
"That’s a great question! It’s a bit outside what we planned for today, but I don’t want to lose it. Would you like me to answer now or follow up after with a resource, or add it to the agenda for our next meeting? What would work best?"
This response ensures the teacher feels heard while keeping the current conversation on track. By offering concrete options—like following up via email or scheduling time in a future session—you avoid the pressure to immediately answer off-topic questions or risk dismissing them. This approach signals respect for their curiosity while maintaining focus on the meeting's priorities.
Centering the Why
If these suggestions aren't sitting well with you, I encourage you to get curious about that feeling. Sometimes we get caught in a false dichotomy of either enforcing focus or following wherever the conversation goes organically. Sometimes the response is that these suggestions are all too much and a coach should just redirect the conversation more explicitly, more directly, and set the tone that we mean business. For others the idea of interrupting or redirecting someone, however gently, can feel impolite or awkward.
Find your voice in it. We have different personalities and cultural norms around communication. But remember that the goal of maintaining focus isn’t to restrict teachers’ thinking, dismiss their ideas, or chastise them for having thoughts or questions that veer off from the goal. It’s to create conditions where meaningful change is possible. It's to ensure students are successful and teachers are engaged and growing in the process.
When we keep that purpose front and center, we remember that focus isn’t about limitation—it’s a gift of space for growth. It's holding a space where teachers can temporarily setting aside some of the other questions, chatter, and demands of our work and lives. Those spaces are increasingly rare for so many of us. So let's fiercely protect that focus for the teachers and students we serve.
