Hugo (in the picture above) from Monkey has been very successful with Virve from Cameo in coaching one community college here in Finland. They got the approval and trust of the principal of the college by coaching first the marketing team about.. hmm.. Marketing. The results were great especially on the softer side of the business. The principal had told Hugo after the coaching something like this: ”It is wonderful to see teachers who’s been to this business for years to get excited again!”

That was in the spring of this year 2008. Then this Autumn Hugo and Virve started to coach one course at this college but with the students. The course was done as 6 training sessions of 4 hours each. Theme was project work and included a practical project. They set the goal with the principal to get the students more enthusiastic. The result? On the last time Hugo and Virve were there for the last 4hr session the teachers had come to Hugo and said something like this: ”What did you do with these students? They are very enthusiastic, asking loads of questions and doing loads of different things on their own.”

Is there secret behind this coaching? The secret is encouragement and giving freedom and responsibility to the students. Simple as that. And now, Hugo and Virve are coaching again the marketing team of the college.

I think this kind of community colleges have immense potential. Students come there to spend a gap year and they don’t really need to stress about exams or grades. What are the limits in such a community?

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