My Coaching Journey with Melinda

This month, we're excited to spotlight Melinda Glowacki, an educator, leadership coach, and frequent writer and speaker on the power of coaching. Melinda's journey into coaching began when she became Director of Literacy in the Irvine Unified School District, where a mentor helped her refine her approach and she went on to lead group coaching sessions and design workshops for administrators and teacher leaders across the district. Her story is one of discovering that coaching is, at its core, a set of communication moves that change how we connect with everyone in our lives, at work and beyond. Since completing the LPCC program, she's earned her ACC and is working toward her PCC, joined her local ICF chapter in Orange County, and expanded her practice to serve leaders outside of education. She's now writing about how coaches can use AI tools to deepen their impact and preparing to teach fellow coaches how to engage adult learners at Converge 2026.

What brought you into the world of coaching?

Coaching profoundly changed the way I communicate with people. I was fortunate to start my coaching journey when I became the Director of Literacy in the Irvine Unified School District, and I had a wonderful mentor who helped me refine my coaching approach. As a brand new administrator, I was eager to develop my leadership skills and learn how to effectively manage a team. After completing my training, I began leading group coaching sessions and became a head coach, designing and delivering workshops for other administrators and teacher leaders throughout the district.

What inspires your passion for coaching?

Coaching not only changed the way I communicate as a leader, but it also changed the way I engage in conversations with my friends and family. At its core, coaching is a set of highly effective communication moves that have benefits far beyond the workplace. I continue to write and speak about the power of coaching because I believe deeply in the impact it has on the way we connect with other people. When someone feels seen, heard, and empowered, there is a far-reaching impact. Sometimes I have the privilege of seeing revelations happen in real time, and other times a profound insight comes after someone has more space for reflection. What I love about coaching is hearing clients share these epiphanies days, weeks, or months later because the conversation has a lasting ripple effect.

What skills that you learned from the LPCC program have you found most useful in your professional life? Do you have any advice on how to cultivate those skills?

Part of my motivation for enrolling in the LPCC program was to strengthen my foundation of coaching skills and then expand my toolkit. The work we did as a cohort exploring the inner critic and examining our values was not only helpful for me as a coach, but was also impactful for me as a person. Since I started my career as a high school English teacher, I've always incorporated metaphors in my coaching sessions. It was affirming to hear about the impact of metaphors throughout the LPCC program and to add some new examples to use in my sessions. Like anything meaningful, coaching requires continual practice, reflection, and refinement. Even though I've been doing this for over a decade, I continue to seek out new learning opportunities and gather feedback from mentors to fine-tune my coaching approach.

What are the current or upcoming challenges you're facing in the coaching field? How have you been meeting those challenges?

Many of my clients are in the field of education, so they're facing unprecedented challenges with securing funding and managing new initiatives. With the current discussions around screen time in classrooms and the use of AI among students, I am doing a lot of listening as experienced educators grieve the days of paper-pencil learning and work to understand how new technologies play a role in today's classrooms. I find that people increasingly need someone to hold space for them to unpack their thoughts and examine their challenges in depth, so my sessions serve as a protective space for exploration and reflection.

Do you have any special projects that you're working on? Could you share any details?

I've always enjoyed writing and public speaking, so those are two passion projects outside my work in classrooms. Right now, I'm working on finalizing my presentation for Converge 2026 in Washington, D.C., where I'll be teaching coaches how to effectively engage adult learners. I'm hoping to connect with other ACT alumni when I'm there! I also have a new article coming out through ICF's Coaching World in October that talks about how coaches can use AI tools to deepen the impact of their coaching sessions and support client needs. Later this year, I'm presenting at a conference in Dallas to help school leaders develop their leadership coaching skills by differentiating between a genuine problem and a personal preference.

Where do you hope your coaching journey will take you next? Or 5 years from now?

I enjoy training new coaches and empowering others in their leadership journey, so I would imagine my work over the next several years will center around those two areas. When I'm at a conference or leading a workshop, the teacher in me still loves watching someone's eyes light up when they learn a new skill. I'm an educator at heart, so while I'm not quite sure what the next five years hold, I know that teaching will always be a core part of my work.

How has ACT / Brown helped shape the path you've taken (or plan to take) in your coaching journey?

After meeting several leaders at ACT and hearing about their work with ICF, I've joined my local ICF chapter in Orange County, CA, and connected with other coaches through the Converge conferences. It's been a joy to deepen my knowledge about the coaching world outside of education and hear from experts in our field. I've expanded my client list to serve leaders outside of education, which has not only broadened my perspective as a coach but also helped me develop my skills. I'm so grateful to the leadership at ACT for creating such a supportive and engaged community to be a part of.

Please share some of your recent accomplishments (since completing the LPCC program).

I earned my ACC in March and am now working toward my PCC. I continue to speak at conferences and write for various publications, including those in the coaching and education world.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with the ACT Alumni Community?

I'm so glad I found this community and appreciate everything this team does to support new and experienced coaches!

Connect with Melinda:

LinkedIn

www.melindaglowacki.com

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