The Bright Morning Podcast with Elena Aguilar
It’s possible for every coaching conversation to build connection and spark change, and Elena Aguilar will show you how. Elena Aguilar is one of education’s leading voices on coaching. Educators around the globe use her research-based coaching method to transform their organizations. Her company, Bright Morning, brings the ideas in her best-selling books to life by providing world-class professional development to mission-driven leaders. In The Bright Morning Podcast, Elena teaches you how to make every conversation count by demonstrating Transformational Coaching conversations. Every episode tackles a pressing coaching challenge. Resistance. Racism. Burnout. Overwhelm. Struggling new teachers. You’ll find it all here. If you’re ready to thrive in your work, listen in. New episodes drop every Monday. To learn more about Elena, go deeper into every episode, find the resources and tools she mentions, or join one of her workshops, check out https://brightmorningteam.com.
Episodes
What if your admin doesn’t understand what coaching is—or worse, expects you to “fix” teachers?
In this episode, Elena shares how to proactively build a strong partnership with your site leader, even when expectations are unclear or misaligned. You’ll learn how to shift from confusion to clarity, reclaim your role, and set the stage for a thriving coaching year.
If you're ready to stop tiptoeing around your admin and start lea...
Sometimes, the people we love the most get the version of us we like the least. That’s normal, and we can do better. Our summer break series will help make that a reality by showing you how to apply your coaching moves in your everyday life. Minimal investment, big payoff. That’s our kind of summer!
Keep learning:
- Get more of Elena telling you exactly how to make your conversations more impactful with our Coach Learning Library...
Sometimes, the people we love the most get the version of us we like the least. That’s normal, and we can do better. Our summer break series will help make that a reality by showing you how to apply your coaching moves in your everyday life. Minimal investment, big payoff. That’s our kind of summer!
Keep learning:
- Watch the Bright Morning Podcast on YouTube and subscribe to our channel
- Get more of Elena telling you exactly how t...
Sometimes, the people we love the most get the version of us we like the least. That’s normal, and we can do better. Our summer break series will help make that a reality by showing you how to apply your coaching moves in your everyday life. Minimal investment, big payoff. That’s our kind of summer!
Keep learning:
- Watch The Bright Morning Podcast on YouTube
- Get more of Elena telling you exactly how to transform your conversation...
Sometimes, the people we love the most get the version of us we like the least. That’s normal, and we can do better. Our summer break series will help make that a reality by showing you how to apply your coaching moves in your everyday life. Minimal investment, big payoff. That’s our kind of summer!
Keep learning:
- Watch the Bright Morning Podcast on YouTube and subscribe to our channel
- Get more of Elena telling you exactly how t...
Sometimes, the people we love the most get the version of us we like the least. That’s normal, and we can do better. Our summer break series will help make that a reality by showing you how to apply your coaching moves in your everyday life. Minimal investment, big payoff. That’s our kind of summer!
Keep learning:
- Get more micro-learning at your fingertips with our Coach Learning Library and PLC
- Receive weekly wisdom and tools f...
Sometimes, the people we love the most get the version of us we like the least. That’s normal, and we can do better. Our summer break series will help make that a reality by showing you how to apply your coaching moves in your everyday life. Minimal investment, big payoff. That’s our kind of summer!
Keep learning:
- Get more micro-learning at your fingertips with our Coach Learning Library and PLC
- Core Emotions (free tool)
- Receive ...
In this episode, Elena tackles a challenge you're likely facing right now: the frantic race to complete year-end responsibilities while a crucial growth opportunity passes you by. Through an authentic coaching conversation, she shows you how to create an intentional summer learning plan when you're the one who always develops others.
Notable moments:
01:19 Context for coaching conversation
03:59 Start of coaching conversat...
Elena reveals how those moments when you suddenly lose composure—whether from a colleague's comment or an unexpected email—aren't signs of weakness but powerful opportunities. Discover how understanding your emotional activation points can actually be the unexpected key to greater job satisfaction and professional effectiveness.
Notable moments:
- 00:31 Exploring Emotional Triggers at Work
- 01:32 Understanding and Recogniz...
Tired of end-of-year celebrations that only recognize a select few? In this episode, Elena reveals how inclusive celebrations that honor everyone's growth—not just achievement—can transform school culture and build resilience. Through practical examples and actionable advice, she shows how meaningful recognition fills resilience tanks and strengthens communities, especially after challenging years in education.
Notable moments:...
Want to improve your self-awareness, strengthen your relationships, and refine your ability to make choices that align with your values?
That’s what this episode will help you do. Elena shares five questions from her end-of-year reflection for coaches that will help you soak up all of the learning from this year and help you head into summer with clarity and self-appreciation.
Notable moments:
00:43 The Power of End-of-Year Reflec...
Have you ever been frustrated in a conversation with a manager? If so, this episode is for you! Elena shares how you can use your coaching tools to “coach up,” resulting in more empowered and impactful conversations.
Notable moments:
00:41 Understanding the Concept of Coaching Up
01:57 Benefits of Taking a Coaching Stance
03:34 Personal Experiences with Coaching Up
04:56 Challenges and Possibilities of Coaching Up
06:04 Final Thoughts...
The peak-end rule tells us that how a person experiences an ending matters tremendously– that people judge an experience based on how they felt at its peak and its end, rather than the total sum or average of an entire experience. That means that your final conversation of the year is arguably one of the most critical for your coaching relationships. In this episode, Elena demonstrates how to facilitate a conversation that celebrat...
Do you have a client who failed to make meaningful progress towards their goals this year? In this short episode, Elena guides you through how to navigate these painful situations and provides specific techniques and questions to facilitate productive and compassionate end-of-year reflections.
Notable moments:
00:19 Navigating Client Progress Challenges
01:25 Facilitating End-of-Year Reflections
03:15 Probing for Insights and Recogniz...
Coaching emotions is a foundational ability of a Transformational Coach…and one of the hardest things for many people to do. In this episode, Elena demonstrates how to use the Core Emotions tool in an especially challenging situation–when a client is struggling with external factors like the state of the broader world– but is resistant to talking about their experience.
Notable moments:
00:23 The Importance of Coaching Emotions
01:...
Cultivating our way of being—how we show up—is the most important work we can do. In this episode, Elena shares the five Transformational Coaching dispositions that will change your conversations—and your life.
Notable moments:
01:18 The Power of Setting Intentions
04:37 Transformational Coaching Dispositions
11:19 Affirmations for the Five Dispositions
Keep learning:
- Join the Coaching Learning Library and PLC to access the Transf...
Not being present is a recipe for unproductive conversations and relationships. Unfortunately, it’s a hard state for most people to be in–especially in a world where much is designed to distract us! In this episode, Elena offers practical strategies to help you return to presence when distracted so you can have the type of impact you hope for in your coaching conversations.
Notable moments:
01:18 The Importance of Being Present
02:3...
Coaching the problem, not the person, is the number one trap that coaches fall into. In this episode, Elena demonstrates how you can use expansive listening to unlock possibilities and empower your client.
Notable moments:
- 01:12 The Power of Expansive Listening
- 02:49 Role Play Demonstration: Default Listening
- 11:10 Role Play Demonstration: Expansive Listening
- 22:09 Conclusion and Resources
Keep learning:
- Join the Coaching...
How can we bring some creativity and levity to our coaching conversations? What about helping our clients access their needs? Or connecting them to their power?
A replay of our fan-favorite First 5 Minutes series. These short episodes will teach you how to incorporate one resilience-boosting question into your conversations to help your clients get through the spring slump.
In addition to providing you with a new question each we...
How do you kindle a sense of power and agency in your coachee when they are feeling deflated or overwhelmed?
A replay of our fan-favorite First 5 Minutes series. These short episodes will teach you how to incorporate one resilience-boosting question into your conversations to help your clients get through the spring slump.
In addition to providing you with a new question each week, Elena also walks through how to introduce this ne...
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