Case Study: Illinois Eastern Community Colleges

January 2021

Goals

Andrea PuckettTo assist a new financial aid director in expanding her knowledge and impact as a leader.

Situation

Andrea Puckett, director of financial aid at the Illinois Eastern Community College System Office, has been in her position for nearly two years, but is the first to hold this title in many years. "Up to this point, I was putting out fires and making improvements to existing processes, but it was time to explore how this role should be developed," Puckett explained. She saw a Blue Icon ad in NASFAA Today's News and reached out, expressing a need to exploring strategies for effective communication with institutional leaders and effectively directing the decentralized financial aid staff across the system.

Solution

Through a combination of New Director Group Coaching and Executive Coaching, Blue Icon worked with Ms. Puckett to expand her knowledge and expertise on leadership-related topics. The group experience was immediately followed by one-on-one coaching that focused on specific, high priority topics. "The group coaching focused on areas of impact for the office and the team, and my one-on-one coaching focused on my needs as a director," Puckett said. "Moving from the group to one-on-one coaching was a very smooth transition."

Outcome

Ms. Puckett successfully completed the New Director Group Coaching curriculum, including developing a draft strategic plan for her office that addressed compliance, professional development for staff, and operational calendars. Through two months of one-on-one executive coaching, Puckett gained confidence in her role as a director: "I have an important voice, and my coach helped bring it out."

 

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Publication Date: 1/25/2021

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