Faculty Share Their Insights Into Coaching
Over the past four years, around 500 Duke faculty members from all schools have invested time in working with a professional coach in the Office for Faculty Advancement.
Coaching is a series of confidential, structured conversations that help people reflect on complex situations, navigate challenges, enhance self-awareness, set goals and exercise accountability for meeting those goals.
Maria LaMonaca Wisdom, assistant vice provost for faculty advancement and adjunct associate professor of the practice in the Program in Education, is a professional certified coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation.
What Are Faculty Getting Out of It?
These faculty members volunteered to share some insights.
Lawrence Yang
Pauline Gratz Distinguished Professor, School of Nursing
My one-on-one faculty coaching sessions with Maria Wisdom have proven truly invaluable as I navigated my transition to a new role at Duke in the past year. Maria created a critically important space for me to explore and examine the many simultaneous changes in my professional and personal life — a new role, a new school, a new university and a new region of the country.
Through our conversations, I gained fresh perspectives on how the skills I had developed throughout my prior administrative role could be meaningfully applied within the Duke context. I came to understand how my established ways of working and leading could be thoughtfully adapted to help me connect with new colleagues and perform at my best in this new environment. Coaching gave me the dedicated space to reflect critically on this transition process — it helped me show up more intentionally, both as a senior scholar and as a collaborative member of this community.
I enthusiastically recommend faculty coaching with Maria to any colleague navigating a significant professional transition. I have found her to be a wise and grounded guide, a genuinely empathic listener and a thoughtful collaborative partner — exactly what I needed at this particular moment in my career.
Madeline Sutton
Assistant Professor of the Practice, Thompson Writing Program
As a new faculty member, I found group coaching particularly impactful for adjusting to my new role and finding my place at Duke. Through the coaching experience, I developed a personal toolkit for approaching everyday decision-making that aligns my work, goals and personal values. I feel confident that I can approach any challenge with a productive problem-solving mindset. I learned how to reflect, reframe and ask myself guiding questions to meet the needs of others while maintaining work-life balance. I gained strategic approaches and skills that empower me as a reflective practitioner who can continuously adapt and improve.
Our group had many productive and insightful conversations on a range of topics that we brought to the sessions, including time management, professional development, teaching and research. Maria facilitated supportive, guided dialogues that generated clear insights and actionable next steps. Ultimately, what we accomplished together through conversation went beyond what each person could do alone. Faculty group coaching provided me with a tremendous asset, and I left each session feeling recharged and motivated.
Matthew Whelan
Associate Research Professor of Theology
I participated in group coaching this past semester, and I found myself consistently looking forward to our conversations.
The group brought together people from a wide range of fields, yet in a way I hadn’t anticipated, we shared many of the same concerns, struggles and aspirations. I learned a great deal from hearing their perspectives and came to appreciate the depth of insight each person contributed.
One of the most meaningful realizations for me in group coaching was that I’m not alone. There are others at Duke navigating similar uncertainties and questions, and we can be of support to one another. In that sense, coaching became more than a series of conversations; it created a genuine experience of community during the semester.
Maria was an exceptional facilitator of that community. She listened with care, asked thoughtful questions and helped us see our experiences from new angles. Through her guidance, I was able to recognize and draw on resources within myself that I hadn’t fully seen before.
Marissa Abram
Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing
Faculty coaching with Maria was an impactful experience. When I was navigating uncertainty, it helped me regain clarity and realign my goals with my values and professional trajectory. It strengthened my ability to trust my own judgment and approach my work with greater intention and sustainability, keeping me grounded in what is most meaningful.
How to Get Involved
Faculty Group Coaching
Registration is open for Fall 2026. Each interdisciplinary group will be facilitated by Maria Wisdom and include up to four faculty peers at similar career stages and faculty rank. Participants benefit from multiple perspectives and the opportunity to meet other faculty addressing similar professional issues. Learn more and register by May 11.
Faculty or Academic Leader 1:1 Coaching
Chairs and unit leaders who would like 1:1 coaching support in their administrative roles may self-nominate via email to Maria Wisdom, which will remain confidential. Alternatively, they may nominate any faculty colleague for 1:1 coaching support for a critical research, teaching or service role.
Main image: Lawrence Yang, Madeline Sutton, Matthew Whelan and Marissa Abram