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Coaching. El método para mejorar el rendimiento de las personas.
Coaching is a way of managing, a way of treating people, a way of thinking, a way of being. Coaching has matured into an invaluable profession fit for our times and this fourth edition of the most widely read coaching book takes it to the next frontier.
Good coaching is a skill that requires a depth of understanding and plenty of practice if it is to deliver its astonishing potential. This extensively revised and expanded new audio edition of Coaching for Performance clearly explains the principles of coaching and illustrates them with examples of high performance from business and sport. It continues to follow the GROW sequence (Goals, Reality, Options, Will) and clarifies the process and practice of coaching by describing what coaching really is, what it can be used for, when and how much it can be used, and who can use it well.
Good coaching is a skill that requires a depth of understanding and plenty of practice if it is to deliver its astonishing potential. This extensively revised and expanded new audio edition of Coaching for Performance clearly explains the principles of coaching and illustrates them with examples of high performance from business and sport. It continues to follow the GROW sequence (Goals, Reality, Options, Will) and clarifies the process and practice of coaching by describing what coaching really is, what it can be used for, when and how much it can be used, and who can use it well.
273 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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December 9, 2015
This was a book described as 'the definitive book on coaching' during a Coaching course I recently attended. I have to say I have been left a little disappointed with it.
I work hard at Coaching and although I am not a natural coach it is something I am developing. I would suggest this book is good for providing a high level of what coaching is but it really isn't a toolkit for relative novices to add to their knowledge and approach.
There is one huge positive in the book and that is Whitmore's GROW model for Coaching. It is simply, an excellent model. Through questioning one identifies the Goal of the coachee, establishes the Reality, identifies the Options before confirming what Will be done. The model works - simple.
The power of Coaching is that it assumes the individual has the power within their self to resolve their issues. At the heart of Coaching is the belief that individuals can increase their Self-Awareness and they have Responsibility for their actions. Whitmore makes this point on pretty much every page and it is a point well worth reading. Remember - Awareness and Responsibility!
The opening chapter outlining what Coaching consists of is excellent. It's well written with a very engaging style. Sadly the book then begins to falter...
I was really bothered by his use of the pronoun 'he' - not because it was sexist but because his justification is that 'men need this more'. I am sorry but I've seen 'he' justified as the content is exclusively for men, because the author actually is sexist (either intentionally or otherwise) or even to save space on the 's's'! I have never seen such a ridiculous notion, as though women are instinctively better coaches or don't need it! What was even more laughable is that sometimes he forgets and uses 'she' anyway!
Whitmore makes many blatant and sweeping statements about the world of work and the way we think without providing any evidence whatsoever or even a justification past 'because I say so'. After an engaging start, the author annoyed me at different times with such unpersuasive arguments. I consider myself relatively well read in regard to the world of work and social and personal development and I feel I simply can't accept his comments. The weird thing is that I actually agree with much of what he says in terms of how we relate to others at work yet his comments about how leaders behave and co-worker relationships show he is still very much in a 'command and conquer' mode. I feel he is actually a bit detached from ideas and could do with a bit of 'systems thinking' approach to work. It's not that he's 'wrong' but I would certainly take everything he says with a pinch of salt.
One of the most laughable things is his notion of the Eastern mindset of spirituality and the Western mindset of money and we need to find the middle ground. It is absolute twaddle of the highest order. I suspect this model justifies his wealthy lifestyle with his ethical views. In the later part of the book he strays into other areas which whilst welcome, if you're already read in the subject you don't need. There really wasn't anything for me in the last third.
He does name drop quite a few books on Emotional Intelligence and NLP, many of which I've read or are on my reading list. Then he doesn't put 'excellent' sources of information in his bibliography and doesn't include any books on coaching (except those which actually are but by his friends and family). One will find sources of interest all the same.
Definitely worth reading for the GROW model but not much else of value here.
I work hard at Coaching and although I am not a natural coach it is something I am developing. I would suggest this book is good for providing a high level of what coaching is but it really isn't a toolkit for relative novices to add to their knowledge and approach.
There is one huge positive in the book and that is Whitmore's GROW model for Coaching. It is simply, an excellent model. Through questioning one identifies the Goal of the coachee, establishes the Reality, identifies the Options before confirming what Will be done. The model works - simple.
The power of Coaching is that it assumes the individual has the power within their self to resolve their issues. At the heart of Coaching is the belief that individuals can increase their Self-Awareness and they have Responsibility for their actions. Whitmore makes this point on pretty much every page and it is a point well worth reading. Remember - Awareness and Responsibility!
The opening chapter outlining what Coaching consists of is excellent. It's well written with a very engaging style. Sadly the book then begins to falter...
I was really bothered by his use of the pronoun 'he' - not because it was sexist but because his justification is that 'men need this more'. I am sorry but I've seen 'he' justified as the content is exclusively for men, because the author actually is sexist (either intentionally or otherwise) or even to save space on the 's's'! I have never seen such a ridiculous notion, as though women are instinctively better coaches or don't need it! What was even more laughable is that sometimes he forgets and uses 'she' anyway!
Whitmore makes many blatant and sweeping statements about the world of work and the way we think without providing any evidence whatsoever or even a justification past 'because I say so'. After an engaging start, the author annoyed me at different times with such unpersuasive arguments. I consider myself relatively well read in regard to the world of work and social and personal development and I feel I simply can't accept his comments. The weird thing is that I actually agree with much of what he says in terms of how we relate to others at work yet his comments about how leaders behave and co-worker relationships show he is still very much in a 'command and conquer' mode. I feel he is actually a bit detached from ideas and could do with a bit of 'systems thinking' approach to work. It's not that he's 'wrong' but I would certainly take everything he says with a pinch of salt.
One of the most laughable things is his notion of the Eastern mindset of spirituality and the Western mindset of money and we need to find the middle ground. It is absolute twaddle of the highest order. I suspect this model justifies his wealthy lifestyle with his ethical views. In the later part of the book he strays into other areas which whilst welcome, if you're already read in the subject you don't need. There really wasn't anything for me in the last third.
He does name drop quite a few books on Emotional Intelligence and NLP, many of which I've read or are on my reading list. Then he doesn't put 'excellent' sources of information in his bibliography and doesn't include any books on coaching (except those which actually are but by his friends and family). One will find sources of interest all the same.
Definitely worth reading for the GROW model but not much else of value here.
August 7, 2020
Passages I found particularly useful:
Focus on the person's values, interests and needs:
- Page 20: Create trust and safety.
- Pages 47 and 70: Focus on interests of the person. By doing that, the coach gains the coachee's confidence, because the interest and needs of the coachee are respected.
- Page 71: Body awareness brings with it automatic self correction. An example: Try focusing your attention on your facial muscles. Probably, you will notice a tight jaw. And almost simultaneously with the awareness, you will experience relaxing the jaw.
- Page 111: Focus on understanding values of the person. That helps to understand who the person is.
- Page 127: An important goal for a coach is to understand what the learner needs to perform a task well and to ask, say or do whatever it takes to help him or her meet that need.
- Page 157: Asking a person a question indicates that you value what he or she has to say.
- Page 183: As we become more self-aware, we are able to be more aware of others.
- Page 189: Forcing people to change their values and align with company values is likely to be disastrous. Instead, align company with values that people, who work for the organization, have.
- Page 191: To achieve authenticity is about freeing ourselves from parental, social and cultural conditioning as well as the false beliefs we have accumulated along the way. It is also about freeing ourselves from fear, for example fear of making mistakes, fear of looking stupid, fear of being different, fear of being rejected.
Focus on the person's potential:
- Pages 10 and 14: Focus on the person's potential.
- Page 178: The originals of the best coaching is about eliminating internal obstacles and drawing out the untapped bank of riches within the person.
Focus on problem solving and goal setting:
- Pages 34-39: Help create awareness and responsibility. These are key elements in coaching and crucial for people to be able to work well.
- Page 179: Help a person break a problem into small pieces and to take one step at a time.
Help the person get feedback:
Page 125: Feedback from ourselves and / or from others about both results and process is important for learning and performance improvement.
What are examples of questions that help a person define goals?
- Page 52: What would the wisest person, you can think of, tell you to do?
- Page 66: What is your goal? For example, what weight do you want to get down to by what date?
- Page 66: What is your half-way goal? For example, how many kilos do you want to lose by June 1st?
- Page 86: What are you going to do?
- Page 86: When are you going to do it?
- Page 86: Will this action meet your goal?
- Page 120: When you think a year ahead from now, what would your ideal work situation be?
- Page 120: What do you really want from your work life?
- Page 120: From where you are now, what would be a first step that you could feel good about?
- Page 121: If you had to state a purpose for your life, what would it be?
What are examples of questions to evaluate work that a person has done:
- Page 131: Ask each team member to list, individually on a piece of paper, the four most important values of the team. Analyze and show results.
- Page 143: What was the most difficult part of the task for you?
- Page 143: What was difficult about the work?
- Page 143: What will you do differently next time?
- Page 143: If you change that, how will it change the result?
What are examples of coaching questions to create awareness and responsibility?
- Pages 46 - 47: What, when, who, how much and how questions are helpful to learn about facts.
- Page 51: What else?
- Page 51: If you knew the answer, what would it be?
- Page 52: What would the consequences be for you or for others?
- Page 52: What criteria are you using?
- Page 52: What is the most challenging part of this for you?
- Page 52: What advice would you give to a friend in your situation?
- Page 52: What would you gain / lose by doing / saying that?
- Page 52: If someone said / did that to you, what would you feel / think / do?
- Page 59: What would be the most helpful thing for you to take away from this session today?
- Page 72: What emotions did you feel following the last round of redundancies?
- Page 72: What do you think you are afraid of?
- Page 72: Where in your body do you experience tension?
- Page 72: What emotions do you feel when you know you have done a good job?
- Page 74: What action have you taken on this so far? What were the effects of that action?
- Page 80: What if that obstacle did not exist? What would you do then?
- Page 87: What obstacles might you meet along the way?
- Page 120: What frustrates you the most about your work life?
- Page 121: What people and work tasks do you enjoy most? Why?
- Page 128: Instead of making technical corrections, ask "How high over the net did that ball go? That creates ownership in the learner's mind and causes automatic self correction.
- Page 152: What do you want from work apart from money?
- Page 152: What does responsibility mean to you?
- Page 152: What are you afraid of?
- Page 154: Does your reaction come from your parents or cultural norms?
Focus on the person's values, interests and needs:
- Page 20: Create trust and safety.
- Pages 47 and 70: Focus on interests of the person. By doing that, the coach gains the coachee's confidence, because the interest and needs of the coachee are respected.
- Page 71: Body awareness brings with it automatic self correction. An example: Try focusing your attention on your facial muscles. Probably, you will notice a tight jaw. And almost simultaneously with the awareness, you will experience relaxing the jaw.
- Page 111: Focus on understanding values of the person. That helps to understand who the person is.
- Page 127: An important goal for a coach is to understand what the learner needs to perform a task well and to ask, say or do whatever it takes to help him or her meet that need.
- Page 157: Asking a person a question indicates that you value what he or she has to say.
- Page 183: As we become more self-aware, we are able to be more aware of others.
- Page 189: Forcing people to change their values and align with company values is likely to be disastrous. Instead, align company with values that people, who work for the organization, have.
- Page 191: To achieve authenticity is about freeing ourselves from parental, social and cultural conditioning as well as the false beliefs we have accumulated along the way. It is also about freeing ourselves from fear, for example fear of making mistakes, fear of looking stupid, fear of being different, fear of being rejected.
Focus on the person's potential:
- Pages 10 and 14: Focus on the person's potential.
- Page 178: The originals of the best coaching is about eliminating internal obstacles and drawing out the untapped bank of riches within the person.
Focus on problem solving and goal setting:
- Pages 34-39: Help create awareness and responsibility. These are key elements in coaching and crucial for people to be able to work well.
- Page 179: Help a person break a problem into small pieces and to take one step at a time.
Help the person get feedback:
Page 125: Feedback from ourselves and / or from others about both results and process is important for learning and performance improvement.
What are examples of questions that help a person define goals?
- Page 52: What would the wisest person, you can think of, tell you to do?
- Page 66: What is your goal? For example, what weight do you want to get down to by what date?
- Page 66: What is your half-way goal? For example, how many kilos do you want to lose by June 1st?
- Page 86: What are you going to do?
- Page 86: When are you going to do it?
- Page 86: Will this action meet your goal?
- Page 120: When you think a year ahead from now, what would your ideal work situation be?
- Page 120: What do you really want from your work life?
- Page 120: From where you are now, what would be a first step that you could feel good about?
- Page 121: If you had to state a purpose for your life, what would it be?
What are examples of questions to evaluate work that a person has done:
- Page 131: Ask each team member to list, individually on a piece of paper, the four most important values of the team. Analyze and show results.
- Page 143: What was the most difficult part of the task for you?
- Page 143: What was difficult about the work?
- Page 143: What will you do differently next time?
- Page 143: If you change that, how will it change the result?
What are examples of coaching questions to create awareness and responsibility?
- Pages 46 - 47: What, when, who, how much and how questions are helpful to learn about facts.
- Page 51: What else?
- Page 51: If you knew the answer, what would it be?
- Page 52: What would the consequences be for you or for others?
- Page 52: What criteria are you using?
- Page 52: What is the most challenging part of this for you?
- Page 52: What advice would you give to a friend in your situation?
- Page 52: What would you gain / lose by doing / saying that?
- Page 52: If someone said / did that to you, what would you feel / think / do?
- Page 59: What would be the most helpful thing for you to take away from this session today?
- Page 72: What emotions did you feel following the last round of redundancies?
- Page 72: What do you think you are afraid of?
- Page 72: Where in your body do you experience tension?
- Page 72: What emotions do you feel when you know you have done a good job?
- Page 74: What action have you taken on this so far? What were the effects of that action?
- Page 80: What if that obstacle did not exist? What would you do then?
- Page 87: What obstacles might you meet along the way?
- Page 120: What frustrates you the most about your work life?
- Page 121: What people and work tasks do you enjoy most? Why?
- Page 128: Instead of making technical corrections, ask "How high over the net did that ball go? That creates ownership in the learner's mind and causes automatic self correction.
- Page 152: What do you want from work apart from money?
- Page 152: What does responsibility mean to you?
- Page 152: What are you afraid of?
- Page 154: Does your reaction come from your parents or cultural norms?
March 24, 2018
Coaching for performance is one of the best books on the topic. It had reached already it’s 25 edition and counting millions of copies sold. If you want to become a better person, a better manager, a better team member, this book is a must for you.
Here are some aspects that you will learn:
- Coaching is unlocking a person's potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.
- The ideal coach is “patient, detached, supportive, interested, [a] good listener, perceptive, aware, self-aware, attentive” and “retentive.” Yet, “technical expertise, knowledge, experience, credibility” and “authority” are less important.
- The nature of coaching is about building awareness and responsibility is the essence of good coaching.
- In terms of practical aspects of coaching, the author discusses effective questions, covering the function of questions, open questions, body language, self-awareness and examples of helpful questions. The importance of asking questions with what, when, who and how is emphasized while using why questions is discouraged.
- In the chapter Sequence of Questioning, the GROW framework is introduced:
Goal setting
Reality
Options
What, When, Whom, Will
More specifically, you need to make goals “SMART” (“specific, measurable, agreed, realistic” and “time-phased”); “PURE” (“positively stated, understood, relevant” and “ethical”); and “CLEAR” (“challenging, legal, environmentally sound, appropriate” and “recorded”).
- You will learn about performance trough various mindsets: unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence and unconscious competence.
- How coaching can enhance motivation, Coaching for purpose, Coaching for Meaning
- Coaching for the corporation and the importance of team development, overcoming barriers, improving performance and learning, finding more time for managers, better use of skills and resources, increased adaptability for change or better life skills.
Below some of my favourite quotes:
- “Emotional intelligence is twice as important as mental acuity for success in the workplace.”
- “A coach recognizes that the internal obstacles are often more daunting than the external ones.”
- “The worst feedback is personal and judgmental; the most effective is subjective and descriptive.”
April 7, 2020
Nope, not for me. I did not learn very much from this book. I liked the GROW principle idea, but my main issue with this book is that it talks SO MUCH about how important coaching is for businesses and corporations, yet all the examples in this book are about sports. Yeah, the coaching idea comes from sports, however... if you don't show me how I can use this book in a corporate environment, then what's the point?
There's was also a tiny paragraph that stops me from giving this book two stars - and it's about how overweight people should not be introduced in a team/promoted because that shows lack of discipline. Oh, excuse me, I did not know physical characteristics is how we evaluate competencies now. Sorry, not sorry - it's only a tiny part of the book, but it was enough for me.
There's was also a tiny paragraph that stops me from giving this book two stars - and it's about how overweight people should not be introduced in a team/promoted because that shows lack of discipline. Oh, excuse me, I did not know physical characteristics is how we evaluate competencies now. Sorry, not sorry - it's only a tiny part of the book, but it was enough for me.
April 21, 2017
مربیگری برای عملکرد در سطح جهانی هنوز پدیدهای ناشناخته است و واضح است که هنوز کسی در ایران چنین چیزی را نشنیده است. در این کتاب نویسنده با مثالهای گوناگون و به اشکال مختلف تعریف جدید خود از «مربیگری» را ارائه میکند و میگوید که هدف از این مربیگری رسیدن به عملکردی است که در ابتدا دستنیافتنی به نظر میرسد و شرط چنین مسألهای بالابردن آگاهی و مسئولیتپذیری کارگران و کارمندان از کاری که انجام میدهند است
هرچند که این کتاب بیشتر برای مدیرانی نوشته که میخواهند در بازار ناثبات امروز کسبوکار خود را حفظ کنند و توسعه دهند، اما به نظرم این کتاب برای همهی افرادی که به نحوی مسئولیت عدهای دیگر را برعهده دارند، از جمله معلمین و والدین، بسیار مفید خواهد بود
پانوشت: هنوز ترجمهای از این کتاب منتشر نشده است
هرچند که این کتاب بیشتر برای مدیرانی نوشته که میخواهند در بازار ناثبات امروز کسبوکار خود را حفظ کنند و توسعه دهند، اما به نظرم این کتاب برای همهی افرادی که به نحوی مسئولیت عدهای دیگر را برعهده دارند، از جمله معلمین و والدین، بسیار مفید خواهد بود
پانوشت: هنوز ترجمهای از این کتاب منتشر نشده است
March 23, 2017
It's a great book about coaching. Introduces the key fundamentals about coaching as well as a structured framework to apply as a coach.
September 9, 2022
Penulis yang bergelar Sir ini bukanlah bermula sebagai ahli akademik, namun gagasan GROW beliau diterima dalam bilik-bilik kuliah di menara gading.
Yup, buku ini menjadi teks bacaan wajib dalam subjek 'Coaching & Mentoring' kendalian kami untuk pengajian sarjana HRD di sekolah kami di UTM.
Whitmore (1937-2017) berpengalaman luas dalam bidang 'coaching'. Selepas beberapa tahun terlibat dengan dunia 'coaching;, beliau dan rakan-rakan kemukakan model ini di UK sekitar tahun 80-an.
GROW adalah akronim kepada Goal, Reality, Options dan Will. Ia semacam suatu bentuk penstrukturan minda dalam diri.
GROW hakikatnya mengandungi skema persoalan yang sepatutnya dijawab oleh tuan punya badan, manakala 'coach' membantu untuk menjawab empat persoalan tersebut dengan baik lagi sistematik.
Tidak mudah untuk menjadi 'coach' yang baik melainkan mendapat kepercayaan daripada 'coachee' dan memiliki kemahiran untuk mengajukan pertanyaan dan persoalan.
Amalan 'coaching' berasaskan model ini juga mahu membantu 'coachee' menangani halangan dalam diri seperti ketakutan, keraguan diri, hilang fokus, dan berjiwa kecil.
Dengan kata lain, 'coaching' mahu menjana dan optimumkan potensi seseorang. Ini penting dalam membina peradaban gemilang, organisasi berprestasi tinggi dan keluarga misali.
Sewaktu membaca buku ini wajar untuk fahami perbandingan antara 'coaching' dan 'mentoring'. Selain GROW, ada lagi beberapa model lain seperti berikut:
a) CLEAR Hawkins (1980s)
b) ACHIEVE (Dembkowski & Eldridge, 2003)
c) OSKAR (Jackson & McKergow, 2007)
d) FUEL (Zenger & Stinnett, 2010)
e) SOLVE (Muchnick, 2020).
Yup, buku ini menjadi teks bacaan wajib dalam subjek 'Coaching & Mentoring' kendalian kami untuk pengajian sarjana HRD di sekolah kami di UTM.
Whitmore (1937-2017) berpengalaman luas dalam bidang 'coaching'. Selepas beberapa tahun terlibat dengan dunia 'coaching;, beliau dan rakan-rakan kemukakan model ini di UK sekitar tahun 80-an.
GROW adalah akronim kepada Goal, Reality, Options dan Will. Ia semacam suatu bentuk penstrukturan minda dalam diri.
GROW hakikatnya mengandungi skema persoalan yang sepatutnya dijawab oleh tuan punya badan, manakala 'coach' membantu untuk menjawab empat persoalan tersebut dengan baik lagi sistematik.
Tidak mudah untuk menjadi 'coach' yang baik melainkan mendapat kepercayaan daripada 'coachee' dan memiliki kemahiran untuk mengajukan pertanyaan dan persoalan.
Amalan 'coaching' berasaskan model ini juga mahu membantu 'coachee' menangani halangan dalam diri seperti ketakutan, keraguan diri, hilang fokus, dan berjiwa kecil.
Dengan kata lain, 'coaching' mahu menjana dan optimumkan potensi seseorang. Ini penting dalam membina peradaban gemilang, organisasi berprestasi tinggi dan keluarga misali.
Sewaktu membaca buku ini wajar untuk fahami perbandingan antara 'coaching' dan 'mentoring'. Selain GROW, ada lagi beberapa model lain seperti berikut:
a) CLEAR Hawkins (1980s)
b) ACHIEVE (Dembkowski & Eldridge, 2003)
c) OSKAR (Jackson & McKergow, 2007)
d) FUEL (Zenger & Stinnett, 2010)
e) SOLVE (Muchnick, 2020).
August 27, 2021
Autors "meistarīgi" nomuļļājis 200+ lpp par visu un neko, tas gan neatturēs mani no koučinga apgūšanas.
December 26, 2017
Good reference for wanna be coaches, as well as being a tool for self-understanding.
October 3, 2018
O recomand celor care sunt la inceput de drum in domeniul coaching-ului.
Am citit-o foarte usor, in doar trei zile si m-a ajutat cu o structura clara si simpla pentru ceva ce eu faceam intuitiv.
Ce am apreciat:
- tehnica GROW si cum sa intelegi fiecare pas:
Goal.
Current Reality
Options (or Obstacles)
Will (or Way Forward)
- (foarte) multe intrebari, model sau in role-play.
- partea despre dezvoltarea si dinamica echipei
Definitely give it a try!
Am citit-o foarte usor, in doar trei zile si m-a ajutat cu o structura clara si simpla pentru ceva ce eu faceam intuitiv.
Ce am apreciat:
- tehnica GROW si cum sa intelegi fiecare pas:
Goal.
Current Reality
Options (or Obstacles)
Will (or Way Forward)
- (foarte) multe intrebari, model sau in role-play.
- partea despre dezvoltarea si dinamica echipei
Definitely give it a try!
May 29, 2020
I could easily give this book 1 star, but I won't because I probably did not give it the best chance.
I tried reading it twice and both times I felt that:
1. It did not make reference to research and did not provide opportunities to follow up on claims made.
2. It had a lot of fluff. It's a thick book that says very little.
3. It is all written in a male voice. I have the paper copy, so I do not mean the narrator. I mean they use "he" and "him".
I tried reading it twice and both times I felt that:
1. It did not make reference to research and did not provide opportunities to follow up on claims made.
2. It had a lot of fluff. It's a thick book that says very little.
3. It is all written in a male voice. I have the paper copy, so I do not mean the narrator. I mean they use "he" and "him".
September 3, 2019
Great methodical book. Concentrates mostly on GROW model, quite a lot practical tips, also discusses some bigger philosophical questions - basically about the role of leaders in current world and how they can change the behaviour of many. Also good chapters about ethics etc.
June 17, 2015
Didn't have any "ah ha" moments or find anything earth shattering to take away from this book.
February 26, 2016
Even if I wansn't interested in business coaching, 2 parts of this book were of great value to me, the first one on the GROW model and the second one on transpersonal coaching.
December 19, 2020
Let's get the most important part out of the way:
This is by far the most complete book I've read on coaching and it's not complete in the way of "overexplaining every little detail" but rather you'll feel like you have an answer to anything coach related after reading this book.
It's a must read for any coach period!
The only bad thing I have to say is that it started kinda slow (picks up at around 30 pages in). This is probably because I've studied a lot when it comes to coaching so the introductory part was not really anything new. So you might have a different experience but that's my take.
Other than that... Wow! Every page is information packed but still written clear enough so that you don't have to reread sections just to understand, the information seems both relevant and correct (based on how well it matches other books I've read and my own experience) and at the end you get helpful "tie dips" into way advanced topics without trying to "be that book too".
Will written sections about using coaching to enhance leadership, agile and learning was unexpected bonuses as well.
This is by far the most complete book I've read on coaching and it's not complete in the way of "overexplaining every little detail" but rather you'll feel like you have an answer to anything coach related after reading this book.
It's a must read for any coach period!
The only bad thing I have to say is that it started kinda slow (picks up at around 30 pages in). This is probably because I've studied a lot when it comes to coaching so the introductory part was not really anything new. So you might have a different experience but that's my take.
Other than that... Wow! Every page is information packed but still written clear enough so that you don't have to reread sections just to understand, the information seems both relevant and correct (based on how well it matches other books I've read and my own experience) and at the end you get helpful "tie dips" into way advanced topics without trying to "be that book too".
Will written sections about using coaching to enhance leadership, agile and learning was unexpected bonuses as well.
February 18, 2024
Some interesting coaching tips, but not enough to make it great read. Very little of it is practical. It seems the book is constantly pushing for (paid) coaching training. I guess if you want to be a professional coach, this book might be more interesting.
That all said, the few insights are pretty good, like asking a tennis player to tell the speed or spin of the ball instead of just telling them to watch the ball. The GROW coaching model is also pretty useful, though there are probably better explanations elsewhere (even though the author created GROW).
Won't re-read. PS: this was my second read, I hadn't added it to Goodreads before and ended up picking it up again.
That all said, the few insights are pretty good, like asking a tennis player to tell the speed or spin of the ball instead of just telling them to watch the ball. The GROW coaching model is also pretty useful, though there are probably better explanations elsewhere (even though the author created GROW).
Won't re-read. PS: this was my second read, I hadn't added it to Goodreads before and ended up picking it up again.
Read
January 30, 2020This is a great book for life coaching
February 17, 2019
Por un lado es la leche porque reúne muchas de las bases del coaching, por otro lado, quizá el paso del tiempo se le va notando, porque se concibe casi siempre en un contexto empresarial jerárquico clásico.
La parte que más me ha gustado es la final, habla un pelín de coaching de equipos, de Firo B, de Barret para los valores... Es donde se moja a hablar de su opinión, parece ver el coaching como medio (y quizá como el único, podría ser lo malo) para conseguir empresas y líderes más ligados al propósito.
Llega a hablar de sus creencias relacionadas con la justicia, y creo que esto se destila en el libro, por lo que me resulta muy curioso que uno de los padres del coaching en ocasiones de la impresión de no tratar de acompañar a los clientes en sus elecciones, sino conseguir empresas más "justas", con gente con valores, etc.
La parte que más me ha gustado es la final, habla un pelín de coaching de equipos, de Firo B, de Barret para los valores... Es donde se moja a hablar de su opinión, parece ver el coaching como medio (y quizá como el único, podría ser lo malo) para conseguir empresas y líderes más ligados al propósito.
Llega a hablar de sus creencias relacionadas con la justicia, y creo que esto se destila en el libro, por lo que me resulta muy curioso que uno de los padres del coaching en ocasiones de la impresión de no tratar de acompañar a los clientes en sus elecciones, sino conseguir empresas más "justas", con gente con valores, etc.
February 14, 2018
A great book that is at the foundation of coaching practice. John talks from experience and offers wisdom and practical questions that can help in coaching engagements. He explained GROW model with good examples, and offered an open buffet of questions that can help a coach to enrich coaching discussions. I especially liked the ones under “discovering meaning and purpose”. I actually used them in one of my coaching sessions, and they yielded great results.
On the other hand, I have a problem with this book regarding the examples the author draws from, and to be specific, the industry he comes from. Most of his examples draw a lot from sports, and a little from the business and the workplace. The latter being my interest. Yes, examples are for explaining concepts and you can draw them from any industry. But, the business world and the workplace is much complicated and is far from simply playing a game and winning a medal. I found that some of his examples from the business world are a bit naive.
Another note on the content of the book is how his later-added parts are so rhetorical that I found them useless. This is true especially in Part III: “Leadership for High Performance”. I didn’t get much from that part which comprises 15% of the book. Part IV: “Transformation through Transpersonal Coaching” pumped life into me after the death caused by the preceding part. However, this last part is still high in the clouds and far from my concerned practice.
I recommend this book because it is a true foundation for anyone willing to practice coaching, as a profession or as a style of management. Just bear in mind that you will see a lot of analogy from the world of sports, and little from the business world.
On the other hand, I have a problem with this book regarding the examples the author draws from, and to be specific, the industry he comes from. Most of his examples draw a lot from sports, and a little from the business and the workplace. The latter being my interest. Yes, examples are for explaining concepts and you can draw them from any industry. But, the business world and the workplace is much complicated and is far from simply playing a game and winning a medal. I found that some of his examples from the business world are a bit naive.
Another note on the content of the book is how his later-added parts are so rhetorical that I found them useless. This is true especially in Part III: “Leadership for High Performance”. I didn’t get much from that part which comprises 15% of the book. Part IV: “Transformation through Transpersonal Coaching” pumped life into me after the death caused by the preceding part. However, this last part is still high in the clouds and far from my concerned practice.
I recommend this book because it is a true foundation for anyone willing to practice coaching, as a profession or as a style of management. Just bear in mind that you will see a lot of analogy from the world of sports, and little from the business world.
January 16, 2023
Me he cruzado en la biblioteca con este libro. Es bueno, aunque cada vez me aburren más los libros de liderazgo. Lo mejor, el apéndice *Coaching Question Toolkit* con cientos de preguntas.
"Some people use the term mentoring interchangeably with coaching. However, mentoring is very different to coaching, because coaching is not dependent on a more experienced person passing down their knowledge - in fact, this undermines the building of self-belief which creates sustained performance, as we shall discover. Instead, coaching requires expertise in coaching, not in the subject at hand. That is one of its great strengths. And something that coaching leaders grapple with most - but is key - is to learn when to share their knowledge and experience and when not to."
"Some people use the term mentoring interchangeably with coaching. However, mentoring is very different to coaching, because coaching is not dependent on a more experienced person passing down their knowledge - in fact, this undermines the building of self-belief which creates sustained performance, as we shall discover. Instead, coaching requires expertise in coaching, not in the subject at hand. That is one of its great strengths. And something that coaching leaders grapple with most - but is key - is to learn when to share their knowledge and experience and when not to."
August 8, 2017
Working for a professional organization where there is a focus on performance, and where I am expected to manage and coach a small team, this book provided practical tips and examples.
It also emphasized the difference between coaching people and instructing them. It is all too easy to fall into the trap of telling people what to do, rather than helping them work out what needs to be done themselves!
This is the first book I have read on coaching but would like to apply some of the ideas outlined in my current role.
It also emphasized the difference between coaching people and instructing them. It is all too easy to fall into the trap of telling people what to do, rather than helping them work out what needs to be done themselves!
This is the first book I have read on coaching but would like to apply some of the ideas outlined in my current role.
February 11, 2021
This is the origin of the GROW coaching model, which makes it required reading. I'm sure it was groundbreaking when it was published, but at this point in time, if you've read other 101 level coaching books, they've probably already told you everything original in this one. Definitely worth reviewing, maybe doesn't need to be read thoroughly, depending on where you are in your career.
February 17, 2022
This was a surprisingly enjoyable read. The information throughout was pretty self-explanatory and a lot of this I have already, through other mediums, become quite open to. With that said and done, it quickly became a resource of confirmation and affirmation that has encouraged me even further to pursue.
I no doubt shall be revisiting this book time and again.
I no doubt shall be revisiting this book time and again.
December 4, 2021
I enjoyed the information in this book, the stories brought the information to life and gave meaning to the coaching.
November 22, 2022
Uno de los primeros libros que hablaba del coaching antes que se pusiera de moda y que como tantas otras iniciativas terminó en el sabor del mes
April 12, 2023
It was really difficult for me to rate this book in a decent manner. I land somewhere between 3 and 4, 3.5 would be best probably, but it's not that plain.
As an experienced manager I do truly find merit in advice given by the author, and I see a big point in the method itself. I'm really all for empowering and giving ownership. I was looking for ways to do it and found one of those ways in the book. It is really worth reading, analysing, digesting, and finding one's own way of implementing a big chunk of it. But on the other hand... it was really hard for me to get through to that merit. Maybe it's my cultural background (my no-bullshit thinking got very much in the way), maybe it's my taste in words, but there were a number of issues with the text that made it mildly annoying half of the time.
The advertising feel: it felt like reading a very long booklet promoting the services of a company who offers... coaching for coaching. Like the stuff you can find at the back of a shampoo bottle. It's just pure praise of own method and multiple messages more less saying "like and subscribe", "buy our lessons, invite our consultant and be a happy employer forever", "here is the link to our workshop, website, services, etc". It was almost like nagging me to buy their product. And those percentages all over the place, with no real clarity to what they referred to... (99% increase in the volume of your hair).
Connected to the above - lack of real analysis of pros *and cons* of the offered solution. I have not found a single point discussing where it perhaps wouldn't work. It's simply wonderful, perfect, flawless... but is it? The book really focuses only on a chosen type of people and situations. I know from years and years of work that there are also people who are not shy nor trying to build ownership but just lacking enough courage, whose only obstacle to self-growth is the approach of their manager, etc. It may come as a surprise to the author but there are people who are really not skilled enough, perceptive or clever or willing enough. There are those who completely relentlessly aim at working 9 to 5, enjoy silent quitting, taking the line of least resistance, no matter what you tell them. These people are not addressed with powerful questions, and giving them independence will not necessarily lead to the described miracles. Luckily it's not the majority, but I don't like the message that coaching is a panaceum for all Universe's problems.
The writing style. Lots of blabby mumbo-jumbo known from some town hall meetings, success stories and propaganda videos (which, in certain parts of Europe, we know from rather painful experience). And when it comes to the dialogues... OMG. They were supposed to be helpful but I ended up feeling like slapping one or another person - for example Michelle, the supposedly ideal manager, or her employee team leader Sam. The way how the 'exemplary' conversations were held, which was supposed to illustrate the empowering effect of coaching on people, felt like treating them like idiots. Oh, the obvious discoveries these employees made, and the joyful childish enthusiasm in which they followed up! Normal people don't even speak that way, they don't use such wording in casual speech. I had to translate these dialogs in my head into something that one could really say without getting weird looks, because in the first reflex it made me WTF most of the time. People in the workplace are usually more than that. I know these were just examples, but please...
Insufficient practical advice, except for the GROW model, which was good. But in general, as mentioned above, many things were a bit detached (like the visualisation exercises) or simply not there. In the sea of generalisations, as a manager/leader I did not find too many pragmatic points that would actually help me in my work.
Such things made it a little difficult to simply go through the whole book. I was stubborn, I did it, and at the end I was rewarded with some worthwhile reflections about life, with which however not everyone has to agree. These felt actually quite authentic (the book after all advises authenticity, which is good), though not always universal...
I still think it's worth to read it, though some filtering is needed most of the time. I genuinely think that there are several good points of advice, especially those about withholding own expert opinions and allowing people to find their ways, asking them questions instead of giving quick answers and instructions, active listening, treating others as partners and giving them space and a non-judgemental helping hand, breaking the old but persistent stereotypes of management etc. It's worthwhile. But I wish it was served differently. It would be so much easier to ingest.
As an experienced manager I do truly find merit in advice given by the author, and I see a big point in the method itself. I'm really all for empowering and giving ownership. I was looking for ways to do it and found one of those ways in the book. It is really worth reading, analysing, digesting, and finding one's own way of implementing a big chunk of it. But on the other hand... it was really hard for me to get through to that merit. Maybe it's my cultural background (my no-bullshit thinking got very much in the way), maybe it's my taste in words, but there were a number of issues with the text that made it mildly annoying half of the time.
The advertising feel: it felt like reading a very long booklet promoting the services of a company who offers... coaching for coaching. Like the stuff you can find at the back of a shampoo bottle. It's just pure praise of own method and multiple messages more less saying "like and subscribe", "buy our lessons, invite our consultant and be a happy employer forever", "here is the link to our workshop, website, services, etc". It was almost like nagging me to buy their product. And those percentages all over the place, with no real clarity to what they referred to... (99% increase in the volume of your hair).
Connected to the above - lack of real analysis of pros *and cons* of the offered solution. I have not found a single point discussing where it perhaps wouldn't work. It's simply wonderful, perfect, flawless... but is it? The book really focuses only on a chosen type of people and situations. I know from years and years of work that there are also people who are not shy nor trying to build ownership but just lacking enough courage, whose only obstacle to self-growth is the approach of their manager, etc. It may come as a surprise to the author but there are people who are really not skilled enough, perceptive or clever or willing enough. There are those who completely relentlessly aim at working 9 to 5, enjoy silent quitting, taking the line of least resistance, no matter what you tell them. These people are not addressed with powerful questions, and giving them independence will not necessarily lead to the described miracles. Luckily it's not the majority, but I don't like the message that coaching is a panaceum for all Universe's problems.
The writing style. Lots of blabby mumbo-jumbo known from some town hall meetings, success stories and propaganda videos (which, in certain parts of Europe, we know from rather painful experience). And when it comes to the dialogues... OMG. They were supposed to be helpful but I ended up feeling like slapping one or another person - for example Michelle, the supposedly ideal manager, or her employee team leader Sam. The way how the 'exemplary' conversations were held, which was supposed to illustrate the empowering effect of coaching on people, felt like treating them like idiots. Oh, the obvious discoveries these employees made, and the joyful childish enthusiasm in which they followed up! Normal people don't even speak that way, they don't use such wording in casual speech. I had to translate these dialogs in my head into something that one could really say without getting weird looks, because in the first reflex it made me WTF most of the time. People in the workplace are usually more than that. I know these were just examples, but please...
Insufficient practical advice, except for the GROW model, which was good. But in general, as mentioned above, many things were a bit detached (like the visualisation exercises) or simply not there. In the sea of generalisations, as a manager/leader I did not find too many pragmatic points that would actually help me in my work.
Such things made it a little difficult to simply go through the whole book. I was stubborn, I did it, and at the end I was rewarded with some worthwhile reflections about life, with which however not everyone has to agree. These felt actually quite authentic (the book after all advises authenticity, which is good), though not always universal...
I still think it's worth to read it, though some filtering is needed most of the time. I genuinely think that there are several good points of advice, especially those about withholding own expert opinions and allowing people to find their ways, asking them questions instead of giving quick answers and instructions, active listening, treating others as partners and giving them space and a non-judgemental helping hand, breaking the old but persistent stereotypes of management etc. It's worthwhile. But I wish it was served differently. It would be so much easier to ingest.
December 21, 2021
Looking for basic coaching strategies? You won't regret but if you already know bits about Coaching, not much new is inside
>If we desire to help others build their self-belief, we need to learn not to control them. Instead, we need to give them the privilege of surpassing us
≥For you to help your coachees, you have to believe that people have more abilities than they express.
≥The sequence to asking questions is the GROW formula:
• G — Goal: what you want to achieve in the short or long term or in the current training session
• R — Reality: checking to explore the current situation
• O — Options: alternative strategies or courses of action
• W — Will: what is to be done, when, and by whom
≥Managers tend to think that coaching can make them lose their authority in the company. They don’t know that a manager who leads by coaching attracts self-respect and respect from others.
≥Coaching demands that we let go of old approaches we are used to so we can embrace new behaviors.
≥Conversely, if the manager just tells the performer their own opinion about the work, it can make the performer defensive.
≥If you have to praise others, ensure you are generous, genuine, and judicious about it.
≥It proposes four learning stages:
• Unconscious incompetence: this occurs when learners are unaware that they have a skill or gaps in knowledge.
• Conscious incompetence: the learner is aware of skill or gaps in knowledge and realizes how critical it is to fill it. It’s at this point that you can start learning.
• Conscious competence: the learner understands how to apply the skill or accomplish the task, but it takes practice, deliberate thought, and hard work to do so.
• Unconscious competence: the person has enough practice with the talent to accomplish it without thinking about it.
≥Instead of brooding about a past or future event, true enjoyment comes from experiencing something as it occurs. Deprivation or devotion, mindfulness or drugs, workout or pleasure are all ways to raise consciousness. Likewise, coaching has a sensory influence, particularly when it comes to physical activity. As a result, coaching, by its very nature, encourages enjoyment.
≥Asking specific questions about what we feel improves our awareness and happiness.
≥Leaders for the future must be:
• Value-driven: a leader should not be selfish. Have specific values that you can put into use as needed.
• Visionary: a leader needs to have an all-inclusive vision. Be willing to place impact above cost, so let your vision entail the impact of your decisions on future generations.
• Authentic: this is the ability to always be yourself, especially in front of others. Good leaders should free themselves from fear: fear of failure, being different, looking stupid, fear of what others might think, fear of being rejected, etc.
• Agile: a good leader should be flexible to change, innovate, and give up old ways of doing things.
• Aligned: alignment in business means the agreement between board members or a work team to achieve a goal or an agreed way of working. However, as a future leader, you must maintain inner alignment to be productive at the workplace.
• Purpose: good leaders are purposeful and are deliberate about their individual goals because of the impact it would have on the whole universal purpose.
≥Responsible leadership demands that leaders make global, social, and environmental issues a priority ahead of the short-term financial success of their organization.
≥Emotional intelligence can be divided into five domains: self-awareness, managing your emotions, self-motivation, identifying emotions in others, and handling relationships.
≥A majority of what you need to do to succeed as a coach requires listening to the needs of others and asking open-ended questions.
≥Coaching skills must include psychological and spiritual understanding, working knowledge of current global affairs, personal development experience, and transpersonal coach training.
≥Once we can let go of limiting beliefs and prejudices, we can better ourselves and the world.
>If we desire to help others build their self-belief, we need to learn not to control them. Instead, we need to give them the privilege of surpassing us
≥For you to help your coachees, you have to believe that people have more abilities than they express.
≥The sequence to asking questions is the GROW formula:
• G — Goal: what you want to achieve in the short or long term or in the current training session
• R — Reality: checking to explore the current situation
• O — Options: alternative strategies or courses of action
• W — Will: what is to be done, when, and by whom
≥Managers tend to think that coaching can make them lose their authority in the company. They don’t know that a manager who leads by coaching attracts self-respect and respect from others.
≥Coaching demands that we let go of old approaches we are used to so we can embrace new behaviors.
≥Conversely, if the manager just tells the performer their own opinion about the work, it can make the performer defensive.
≥If you have to praise others, ensure you are generous, genuine, and judicious about it.
≥It proposes four learning stages:
• Unconscious incompetence: this occurs when learners are unaware that they have a skill or gaps in knowledge.
• Conscious incompetence: the learner is aware of skill or gaps in knowledge and realizes how critical it is to fill it. It’s at this point that you can start learning.
• Conscious competence: the learner understands how to apply the skill or accomplish the task, but it takes practice, deliberate thought, and hard work to do so.
• Unconscious competence: the person has enough practice with the talent to accomplish it without thinking about it.
≥Instead of brooding about a past or future event, true enjoyment comes from experiencing something as it occurs. Deprivation or devotion, mindfulness or drugs, workout or pleasure are all ways to raise consciousness. Likewise, coaching has a sensory influence, particularly when it comes to physical activity. As a result, coaching, by its very nature, encourages enjoyment.
≥Asking specific questions about what we feel improves our awareness and happiness.
≥Leaders for the future must be:
• Value-driven: a leader should not be selfish. Have specific values that you can put into use as needed.
• Visionary: a leader needs to have an all-inclusive vision. Be willing to place impact above cost, so let your vision entail the impact of your decisions on future generations.
• Authentic: this is the ability to always be yourself, especially in front of others. Good leaders should free themselves from fear: fear of failure, being different, looking stupid, fear of what others might think, fear of being rejected, etc.
• Agile: a good leader should be flexible to change, innovate, and give up old ways of doing things.
• Aligned: alignment in business means the agreement between board members or a work team to achieve a goal or an agreed way of working. However, as a future leader, you must maintain inner alignment to be productive at the workplace.
• Purpose: good leaders are purposeful and are deliberate about their individual goals because of the impact it would have on the whole universal purpose.
≥Responsible leadership demands that leaders make global, social, and environmental issues a priority ahead of the short-term financial success of their organization.
≥Emotional intelligence can be divided into five domains: self-awareness, managing your emotions, self-motivation, identifying emotions in others, and handling relationships.
≥A majority of what you need to do to succeed as a coach requires listening to the needs of others and asking open-ended questions.
≥Coaching skills must include psychological and spiritual understanding, working knowledge of current global affairs, personal development experience, and transpersonal coach training.
≥Once we can let go of limiting beliefs and prejudices, we can better ourselves and the world.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2020
A relatively easy read by Sir John Whitmore (1937-2017), one of the pioneers of the coaching industry, that reviews most of the basic principles of coaching without diving too deeply into the intricacies of each. The author’s aim is to remain focused on creating high performance cultures (while only hinting at other potential coaching styles). The book offers clear and concise explanations, case studies, example dialogues, and practice activities based on the work of Whitmore’s Performance Consultants International. As a result, numerous examples of sports-related experiences are used as Whitmore’s initial exploration of coaching was highly influenced by the work of Timothy Gallwey on the Inner Game of Tennis and subsequent variations. Perhaps this book’s greatest value is its emphasis on Whitmore’s GROW model (Goal, Reality, Options, & Will) which is covered in detail as a structure for a coaching session. As a final added bonus, this book offers a glossary of coaching terms (appendix 1) and a coaching question toolkit or “question bag” (appendix 2).
I’d label this book as an excellent introduction to the art and practice of coaching, but Whitmore targeted executives/managers looking to explore the integration of a coaching leadership style into their respective workplace (with an emphasis on team performance as the title suggests). For experienced coaches, or for coaches in training, the book is a great way to review coaching principles, though I don’t imagine that it will stretch their thinking as much as numerous other books written for coaches which likely to delve deeper into models, frameworks, and theories. My takeaway was gaining a better understanding of the GROW model and making liaisons to other familiar coaching models (such as the CLEAR model). The example dialogues were also very helpful tools for those who haven’t witnessed or experienced too many coaching sessions yet. The dialogues were much easier to follow (and as a result, easier to understand) when compared to dialogues from other books such as Carl Rogers’ Becoming A Person (1954). Last but not least, I truly appreciate that Whitmore offered additional tools, such as the ROI (return on investment) tool for coaching, which I can still see difficulties being put this into practice, but that I would love to analyze further (online resource offered for this tool).
I would more likely recommend this book to someone who has little to no knowledge of coaching, or to individuals who are truly seeking for team performance solutions. Someone who has already experienced ACTP training may likely only use this book as a review, and/or to gain an understanding of the GROW model. The “question bag” appendix is quite useful for a novice coach as well.
I’d label this book as an excellent introduction to the art and practice of coaching, but Whitmore targeted executives/managers looking to explore the integration of a coaching leadership style into their respective workplace (with an emphasis on team performance as the title suggests). For experienced coaches, or for coaches in training, the book is a great way to review coaching principles, though I don’t imagine that it will stretch their thinking as much as numerous other books written for coaches which likely to delve deeper into models, frameworks, and theories. My takeaway was gaining a better understanding of the GROW model and making liaisons to other familiar coaching models (such as the CLEAR model). The example dialogues were also very helpful tools for those who haven’t witnessed or experienced too many coaching sessions yet. The dialogues were much easier to follow (and as a result, easier to understand) when compared to dialogues from other books such as Carl Rogers’ Becoming A Person (1954). Last but not least, I truly appreciate that Whitmore offered additional tools, such as the ROI (return on investment) tool for coaching, which I can still see difficulties being put this into practice, but that I would love to analyze further (online resource offered for this tool).
I would more likely recommend this book to someone who has little to no knowledge of coaching, or to individuals who are truly seeking for team performance solutions. Someone who has already experienced ACTP training may likely only use this book as a review, and/or to gain an understanding of the GROW model. The “question bag” appendix is quite useful for a novice coach as well.
August 19, 2024
The field of workplace management has moved, in recent decades, from just being about organizing people for financial profits to also incorporating social and even spiritual values into employees’ career development. Today, good employees demand not just a paycheck but a place where they can grow and develop in some way. How are managers to avoid being caught flat-footed to these changing circumstances? Most managers lead by how they’ve been managed in the past, and most managers still don’t lead through feedback. In response, John Whitmore has developed this guide to teaching people how to coach, which starts by learning how to be coached.
Coaching as a practice involves not just a workplace but the whole of one’s life – that is, one’s personality, family relationships, and social approach. It’s a transcendent skill, not locked into any one profession, and encompasses more than just teaching. In this book’s beginning, Whitmore distinguishes between coaching and mentoring, but I honestly don’t see a ton of daylight between the two. They both involve growth in handing situations that engage one’s inner character. This book handles that field with a thoroughness not seen in most other publications.
Good, contemporary leadership is intimately involved with the practice of coaching. So is working with interdisciplinary teams where no one person can be considered a master of all work. Effective communication and self-awareness must drive interactions in these domains. Whitmore provides a guide about how to gain these skills. Interested readers are also given opportunities to engage with his company for further trainings to better implement these concepts into their daily lives.
This book’s main audience consists of employees who seek to enhance their leadership and coaching skills. Although this book is focused on applications in the workplace, I see a lot of crossover into any mentoring relationship. I guide individuals – both adults at church and youth – about self-improvement and can apply many lessons from this book directly into those activities. The art of asking good questions is one that almost everyone can benefit from; this book certainly can serve as a sharpening tool for that confounding skill. I’ve read few guides about mentoring or coaching as comprehensive as this one, and I hope many others benefit from its seasoned wisdom.
Coaching as a practice involves not just a workplace but the whole of one’s life – that is, one’s personality, family relationships, and social approach. It’s a transcendent skill, not locked into any one profession, and encompasses more than just teaching. In this book’s beginning, Whitmore distinguishes between coaching and mentoring, but I honestly don’t see a ton of daylight between the two. They both involve growth in handing situations that engage one’s inner character. This book handles that field with a thoroughness not seen in most other publications.
Good, contemporary leadership is intimately involved with the practice of coaching. So is working with interdisciplinary teams where no one person can be considered a master of all work. Effective communication and self-awareness must drive interactions in these domains. Whitmore provides a guide about how to gain these skills. Interested readers are also given opportunities to engage with his company for further trainings to better implement these concepts into their daily lives.
This book’s main audience consists of employees who seek to enhance their leadership and coaching skills. Although this book is focused on applications in the workplace, I see a lot of crossover into any mentoring relationship. I guide individuals – both adults at church and youth – about self-improvement and can apply many lessons from this book directly into those activities. The art of asking good questions is one that almost everyone can benefit from; this book certainly can serve as a sharpening tool for that confounding skill. I’ve read few guides about mentoring or coaching as comprehensive as this one, and I hope many others benefit from its seasoned wisdom.
October 15, 2021
Coaching for Performance shares the key principles and benefits of coaching as well as its application for the self, individuals and teams.
This book has brought several new perspectives to me such as the need to transition away from a command-and-control style, to focus more on people's potential, and to be more mindful about language when questioning.
Some things I love from this book:
1. The coaching framework (GROW model) is simple, structured and easy to recall. It will certainly influence how I approach future discussions on issues and performances.
2. The Coaching Question Toolkit is full of stock questions/phrases that one could pick-and-mix for coaching sessions.
3. The sample dialogues for readers to envision how such coaching session could play out in real life.
That said, the author does seem to package coaching as a panacea to performance issues. It would have been great if he had tamped down the overselling a notch, perhaps by sharing more examples of when coaching would not be the best solution. I imagine there would be certain personalities or individuals with job-skill mismatch that might not be receptive to coaching (but perhaps this is something that could be addressed by "advanced coaching" beyond the scope of this book).
Personally, my biggest challenge in fully adopting the coaching style as a middle manager would be straddling the roles of a coaching leader and that of a supportive, dependable one who provides concise direction when there is an issue to be put out. Nevertheless, I am keen to apply the Powerful Questioning method and GROW model in regular performance appraisals to begin with.
This book has brought several new perspectives to me such as the need to transition away from a command-and-control style, to focus more on people's potential, and to be more mindful about language when questioning.
Some things I love from this book:
1. The coaching framework (GROW model) is simple, structured and easy to recall. It will certainly influence how I approach future discussions on issues and performances.
2. The Coaching Question Toolkit is full of stock questions/phrases that one could pick-and-mix for coaching sessions.
3. The sample dialogues for readers to envision how such coaching session could play out in real life.
That said, the author does seem to package coaching as a panacea to performance issues. It would have been great if he had tamped down the overselling a notch, perhaps by sharing more examples of when coaching would not be the best solution. I imagine there would be certain personalities or individuals with job-skill mismatch that might not be receptive to coaching (but perhaps this is something that could be addressed by "advanced coaching" beyond the scope of this book).
Personally, my biggest challenge in fully adopting the coaching style as a middle manager would be straddling the roles of a coaching leader and that of a supportive, dependable one who provides concise direction when there is an issue to be put out. Nevertheless, I am keen to apply the Powerful Questioning method and GROW model in regular performance appraisals to begin with.
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