If you coach people, or are interested in coaching, this book is for you. It is basic, containing lots of very practical information. I especially fouIf you coach people, or are interested in coaching, this book is for you. It is basic, containing lots of very practical information. I especially found the seven questions helpful; I plan to utilize a few of them in my next round of coaching calls. It is also helpful to be reminded that coaching is not about giving advice; he calls the temptation to do this the Advice Monster. As someone who constantly wants to give my own opinion, it takes work to listen and ask good questions to know the person has the better answer within them, better than any answer I could simply give.
The biggest negative of this book was some weird formatting. Perhaps a print version would be better. Of course, I got this through Goodreads Deals and if Amazon is going to offer such deals, they should fix the formatting. It wasn't too bad, but odd enough to be distracting at times. ...more
Coaching is not counseling, mentoring, discipling or consulting. Coaching is its own thing and is a growing phenomena in many fields. There is everythCoaching is not counseling, mentoring, discipling or consulting. Coaching is its own thing and is a growing phenomena in many fields. There is everything from executive coaching to end of life coaching to pastoral coaching and life coaching.
I've read a few books on coaching as I have sought to include coaching principles in my ministry on the college campus. What I do is not pure coaching, since coaching is basically listening and asking questions. When you give advice you are moving out of coaching. And the students I work with need and want advice! That said, I have found coaching helpful. Honestly, I have thought about what it would look like to get more into coaching.
This book is the best one I've read on coaching so far. It is basically a textbook on the subject and reading it is like an introdutory course in coaching. Collins talks about what coaching is, why it is needed now, challenges and obstacles. One obstacle is that there is no definitive governing body so anyone can call themselves a coach and open up a coaching business tomorrow. Yet like any growing field, there are movements to close thoose gaps and build standards all coaches adhere to. Which, if you are looking for a coach and care about standards, the International Coaching Federation (ICF) is the largest body that credentials coaches and anyone serious about coaching probably will want to work towards their standards.
Overall, I don't give this book five stars because it is life-changing. I give it five stars because based on what he set out to do, he overwhelmingly succeeded. This book has left me a lot to think about both in the coaching aspects of my ministry now, how I can use coaching in the future, and where I might want to go if I decide to seek credentialing. Collins is a Christian and writes from a faith perspective, so if you are a Christian and interested in learning more about coaching then this is a must read....more
This is not really a book to read through, it is more a course on coaching. It is filled with questions and practical exercises. I may come back to thThis is not really a book to read through, it is more a course on coaching. It is filled with questions and practical exercises. I may come back to the exercises one day, but what I loved most was the questions. I plan to return to the tons of questions over and over as a way to enhance my conversation with others. Definitely worth the cost for anyone who talks and listens for a living....more
A solid book on coaching. This is the sort of book that is worth returning to, as it is essentially a course on coaching. If you are wanting to learn A solid book on coaching. This is the sort of book that is worth returning to, as it is essentially a course on coaching. If you are wanting to learn how to coach people in your work or ministry, check it out....more
This is a very helpful book for those looking to coach others from a Christian perspective. Creswell lays out how coaching helps from the ground up. SThis is a very helpful book for those looking to coach others from a Christian perspective. Creswell lays out how coaching helps from the ground up. She begins with how coaching orients around your strengths. Then coaching moves through clarity/focus, learning and confidence. This leads to intentional progress to the point where one can coach others and create God-sized goals. The one oddity of this book was that it is targeted to coaches and those seeking coaches. I cannot speak for anyone else, but I read it because I want to coach the students in my ministry. Do people looking for coaches read books like this or do they just go find a coach? That dual-focus does not take away from the book and I recommend it for anyone looking to utilize coaching tools in their ministry. ...more
I've been interested in reading up on coaching and this book is an uneven offering. The authors write from the perspective of coaching church plantersI've been interested in reading up on coaching and this book is an uneven offering. The authors write from the perspective of coaching church planters and often write as if the reader is also going to be coaching leaders in such a capacity. At the same time, knowing there is a limited audience for such books, the writing also tries to work for those coaching other sorts of leaders. So if you are someone like me, who works with a leadership team in some ministry, people who have fulltime jobs (or in my case in campus ministry, are full times students) and who volunteer, this book does have good insights to offer. But it could have been much more focused.
Also, the writing style is very text-bookish with lots of lists and highlighted points. Given, this made it very easy to skim and also makes it easy to return to as a resource. At the same time, I found myself reading the highlighted points, maybe the next sentence and moving on.
It was also funny to read a book that clearly was trying to be cutting edge in...2007. At one point the authors talk about making notes on their "Treos" and I have no idea what that is. And they talk about "postmodern" a lot but don't really define it too much other than to compare it with "modern" which they also don't define. Well, they do contrast seeker-sensitive churches with missional churches and write as if pastors sitting in coffee-shops rather than church offices are somehow breaking new ground. I guess since I'm writing this in a coffee shop, a donut-shop that serves coffee to be exact, makes me postmodern? Anyway, the point is, the book is already a bit dated.
All that said, this book is helpful and I am glad I read it. I can see myself returning to it in the future for insights on coaching my leadership team....more
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