| Title | Where Were all the Coaches When the Banks Went Down? | |
| Author | John Blakey and Ian Day | |
| Publisher | 121partners | |
| ISBN | 978 1 445 21597 6 | |
| Usefulness | 4/5 | |
| This book has its heart firmly in the right place: it wants to improve the practice of coaching.
Its theme, in brief, is that coaching is changing as a response to the recession. That means it is time for coaches to pay much more attention to organisational needs rather than exclusively following an individual’s agenda. Money is tight and organisations expect explicit bangs for their bucks, not just a vague sense of value in those having the money spent on their coaching. There’s not much diagnosis to wade through. What you do get are bucketloads of practical solutions in a straightforward, elegant and concise style. The authors recommend a FACTS approach in order to give coaching what amounts to a harder, more business-like edge. They lay out the methods, examples and consequences of using the approach with commendable clarity. But where were all the coaches when the banks went down? The book never gets round to saying, but it does use the banking meltdown as a background for many of its hypothetical situations. It’s a nice idea and one that serves the book’s purposes well. This is an excellent book that deserves a place on the bookshelves of anyone in charge of a coaching budget, of coaches and, at the senior levels talked about here, of clients too. Alison Carter is principal research fellow and consultant at the Institute for Employment Studies |
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| Title | Vital Conversations: A Practical Approach to Handling Difficult Conversations | |
| Author | Alec Grimsley | |
| Publisher | Barnes Holland | |
| ISBN | 978 0 956 31280 8 | |
| Usefulness | 4/5 | |
| Alec Grimsley has tackled a difficult but fundamental subject with gusto, navigating in a clear, reader-friendly way. New and familiar material is accessible, practical and refreshing.
Some of his thinking, for example his perspective on how people operate at three levels when thinking, echoes the seminal teachings of Marshall Rosenberg and Susan Scott. Living up to the promise of its title, the book guides and encourages readers to cut to the chase and work towards having those elusive conversations. Some of this involves applying common sense, such as double-checking the non-negotiable, but it is still good advice. For those unfamiliar with the concept of non‑violent communication, techniques for handling fierce conversation and more‑than‑basic NLP, this gives a thorough grounding, as well as offering a practical guide for mastering the art of effective conversation. Many of the examples and case studies are rooted in real experience and the illustrations make understanding the concepts a breeze. The book’s breadth of coverage, range of tools and words of wisdom mean that every coach will find something new to ponder and take into practice. It will sit well in any coach’s library of essential reads. Jackie Keddy is director of Keddy Consultants and co-founder of the International Conflict Management Forum www.conflictmanagementforum.org |
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