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Rating: 
Summary: For the Serious Coach
Review:
This book probes the philosophical underpinnings of coaching. Jim challenges the reader and coach to examine the core issues and fundamental questions that we all face. It's a serious book for those in the coaching business. Put on your thinking cap for this one.* Mark Kelly, coauthor of MASTERING TEAM LEADERSHIP: 7 ESSENTIAL COACHING SKILLS
Rating:
Summary: For the Serious Coach
Review:
This book probes the philosophical underpinnings of coaching. Jim challenges the reader and coach to examine the core issues and fundamental questions that we all face. It's a serious book for those in the coaching business. Put on your thinking cap for this one. • Mark Kelly, coauthor of MASTERING TEAM LEADERSHIP: 7 ESSENTIAL COACHING SKILLS
Rating:
Summary: Excellent coaching resource -- worth your investment
Review: A friend of mine who did a review of coaching resources for Harvard Management Communication Letter let out a huge yawn when I mentioned James Flaherty's book. We had a good and lively debate over drinks in Cambridge (Massachusetts). Meanwhile, if you're a serious practitioner (or serious about getting into coaching), don't let the style scare you off. This one is a gem, with an ontological bent, and packed with practical models and exercises. James' book is the result of a lifetime of study, decades of coaching, and integration of diverse intellectual traditions, including hermeneutics, phenomenology, pragmatism, the arts, and Zen. I have studied under James and my only wish is that his sharp (and sometimes goofy) sense of humor and amazing gift for story-telling had come through in his book. Perhaps in his next book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent coaching resource -- worth your investment
Review: A friend of mine who did a review of coaching resources for Harvard Management Communication Letter let out a huge yawn when I mentioned James Flaherty's book. We had a good and lively debate over drinks in Cambridge (Massachusetts). Meanwhile, if you're a serious practitioner (or serious about getting into coaching), don't let the style scare you off. This one is a gem, with an ontological bent, and packed with practical models and exercises. James' book is the result of a lifetime of study, decades of coaching, and integration of diverse intellectual traditions, including hermeneutics, phenomenology, pragmatism, the arts, and Zen. I have studied under James and my only wish is that his sharp (and sometimes goofy) sense of humor and amazing gift for story-telling had come through in his book. Perhaps in his next book.
Rating: 
Summary: great guide to coaching
Review: I am a coach and i train people into coaching, and I use this book and referr to Flaherty as one good manual to get a frame on how to work with people and which way to build with them the coaching interaction, objectives and achievements. It is also very clear, has a lot of visual maps, and it's quite accurate too when it comes to issues definitions and their origins. It' not the complete guidebokk of coaching but very helpful indeed.I do suggest any coach to have it among the basic important manuals.
Rating:
Summary: Deeply moving and effective
Review: I am amazed at the strength of Flaherty's first effort. The well-designed exercises he presents are amazingly effective, and Flaherty's understanding of human behavior is eminently practical. A must-read for any coaching practitioner or anyone who wants a deeper understanding of how to make changes in his/her own life or the lives of others.
Rating:
Summary: A textbook for the practioner
Review: This is heavy reading, but well worth it. Remeber your college philosophy classes and associated textbooks? Well, Flaherty takes the beauty and probing questions of philosphy and creates practical use of them by applying them to the art of coaching. Flaherty relies heavily on a few of his favorite modern philosophers, and takes their discoveries and theories and converts them into assessment models, enrollment techniques, etc. What you end up with is a very lucid, free flowing book that allows the coach to see the client as a human being with varying motivations, competencies, agendas, etc., and frees us from the trap of attempting to coach our clients into becoming ourselves (someone with our values, motivations, etc.); instead allowing them to grow into their own self-correcting, self-generating person. One caveat, this book looks just as much at the growth of the coach as it does at the growth of the client. In fact, the author asserts that failed coaching often stems from a coaches inability to completely appreciate the client for who s/he is (their motivations, world interpretation, etc.); this falls under the topic of Relationship in the book, and essentially discusses the meaning and importance of mutual appreciation, respect and freedom of expression. He advocates self discovery and continued growth of the coach; allowing yourself to learn from your client while they learn from you. In summary, the book moves us away from simply using techniques and models as our "catch all" coaching tools and moves us towards understanding the unique human being, their unique situation, their unique drive, their unique interpretation of the world, etc. The author also encourages coaches to understand their own humanity, including their own mortality, so that our connections with our clients are more solid and hopefully more fruitful. Although the author does provide some assessment model examples, don't expect a step by step coaching program from this work. The author throws out ideas to stimulate our own thinking about ourselves and our clients' needs. It is left up to us to put the theories, suggestions and ideas into a workable form that can be used in our coaching practices. A note on the heavy, textbook quality of this work: It is just that. It is an amazing, thought provoking work, but it's college textbook like quality (the author does begin to throw in humor around page 90 or so) can be a little rough to get through (hence the 4 out of 5 stars). If you don't mind free-flowing structure that allows you to draw your own conclusions, or are looking for a humanistic view on this sector of consulting, then this work is for you.
Rating:
Summary: A textbook for the practioner
Review: This is heavy reading, but well worth it. Remeber your college philosophy classes and associated textbooks? Well, Flaherty takes the beauty and probing questions of philosphy and creates practical use of them by applying them to the art of coaching. Flaherty relies heavily on a few of his favorite modern philosophers, and takes their discoveries and theories and converts them into assessment models, enrollment techniques, etc. What you end up with is a very lucid, free flowing book that allows the coach to see the client as a human being with varying motivations, competencies, agendas, etc., and frees us from the trap of attempting to coach our clients into becoming ourselves (someone with our values, motivations, etc.); instead allowing them to grow into their own self-correcting, self-generating person. One caveat, this book looks just as much at the growth of the coach as it does at the growth of the client. In fact, the author asserts that failed coaching often stems from a coaches inability to completely appreciate the client for who s/he is (their motivations, world interpretation, etc.); this falls under the topic of Relationship in the book, and essentially discusses the meaning and importance of mutual appreciation, respect and freedom of expression. He advocates self discovery and continued growth of the coach; allowing yourself to learn from your client while they learn from you. In summary, the book moves us away from simply using techniques and models as our "catch all" coaching tools and moves us towards understanding the unique human being, their unique situation, their unique drive, their unique interpretation of the world, etc. The author also encourages coaches to understand their own humanity, including their own mortality, so that our connections with our clients are more solid and hopefully more fruitful. Although the author does provide some assessment model examples, don't expect a step by step coaching program from this work. The author throws out ideas to stimulate our own thinking about ourselves and our clients' needs. It is left up to us to put the theories, suggestions and ideas into a workable form that can be used in our coaching practices. A note on the heavy, textbook quality of this work: It is just that. It is an amazing, thought provoking work, but it's college textbook like quality (the author does begin to throw in humor around page 90 or so) can be a little rough to get through (hence the 4 out of 5 stars). If you don't mind free-flowing structure that allows you to draw your own conclusions, or are looking for a humanistic view on this sector of consulting, then this work is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific
Review: This is one of the two best books on coaching I have seen. Not for the casual reader, it is ideal for the serious practitioner of change. It has the rigor and systematic approach that are needed in a field that has become the province of lifestyle gurus and fortune-tellers. It provides a solid philosophical base for change through coaching that is a great foundation. It could serve as a textbook for how to coach. Thanks, Mr. Flaherty.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific
Review: This is one of the two best books on coaching I have seen. Not for the casual reader, it is ideal for the serious practitioner of change. It has the rigor and systematic approach that are needed in a field that has become the province of lifestyle gurus and fortune-tellers. It provides a solid philosophical base for change through coaching that is a great foundation. It could serve as a textbook for how to coach. Thanks, Mr. Flaherty.
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