Coaching Manager: Developing Top Talent in Business

Rating:
Summary: Too academic for my liking
Review: I am a manager of a team of 8 and I am looking to build my coaching skills. To that end given the fact that my company spends very little on management devlopment, I have to read as much as a can. I have bought several books on coaching and have found them either too academic or too life coach orientated with little emphasis on coaching within a business and management context.

The Coaching Manager is certainly business orientated and has some useful examples to highlight the points emphasised although I did get the flavour of "academia" as opposed to real "business experience" coming through. I found it too lengthy in places and some chapters I will have to read again in order to fully grasp the learning from them.

Having said that it will remain on my shelf (along with the others) and I will probably use it occasionally. I am busy manager and would prefer something a bit shorter and more practical.

Rating:
Summary: A solid coaching resource.
Review: The Coaching Manager is not only an excellent reference for managers and supervisors, it also provides a clear look at the issues within an organization for the increasing number of personal coaches who are working with these professionals. Personal coaches who have any number of clients within organizations will see a lot of the people they work with in the pages of this book. Most trained coaches know that the key to great coaching is being "client-centered" as opposed to "coach-centered" or "boss-centered." The authors provide a simple model that follows this principle. The model might be a tough paradigm shift for many managers who are used to years of practicing the "tell-them-what-to-do" bossing approach. One important thing the authors mention is to be aware of the fact that managers may not get a lot of support within an organization to practice the client-centered approach. But if managers have the courage to work on it, their staff will be loyal, and bottom-line results will surely come.

Rating:
Summary: A Great System
Review: The Coaching Manager: Developing Top Talent in Business is easy to read and has an easy-to-implement coaching method. It teaches managers to help even excellent employees learn and grow, while developing a supportive relationship between manager and employee. Translation from book to practice is easy and immediate. It also shows how to separate observations from hunches. What a great system!