Developmental Coaching: Working with the Self [Paperback]

Tatiana Bachkirova's Developmental Coaching: Working with the Self represents a valuable and timely contribution to the field of coaching. Most importantly, it brings together theory, research and practical application in a way that is accessible.

The book is divided into three key sections: Three ideas about the "self"; theory for coaching based on developmental psychology; and the practical application of the theories and notions of self.

Part 1 focuses on Bachkirova's well-described and helpful "stories" of the self. The first is the notion of the self as "operator". This story is described as "a vision of a little self in the brain...or an operator, that is sitting there as if in a theatre, receiving all sorts of experiences from within and from outside the body" (31). The second story of the self is that there isn't one at all. Bachkirova concedes that this story is counter-intuitive but is able to reflect on theories and "hard science" that support this view: "There is no such thing as a pre-existing self, one that just awaits being portrayed in words" (35). The final story is the one of the evolving self. In this view, the nature of the self is seen as changing. Obviously, the first and third stories have direct relevance to coaching practice which is discussed in the later sections.

One of the most striking contributions of this book is to reintroduce (and adapt) a metaphor introduced by J. Haidt in The Happiness Hypothesis in 2006--that of the elephant and rider. In this analogy, the "rider" is the conscious mind and the "elephant" represents the whole organism (including the unconscious mind but not the conscious mind). This metaphor can be used effectively in coaching conversations.

Having discussed different ways of understanding the notion of self (including an intriguing exploration of the "pre-reflective sense of self"; "executive centre or ego" and "self as narrator), Bachkirova tackles the question of "What is the role of coaching in development?" in Part 2. In this section, a developmental framework is presented and practical questions about coaching for development are addressed and discussed in full.

The final section concentrates on the different stages of Bachkirova's developmental framework with ideas and suggestions about how to coach in each of the situations. The chapters focus on "Coaching towards a healthy ego", "Coaching the ego" and "Coaching beyond the ego". Bachkirova then goes courageously into the uncharted territory of "Coaching the soul". She concludes by exhorting readers and coaches to continue to help "people to engage fully with their developmental themes".

Throughout, Bachkirova refers to key academic sources and clarifies complex theories through the use of very helpful diagrams and drawings. The ideas are thought-provoking and clearly presented. Most importantly for me, this work takes these fascinating theories and notions of self (interesting in themselves) and makes them relevant to those of us who coach others.

In my view, this is a unique and much-needed contribution to the field and will sit well on our bookshelves as a source of new ideas and a useful reference to consult when pondering how to approach certain coaching clients or topics.

Over the last month or so, Developmental Coaching - Working with the Self, by Tatiana Bachkirova has informed, excited and provoked me while also leaving me at times lost, confused and overwhelmed.

It reminded me of how I felt seeing Dr.Strangelove as a teenager - a movie so different and impactful that I knew this was something important yet sensing I only understood 30% of the film. It is a book that I will return to over and over again to discover previously hidden gems about the human nature of both client and coach.

Bachkirova' s ambitition, of not just mapping out the very complex theoretical concepts of self but in also leveraging these to create a coaching framework , leaves one astounded by the breath of her research and reading. Most importantly, it has already influenced how I see my coaching clients and how I approach our sessions.

The book is divided into three parts: the major theoretical understandings of the self; a theory and framework for developmental coaching drawn from those theories; and the practical coaching applications of the new framework.

Bachkirova is a very visual guide who uses a huge range of source material while also being sympathetic and almost apologetic to the reader in the densest descriptions of the theoretical landscape.

What I have not understood has not scared me away but instead encouraged me to suit up for another trip through the book. What I have understood has provided a solid framework to my previous limited knowledge of adult development by writers such as Kegan and Laske and created new language for me to appropriately support my clients based on Bachkirova's model of the unformed, formed and reformed ego.

This book feels fresh and vital, addressing in depth themes that other coaching books have only touched if touched at all. It has stretched me as a reader and will continue to stretch me a coach.

This book is very different from most coaching books (and I have read a lot of them). Most books on coaching tend to describe a particular approach, a generic model of good practice, or a collection of perspectives. Some of these are very good indeed, but what this book does is a mark of a discipline that is maturing.

I'm not going to discuss the structure and content, by the way. For that, see C. J. van Nieuwerburgh's very thorough review.

The exciting thing about this book for me is that the author has looked to synthesise a number of important themes and to make sense of them in a theory which is specific to coaching. The result is extremely persuasive and - having tried it out - immediately helpful in practice.

I do not think it is necessarily a beginner's book. This is for practitioners who want to look further than their current thinking - to challenge their current orthodoxy. This also means you might not necessarily agree with all points along the way. But this would not be essential for the book to achieve its purpose: to make you think again about how best to serve the coaching client.

In the process of doing this Bachkirova introduces us to some very interesting literature. I already like Jonathan Haidt's 'Happiness Hypothesis' (and have reviewed it), but I'm not very well acquainted with Guy Claxton's work (a significant influence) or John Rowan's. Something I now feel I'd like to put right at the earliest opportunity. (I should mention here that there is a great deal of reference to Ken Wilber as well. I'm not a Wilber fan myself, but I know a lot of people are.)

This book may not be to everybody's taste. It is written from a particular stance which may appeal more to readers with a psychological, humanist and existential orientation (or ... perhaps a subset of these ... the more the merrier!) It has a strong element of theory. At the same time Bachkirova is not proposing what people should or must do - how, after all, would that make any sense in a coaching context? - but offering ways of seeing. And it is written with an immediacy, humanity and humour that is often missing from published material. As I said earlier, this book is for practitioners who want to look further than their current thinking - to challenge their current orthodoxy. If that's you, then I recommend it.