Masterful Coaching [Hardcover]

3 major points for pondering:

Personal Transformation: The author focuses on taking effective action throughout the book but the personal transformation that the book pushes readers to explore is powerful. "...coach is someone who engages and enters into the learning system of a person, business or social institution with the intent of improving it so as to impact people's ability to perform" (pg. 17) The presentation of coaching methodology and transformational learning discuss an individual's governing values and implications of those values in learning including Triple-loop learning, Double-loop learning, and Single-loop learning. Personal transformation is the foundation for everything that is presented in the book and is key to the "being" of a person.

A way of "Being" is central to being an effective coach: The characteristics of masterful coaches provide a guide for self-reflection and self-growth. The characteristics are the core of who one is and their sense of "being". Characteristics: 1. The ability to inspire; 2. Setting higher standards; 3. Honesty and integrity; 4. Disciplined intensity; 5. Forwarding action; 6. A passion to help others learn, grow, and perform.

Stewardship, commitment and learning models: The author discusses the shift from dominance to learning in groups and organizations and provides examples for the reader to internalize and better understand the paradigm shift. The role of the coach is is defined in the context of being a steward.

Fully grasping the third loop and its potential impact is not trivial, and the capacity to operate at this level provides a coach, manager, or leader an access to "transformation" of who people are and what they perceive in a given situation. The results can be far beyond the predictable. I personally know of corporate programs based on the principles of this book that have generated millions through productivity gains in a span of a six months.

This is NOT manipulation. Hargrove states in chapter 1, "it requires authentic communication" and again in chapter 4, "Any attempt to manipulate people will likely be detected and backfire."

If you are accountable for producing results through others as a leader, manager, business owner, or little league coach, this book provides powerful material for helping them achieve performance far beyond what is predictable.

For those already on the cutting edge of consulting in the distinctions of being, context, enrollment, and personal and organizational transformation, Hargrove's book offers yet more ways to express these ideas and produce the results that lead to effective action. The book also serves as a valuable text for individuals you wish to develop as coaches.

For those new to these ideas, the book is an excellent introduction to the principles of being vs. doing, committed speaking and listening, integrity (as a distinction), and personal transformation.

As a facilitator for a company that delivers adventure-based outdoor team building seminars, I was looking for a guide to help me make a real difference for my corporate clients; this book provides a structure for coaching that can have a profound and lasting impact.

My personal experience of participating in "transformational learning" seminars delivered by the Landmark Education Corporation, leads me to suggest that the maximum value of this book can be realized not just by reading, but by actually participating in a seminar or training program that gives one access to a trained "transformation coach". It was only after experiencing the distinctions of transformational learning on a personal level that I became effective at coaching others in transformation.