Coaching for Growth
Author: Peter Bolt
Publisher: Oak Tree Press
Date: 2000
ISBN: 1 86076 169 0 (also in paperback 1 86076 182 8)
Price: £18.95
Format: Hardback, 150 pages

This is a comprehensive book on the skills of coaching, written particularly for managers, although trainers will find it an excellent source for material for coaching programmes. The material which follows a fairly traditional coaching approach is based on the author’s ‘ten commandments of coaching’ – stop just managing; coaching means helping others to help themselves; confidentiality is the key; establish rapport; there is no one right way to coach; it is also very effective upwards and sideways; it can be a godsend in times of personal or organizational turbulence; the art of coaching brings out the best in people; coach the whole person; coaching is for almost everyone.

The material is contained in12 chapters – Why coaching?; The fundamentals; Coaching session; A good coach; Coaching styles; Coaching the best and the rest; Coaching downwards, upwards and sideways; Coaching in times of turbulence; The mentor-coach creating effective leaders; Coaching the whole person; Coaching is for almost everyone; and the ten commandments described.

A number of bullet lists are included in most chapters, but the style is very straight text-oriented and I found it difficult to read, although when I used it as a dip-in, reference source I found it much easier to use. To suit my personal reading style I would have preferred the text to have been more obviously broken up to a greater extent.

However, in spite of the preceding comment I can recommend this book as a good book-based approach to coaching, to be followed up by training programme or workshop practice.

Leslie Rae
September 2000