I have just published a book entitled “Coaching Skills for Leaders in the Workplace” How to Books 2009

I have tried to address a gap in the market for managers and leaders who are coaching in their own organisations and who are those of you who support your own staff or those from other departments. 

You may be experienced in coaching or mentoring skills and may or may not have any formal qualifications.   You may also have experience or expertise in the above areas that will support your internal coaching.  As internal coaches or mentors you will have greater knowledge and awareness of the successes, failures and challenges that your organisation is facing.  This can be a great advantage but may also get in the way of coaching successfully as you will see from the case studies in the book. 

The debate as to whether line managers make good coaches is still ongoing and there are a variety of opinions.  Personally I feel that, given the right in depth training and optimal circumstances, most line managers can also learn the art of coaching.  You may form your own opinions by the end of the book, please let me hear them.

As I have written this book I have tried to focus on the challenges that face you as an internal coach or mentor who is balancing the dual roles of manager or leader and coach.  Many of you may be using coaching and mentoring skills as part of your existing management/leadership role.  As many of you have told me you may even have been on a management course where there was a coaching or mentoring element.  I am hoping it will also be a useful study guide for those of you I have met on the courses who are training to be workplace coaches or mentors and who may be following the ILM Coaching & Mentoring in Management Qualifications.

The first chapters of the book concentrate on the key communication skills you will need to be an effective coach.  Later you will be encouraged to explore your own views, attitudes and beliefs and to get a sense of how these will inform or get in the way of your own coaching sessions.   You will discover how important it is to understand your own and your organisation’s value systems and how they can have an impact on those you coach. 

Naturally there are both personal and organisational barriers to coaching and mentoring. Through the case studies and examples you will hopefully be able to overcome most of these.  There will sometimes be occasions when coaching is not appropriate or necessary.  If someone is resistant, for example, or not in the right frame of mind, coaching will not be effective.  In this case it is better to wait until the person is ready and comes to the sessions willingly.  This may not always be possible in the workplace and some of the tools in the latter sections of the book may help to unlock some of the resistance. 

If people are well informed, reassured that sessions are confidential and fully understand the process then resistance is less likely.  There is further information and case studies on how to set up agreements and robust processes to maximise success.

If you are considering introducing a coaching or mentoring programme in your organisation you will find useful ideas in a variety of business cases and clear guidelines on how to set up contracts and systems.  There are chapters on Coaching Supervision and the latest trends in coaching for your guidance and further study.  Finally there are several tools and ideas to stimulate thinking and to enable your coaching support to extend your coachee’s parameters.   It is advisable to read the book as it is written, however it is also possible to dip in and out as you wish and according to your own coaching experience.

I hope you enjoy reading this new coaching book and if you are able please visit www.amazon.co.uk to see the 5 existing reviews and add one if you would like to

Jackie