Books in the Coaches' Corner
From time to time, as a professor and writer, I get books to review. This post will give you my take on some new books that you might enjoy. All books were gifted by the publisher, but my reviews are my own.
The Expectation Gap by Steve Cuss*
He finally wrote it - and it is out TODAY! I’ve been part of Steve Cuss’ fan club since before he built Capable Life. When I got a chance to review his book, I was so excited! Since I’ve had the book for a couple weeks, I’ve started the deep dive - and am already helping my coaching clients bridge the gap between what they thought God would be like and who He is. This helps them to begin to experience their relationship with God in a new way. Not only do I strongly recommend the book, but I suggest you take a group through it. Lives will be transformed!
The Solutions Focus, 3rd Edition: Transforming change for coaches, leaders and consultants by Paul Z. Jackson and Mark McKergow* - What a fun read! If you are a coach, you probably always have a book with you to help you keep the right focus and move your clients to their next step. This book should be in your stack! This book not only helps you focus on solutions, but it takes you through their OSKAR framework:
Outcome
Scaling
Know How and Resources
Affirm and Action
Review
Really worth the read!
As an entrepreneur and coach I loved this book. If you make a habit of keeping an eye on what is on the horizon for our society, you’ll want to read this book. I’m not 100% convinced yet of a metaverse future, but I can clearly see what is possible. Since I coach clients internationally, my only real question is bandwidth. Wouldn’t this make team coaching across continents easier? I strongly recommend you read this book, even if it is only to see what could one day (and apparently is already happening) be your workplace. Those who jump early will have to also cultivate the desire for clients to meet in the metaverse, but the leap would be worth it, I suspect.
Every once in a while you get a book that you want to read multiple times just because it is so helpful that you can't take it all in at once. I listen to my books, even if I have to have Siri read them to me, so this book definitely goes in the "read again" pile. There was so much detail in here! Alison and Jenni take you inside their practice and teach you how to coach a team...step by step. It is very practical and doable! If you are a coach and you want at all to work with teams, I’d suggest this as a starting point.
My husband once told me - if you want to lead men, ask questions. This book is a great place to start learning how to ask questions. For me, it was a bit dense…and my attention span has been low lately, so I will let you know who it is best for, because I didn’t connect as well. If you are into history or philosophy, this book is a great read. Robertson goes deep into the life of Socrates and applies his logic to the way we approach life. If you are a coach, this might be a fun place to spend a weekend as you contemplate better ways to use questions to move the conversation forward. If you are a parent with a child considering Harvard or any of the other higher ed schools that adhere to the Socratic method, I strongly recommend you read this.
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