The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier

The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More Change the Way You Lead Forever Reviews

• 
  Brandon

  I was really excited to read this when I saw the reviews but I should have paid attention to the 1 2 star ones that say much of the content is superficial At least half the pages are just magazine style uotes from the book or blank lines I think the 7 uestions could have been covered in this depth in an HBR article I think the book is actually intended as something given away free in a management workshop but if that is the case then the page should say thatI am trying to learn how to manage small teams 4 5 people and got a lot out of First break all the rules what the world's greatest managers do differently Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman because the advice is based on a rigorous analysis of thousands of interviews with managersI am a professor not a business executive so take this review with that in mind
• 
  John W. Pearson

  Oh myMEMO TO EVERY PERSON I’VE PRETENDED TO COACH OR MENTOR I’m so so sorry HonestHere’s why This month I was a learner in a seminar with CEOs and board chairs The highly energetic wise and witty facilitator was Michael Bungay Stanier the author of the hot off the press book “The Coaching Habit”At a coffee break halfway through the three hour how to coach practicum I told Stanier that—already—the seminar was on my Top 10 list of best workshops ever attended and I’ve attended my fair share Here’s why I gave it a 10Three memorable points on coaching BE LAZY Stop working so hard BE CURIOUS Stop giving so much advice BE OFTEN Stop waiting to coachAnd how’s this for role reversal I’m usually reading snippets from books to my wife She picked this up first and is still reading—and reminding me—on what effective coaching looks like especially the “stop giving so much advice” poke in the ribs OuchStanier notes that “Harland Howard said every great country song has three chords and the truth This book gives you seven uestions and the tools to make them an everyday way to work less hard and have impact” The seven essential uestions The Kickstart uestion The AWE uestion The Focus uestion The Foundation uestion The Lazy uestion The Strategic uestion The Learning uestionStanier says the best coaching uestion in the world is the AWE uestion “And What Else”In a four minute drill with another board chair I was instructed to ask four uestions displayed on the seminar room screen Stanier says “the first answer someone gives you is almost never the only answer and it’s rarely the best answer” so the AWE uestion is the perfect follow up 1 What’s the real challenge here for you 2 And what else 3 And what else 4 So what’s the real challenge here for youIn just four minutes—it was almost magical I stuck to the bargain whew—very hard and just asked uestions of my board chair partner He responded to each uestion—and increasingly in response to “And what else” he dug deeper and deeper and—BINGO—answered his own uestion and solved his own challengeWhere was this book when I was pretending to coach team members clients my son my grandkids and many many others YikesI’ve underlined gems on almost every page Although coaching is listed as one of the six essential leadership styles in Daniel Goleman’s article “Leadership That Gets Results” a Harvard Business Review classic “it was the least used leadership style” “You can build a coaching habit” and “You can coach someone in ten minutes or less And in today’s busy world you have to be able to coach in ten minutes or less” “Coaching should be a daily informal act not an occasional formal ‘It’s Coaching Time’ event”Stanier’s humor sneaks up on you As you embark on what he calls the “coaching habit” he suggests you start somewhere easy“If you’re going to manage someone differently pick someone who might be up for it and is willing to cut you some slack Or pick someone with whom it’s all going so badly that you’ve got nothing left to lose”ANOTHER AHA The author says there’s a huge difference between coaching for performance—and coaching for development “Call them forward to learn improve and grow rather than to just get something sorted out”A gargantuan fan of uestions—versus answers—he uotes Nancy Willard “Answers are closed rooms; and uestions are open doors that invite us in”“CUT THE INTRO AND ASK THE UESTION” is another shot over the bow He notes “No James Bond movie starts off slowly Pow Within 10 seconds you’re into the action the adrenaline has jacked and the heart is beating faster”—so “cut the preliminary flim flam” in your coaching process In 72 point font on page 52 Stanier shouts “If you know what uestion to askget to the point and ask it”TAME THE ADVICE MONSTER “We’ve all got a deeply ingrained habit of slipping into the advice giverexpertanswer itsolve itfix it mode” One study revealed that doctors interrupt patients with advice within 18 seconds Ditto perhaps the rest of usSlow down and take a breath says Stanier “Even though we don’t really know what the issue is we’re uite sure we’ve got the answer they need”VP OF BOTTLENECKING If your employee name badge should read “VP of Bottlenecking” you must read this book These seven essential coaching uestions will help you coach others and as Stanier perceptively writes “Focus on the real problem not the first problem”There are dozens and dozens of gems in this fresh easy to read format plus almost 50 full page uotations—all PowerPoint worthy I just ordered eight books for colleagues who are coaching boards and CEOs this year
• 
  Joel C. Small

  I am a board certified executive coach in the healthcare industry For some time now I have been searching for a way to provide my doctors with coaching skills they can use within their clinical practices Creating coaching cultures within organizations is currently a very hot topic in the coaching world so when I became aware of Michael Stanier's book I immediately downloaded it to my kindle I found his book to be remarkable because of its simplicity and powerful message After struggling trying to decide how to impart all of a coaches knowledge and skill to my clients Michael's book provided the realization that most clients do not need to be full fledged coaches to transform their existing practice culture to a coaching culture Michael's book provides basic yet simple techniues that anyone can use to begin coaching their peopleThe most powerful message found in this book is that we must move away from being problem solvers and concentrate our efforts onbecoming people developers By doing so we challenge our people to become the best they can be and in the process we become much better leaders
• 
  Edwin Dalorzo

  This book is a total waste of time You know it after reading the first chapter and realizing it has no substance It is just blah blah blah from some management trainer who could have summarized all the knowledge in his book in one or two blog postsMost of the valuable stuff in the book are uotes from the author to dozens of other books he likesThe author is trying too hard to make a sale for his management trainings and his book even asking to give him a good review in The book does not even have the redeeming uality of being entertaining The author simply takes too long to make his point and I often found myself skipping pages looking for something good where I should stop I kept skipping and skipping until I reached the endThis book is pure boredom in prose with not even empirical research sustaining the arguments presented by author We’re supposed to believe him only because he wrote this bookIf you’re looking to learn about coaching teams this is not the book Keep looking