The author of this book, John Whitmore, consults and lectures widely on coaching and teamwork for businesses. He started his career as a professional racing driver attaining great success with the Ford team. He won both the British and European Saloon Car championships back in the 1960s. Along with another colleague, Timothy Gallwey, whom he quotes regularly throughout the book, he founded Inner Game Ltd, which has been highly influential in introducing new approaches to sports and business training.
In the author’s own words:
Coaching is not merely a technique to be wheeled out and rigidly applied in certain prescribed circumstances. It is a way of managing, a way of treating people, a way of thinking, a way of being.
Whitmore manages to take his skills as a sports coach and apply them to the corporate world. He believes that the potential within people is greater than even their own expectations and that coaching can enable the person to “tap in” to their hidden potential. In a nutshell, the author follows a clear path of engaging the potential “coachee” in questions that are designed to raise “awareness and responsibility” thus improving performance.
The book is very accessible, in that it is laid out in concise “chunks” and as such is easy to assimilate. It puts forward “coaching” as an effective managerial style. Practical examples are used frequently to highlight the important points of good coaching practice. There are some very powerful quotes also, although some of the sources are not stated.
Whitmore raises some very incisive insights into the whole area of motivation and the things that drive people. He links this in with coaching technique and the “coachee” taking responsibility for their own development. The transition from coaching individuals to coaching groups in an organizational setting is very interestingly expressed also.
Educators and trainers could implement Whitmore’s ideas and practices in the workplace; however, to do so may take some time, as people need to adapt themselves to this new managerial style. The manager becomes “coach” and the workers become “members” of the organization thus breaking down the “hierarchical” structure that is prevalent in many organizations. The author feels that hierarchy is a barrier to people achieving their personal development goals.
Whitmore also speaks of personal “dreams”, suggesting that they are achievable through pursuing “little goals” … with a “dream” or “end goal” as the target. Although this approach may seem to be a little simplistic, the facts and examples given in the book point toward the very positive effects which the author’s approach to coaching can claim.
From the reader’s point of view, the book is well structured, well written and above all, practical. The book represents good value for money and is of particular interest to anyone who is contemplating developing their facilitation and coaching skills.
