This is a book for practicing coaches and mentors, and those who offer training or supervision for coaches and mentors. The introductory chapter (part 1 of this book) offers a very good summary of what this book is about and why it has been compiled. The rest of the book is essentially in two parts. Part 2 is a collection of articles by different writers advocating a particular approach to coaching, each with its own set of techniques and case studies. The purpose is to provide a framework from which a coach or mentor can select appropriate techniques. Part 3 is by the authors and contains an overview of techniques from three perspectives. The authors describe this as “different foci for coaching/mentoring techniques.
Reading the introductory chapter explains how Megginson and Clutterbuck have dealt with the dilemma of how to follow up their previous volume of techniques for coaches and mentors. The dilemma hangs on their understanding that techniques on their own do not necessarily produce good coaching. The authors have risen to the challenge of providing a further set of techniques that coaches and mentors can use, but stress in their introduction that what they believe is needed is greater creativity in the use of techniques. What they believe people in coaching and mentoring need is a broader set of insights that will enable people to select or create appropriate techniques. Each of the writers chosen to provide a chapter is there to give coaches and mentors additional perspectives on their role, plus new ways of thinking about the quality of the relationship they build with their clients. There are techniques outlined and explained in the various chapters of this part of the book, but the primary focus is on understanding the underpinning approach or philosophy. Much of the content seems to draw on ideas from counselling and therapy that were developed before coaching became a topic for trainers and developers.
Part 2 has chapters on:
Cognitive behavioural coaching.
Coaching approaches derived from Gestalt.
The transformative power of ontological coaching.
Developing intuitive awareness.
The discovery of “writing as inquiry” in support of coaching practice.
Mindfulness mentoring and the listening coach.
Offering creative choices in mentoring and coaching.
Techniques for coaching teams.
The first three of these are about specific approaches. Understanding these approaches will enable techniques derived from a therapeutic or counselling approach to meet the context of executive or life coaching. The emphasis on creativity – in two of the chapter titles and implicit in many of the others – addresses the root of Megginson and Clutterbuck's dilemma: their observation that some coaches and mentors are relying on established, safe techniques rather than being more creative in how they help their clients.
Is a book entitled “Further Techniques” the answer? – possibly not, but it is the people who want further techniques that Megginson and Clutterbuck have written this book for.
Part 3 of this book contains three chapters of techniques:
- 1.
Client focused techniques.
- 2.
Coach‐mentor‐focused techniques.
- 3.
Process‐focused techniques.
Each of these three chapters is written by Clutterbuck and Megginson. The first starts with goal setting, and the problems that can be caused by coaches focusing too early on organisational goals or sticking too rigidly to SMART objectives when the client needs time to identify and formulate their own goals, which, initially at least, may be much fuzzier than ideal.. Beware of sticking too rigidly to models, e.g. the GROW model, if the client needs something broader or less focused. The chapter goes on to explore techniques that may help a client get more focused. There are a neat set of questions to use to turn problems into opportunities. There are a lot of lists and case studies packed into this chapter – exactly what a person attracted to the title of this book would want in the way of further techniques. There is a useful section on diversity, containing a diversity awareness ladder that helps map out the inner and outer conversation that can occur as people progress from fear and wariness to acceptance and appreciation.
The second, “Coach/mentor focused solutions” looks at techniques that may help the coach/mentor in preparing for or reflecting on a coaching/mentoring session. These are also intended to be of use to people who offer supervision sessions to coaches and mentors. There are a range of questions which coaches and mentors can ask themselves to help prepare for a session, a section of the drama triangle, and a case study which illustrates the problems which can occur for coaches and mentors when their own emotions are engaged by the situations their clients tell them about. This is followed by what Clutterbuck and Megginson call “seven coaching & mentoring conversations” – questions to ask yourself before, during or after a coaching/mentoring session. The seven are:
- 1.
My dialogue with myself before the session.
- 2.
The client's inner dialogue before the session.
- 3.
My inner dialogue during the conversation.
- 4.
The spoken dialogue.
- 5.
The client's inner dialogue during the conversation.
- 6.
My reflection after the conversation.
- 7.
The client's reflection after the conversation.
Each of these dialogues or reflections has a number of questions, e.g. What is the quality of my listening? How am I feeling right now?“, which will hopefully trigger a feedback and reflection that will increase the quality of the coaching/mentoring. The questions you ask yourself as coach are clearly the important ones for this chapter.
The final chapter is on “Process focused techniques”. It focuses on the coaching or mentoring relationship. There are a number of models used to stimulate a discussion of the process, deriving from previous work by Clutterbuck and others. There is a seven‐stage process: initiation, goal‐setting, progress‐making, winding up, and moving on. There is a three‐stage process: a contractual phase, followed by a transactional phase and a review phase. These are explained is some detail, with the proviso that each coaching relationship will be different and perhaps not lend itself to one particular model. The chapter then moves on to the pros and cons of 360‐feedback. It is widely used in executive coaching, but choosing the right instrument can be problematic. It is important that the coach knows what the client wants feedback on, and which questionnaire will provide the best results for that area. This chapter is full of bullet points and lists to help coaches and mentors ask the right questions of themselves and their clients in order to get the process right.
This is not a book that is designed to be read from cover to cover in one go. It's a book to dip into and offers, especially in part 2, a choice of chapters depending on the reader's interest, rather than a sequence of topics flowing logically from one to the other. Part 3 is different, and is best read as a whole. The question that remains: do you really have to read chapters 2‐9 in order to appreciate the content of chapters 10‐12 and vice versa? Do the very different approaches of part 2 and part 3 produce as coherent a whole as some readers may wish? I suspect the answer goes back to the perceived needs of the intended audience. Those coaches and mentors who have asked Megginson and Clutterbuck for a sequel to their first book of techniques will probably be happy with the range and variety of content. If you are an experienced coach or mentor looking for the set of advanced techniques and insights to stimulate continued professional development, you may potentially find less.
