[Article] Our favourite books on coaching

At one of our team meetings, I asked each person to tell us about their favourite books on coaching and I thought you might like to see the list…

Debbie’s recommendations

“Supercoaching” by Graham Alexander and Ben Renshaw – I think I used this as a reference when I was running courses helping other people to be better coaches but, glancing through it today, I think my coaching skills benefit from me re-reading it.
“101 Coaching Strategies and Techniques” – edited by Gladeana McMahon and Anne Archer. This has 101 chapters/articles (by different authors) all linked in some way to coaching e.g. Achieving an outcome by exploring metaphors / Issue Processing / Unblocking Resistance or Fear.

“Coaching for Performance” by Sir John Whitmore
“The Coach’s Casebook” by Watts & Morgan
“Co-Active Coaching” by Henry Kimsey-House, Karen Kimsey-House, Philip Sandahl, Laura Whitworth
“Supercoach” by Michael Neill
“Essential Business Coaching” by Averil Leimon, Francoise Moscovici, Gladeana McMahon
…and I’ve just started listening to “The Heart of Laser Focussed Coaching” by Marion Franklin and it’s good so far!

“Coaching for Performance” – Sir John Whitmore – the first coaching course I attended (back in 1993) was presented by Sir John Whitmore and he signed my copy of his book. Apart from the sentimental value, it’s still one of the best books about coaching. (You may have noticed that three of us included it!)
“The Coaching Habit” – Michael Bungay Stanier – this is one I recommend to managers who want to adopt a coaching style of leadership as opposed to becoming a full-time coach. I kind of wish I’d written it!

“The Tao of Coaching” by Max Landsberg
“Sporting Excellence” by David Hemery – It’s about the mental side of elite sport, and great for anyone interested in performance coaching.
“Mind Games” by Jeff Grout, Sarah Perrin – Similar to Hemery’s book.
“Coaching for Performance” Sir John Whitmore
“Effective Coaching” by Myles Downey

Please share your own favourites below.