Leadership Coaching: The Disciplines, Skills, and Heart of a Christian Coach [Paperback]

Tony Stoltzfus (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 4, 2005

Leadership Coaching is an essential tool for anyone who wants to learn to coach or improve their coaching skills. Written by a top Christian coach trainer, it is filled with real-life stories, practical tools and application exercises that bring coaching techniques to life. Part I is an in-depth look at how coaching fits with the purposes of God. Starting with key biblical concepts about how God builds leaders, this book goes beyond proof-texting to present an integrated, values-based paradigm for leadership coaching. Part II uses a hands-on, interactive approach to show you how to coach. Utilizing the seven key elements of effective coaching as a framework, each facet of the coaching relationship is explained in detail. Then follow-up Master Class sections help you internalize the key concepts and try them out in real life. Leadership coaching is a great introduction to a powerful way of helping others grow.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Coaching is an explosively-growing new approach to developing leaders and helping people reach their full potential. Embraced by both business and spiritual leaders worldwide for its power to transform lives, coaching is rapidly becoming one of the most important ways to build leaders. Do you want to increase your effectiveness in working with people, developing leaders, and transforming lives? Leadership Coaching can show you how.

Leadership Coaching is an essential tool for anyone who wants to learn to coach or improve their coaching skills. Written by a top international Christian coach trainer, it is filled with real-life stories, practical tools and application exercises that bring coaching techniques to life.

The book begins with in-depth look at the heart of a coach: the values and character qualities that give coaching its tremendous power. Going far beyond mere proof-texting, Leadership Coaching demonstrates how coaching fits with the broader purposes of God in history. Starting with key biblical concepts about how God builds leaders, the book presents an integrated, values-based paradigm for developing leaders through coaching. As one coach trainer says:

"Without a doubt, it's the best I've read in the coaching genre. Tony has raised the bar for books on coaching with Leadership Coaching. This is especially true for coaching books written from a biblical perspective."

Part II uses a hands-on, interactive approach to show you how to coach. Utilizing the seven key elements of effective coaching as a framework, each facet of the coaching relationship is explained and illustrated in detail. Once you’ve grasped the major concepts, Master Class sections provide a wealth of tools, models and exercises to help you apply coaching concepts to real-life situations. From extensive lists of powerful questions to 50 key coaching principles, from tips on giving healthy feedback to tools for problem-solving, Leadership Coaching delivers the practical insights you need to coach effectively.

Well written, filled with great resources and eminently practical, Leadership Coaching is a great introduction to a powerful way of helping others grow.

From the Author

How This Fits with My Other Coaching Books
Leadership Coaching is the book to start with to learn how to coach. It covers the basic coaching values and mindset, how to carry on a coaching conversation and basic concepts like goals and actions. The Christian Life Coaching Handbook builds on this foundation, providing a set of coaching tools specific to life purpose discovery and showing you how to use them. A Leader's Life Purpose Workbook is a shorter version of this Handbook. Designed for the coaching client, it includes all 60 discovery exercises from the Handbook, so your clients can use them as destiny discovery action steps.

Coaching Questions is my most popular book. It's a reference guide to a plethora of coaching techniques (for experienced coaches), and a great aid to questions for those who are just learning. With over 1400 example questions arranged around the coaching tools they are used with, this book can help you coach like a pro from the start. If you get one other book with Leadership Coaching, get this one.

I also have a variety of coaching audio CDs and training products from Coach22 on Amazon. Coaching is an art, and one of the best ways to learn is to listen to an experienced coach at work. If you want to grow as a coach, listen in on a set like Coaching Transitions to catch the flow of a real coaching conversation.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 318 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (August 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419610503
• ISBN-13: 978-1419610509
• Product Dimensions: 0.6 x 0.9 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #107,686 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tony is a certified professional coach and coach trainer, co-founder of a coach training school, and has been in coaching for over a decade. He runs a large, on-line coaching bookstore at Coach22.com with his complete body of work, including seven coaching books, training CDs and DVDs, and a suite of open source training courses. Tony is the founder of the Christian Coaching Center, a consortium of 20 coaches who provide free information on coaching through hundreds of articles and posts. He also runs TheCallingJourney.com, a free calling timeline generator based on his leadership research, and the Leadership MetaFormation Institute, a school that trains leaders in change strategies that work from the inside out.

Tony helped found an organization that has provided roughly 10,000 hours of coaching to leaders in emerging nations. His Open Source coach training materials make advanced coaching skills training accessible to ministries, non-profits and overseas endeavors.

In his coaching practice, Tony helps leaders encounter God in difficult circumstances, transitions or wilderness times, because anything that happens to you can be leveraged for good if you meet God in the midst of it.

As a trainer, Tony focuses on teaching practical tools and techniques that produce transformation (deep, lasting, significant change), using a highly-interactive, adult learning approach.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bar Has Been Raised September 12, 2005

By Dr. Jerry Graham

Format:Paperback

The book is absolutely awesome!!! Without a doubt, it's the best I've read in the coaching genre. Tony Stoltzfus has raised the bar for books on coaching with Leadership Coaching. This is especially true for coaching books written from a biblical perspective. It is a must read for all coaches, but especially those who coach Christians. Perhaps even more significantly, this book will change the lives of those who have no aspirations to coach. This book should be considered a basic handbook in human relations. Tony has provided a great service to the coaching profession and the body of Christ.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the Best Coaching Book I Have Read Yet! October 3, 2005

By Dave Mcilrath

Format:Paperback

Leadership Coaching gives both detailed instruction on the mechanisms of great coaching as well as a thorough explanation behind the heart of a Coach. As a Certified Professional Coach and Coach Trainer myself (Truth Coaching), I highly recomend the book to those interested in coaching, in addition to professionals already in the field. This book helps remind us all that coaching is truly an "inside-out" process.

Dave McIlrath, MA. PCC.

Truth Coaching

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and Practical for Pastors January 24, 2007

By Randall G. Neighbour

Format:Paperback

I coach small groups at my home church and even wrote a pocket book on coaching myself. I also consult pastors and churches through my organization, and recommend this book to every single pastor I speak to when it comes to coaching their small groups. What I have found in this book is a unique wealth of knowledge on how to develop others to coach... something that few authors write about, and even fewer Christian authors write about. Most coaching books are how to coach someone directly... this bumps it up the ladder a rung for the person developing those who will coach. Excellent read. I wish Amazon.com had six stars so I could choose more than 5 for this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Pleasant Surprise! January 8, 2007

By L. Rajski

Format:Paperback

I wasn't sure what to expect when I ordered "Leadership Coaching". I am a Life Coach who is also a Christian, and wanted to learn more about combining my faith with my coaching, without pushing it onto my clients.

What I liked about this book was that it had a ton of valuable coaching information, but also backed up the coaching principles with scripture. The content could be used with any client you are working with and it is very easy to digest, even if you're brand new to coaching. This book would be very beneficial to anyone in ministry, even if you aren't interested in becoming a coach.

I got a TON of valuable information out of this book and am very thankful to have a resource with Christian principles that was not over the top or "preachy". Just good solid coaching and communication principles with biblical backing.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Sales Managers Perspective... January 7, 2010

By Bruce Jump

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I lead a sales team of 16 sellers with a Fortune 250 Company. Our performance management model is based on achieving both results and commitment from our sales teams. Clarity of objectives, teaching of competencies, and providing feedback and recognition are all part of my job along with mentoring, consulting, and teaching.

Tony explains the difference between coaching and mentoring in a way that just made sense. It's powerful! Tony explains that coaching really is not about tactics but about changing one's heart. He points out why "Asking" is much more effective than "Telling".

It's a challenging book. Changing one's heart is not something anyone does by reading a few pages out of a book on leadership.

Anyone who is on the "I Want to be a Great Coach" journey will find the right compass setting with Leadership Coaching. Thanks Tony......

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource for coach development January 9, 2007

By John Mc Cann

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Being a seasoned teacher but new to coaching I valued Leadership Coaching for its wealth of practical examples and development of questioning technique. This book fitted in very well with my Life Coaching study completed as part of a theological degree with its own emphasis on development of character of the coach. Stolzfus through his many examples and exercises is very valuable in developing coaching skill and confidence, especially in questioning. The book fits very well alongside Whitmore's, Coaching for Performance and Collins', Christian Coaching.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Coaching Resource February 10, 2011

By Tommy Lanham

Format:Paperback

I have read close to 30 books on Life Coaching and the one I recently finished, "Leadership Coaching: The Disciplines, Skills and Heart of a Christian Coach" by Tony Stoltzfus, is possibly the best one I have ever read. It takes you deeper into the discipline of coaching with exercises throughout the book to help cement what you just read. It felt more like a training than a reading. And I mean that in a good way. Every Christian Life Coach and church leader should read it. It is excellent!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for people interested in coaching December 24, 2008

By PegFlint

Format:Paperback

I recently made the decision that I want to train as a life coach and started looking for resources. This book is a wonderful resource because it has helped me think through why I want to coach and I have clarified my own values and life.

One of the best principles I took away from this book is that coaching is far different from mentoring or counseling because a coach uses OPEN ENDED questions to get a client to work on finding solutions for their life. I have often listened to others but sometimes found myself wanting to educate them. As I read the sample coaching scenarios in the book, I became convinced that OPEN ENDED questions are the best way to coach.

For those who are wanting a book on "how to build your business to make $X" - this is not it. This book is on how to become the best coach you can be - and how to be authentic and effective with everyone you meet - whether they are a client or not.

This is a "MUST HAVE" book for every Christian coach.