The Mindful Coach: Seven Roles for Helping People Grow [Paperback]

Douglas K. Silsbee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2004

The Mindful Coach offers a powerful approach to developing effective coaching skills using a seven-part model. The book's emphasis on mindfulness also taps into the growing contemporary interest in spirituality and meaning in the workplace.

Editorial Reviews

Review

... takes 'coaching' well beyond popular models into a deeply intentional practice of intentionality and professionalism at their highest levels. -- James Burke, PhD; Director, Workplace Initiatives Program, Virginia Commonwealth University

Doug's analysis is clear and intuitive. Its simplicity allows it to be easily used, yet it's rich in detail. -- Chris Dennen, PhD; Director, Adventure of the American Mind

Silsbee's approach is both practical and profound. this is a must-read for everyone concerned with people and learning. -- Arthur Blank; Co-Founder, Home Depot

The Mindful Coach is personal, spiritual, systematic, and insightful. This is Thich Nhat Hahn meets Stephen Covey! -- Barbara Fulmer; Director of Training, Jenny Craig International

The Mindful Coach provides an inspiring and practical roadmap for developing masterful coaching skills on the job. -- Karen Wunderlin; Consultant, Former VP/Marketing, GE

With its pertinent perspective, The Mindful Coach will bring an extra, fruitful dimension to the coaching relationship. -- Henry Berry; The Small Press Book Review --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Author

Writing this book has been an enormous pleasure and challenge. Many people have contributed in one way or another. I'm pleased to offer this book, not only to professional coaches, but to all professionals who take their own development, and that of others, seriously.

Coaching and developing people is a critical capability of leaders in any field. This book provides a practical method for doing this more skillfully, based on a proven approach. The reader looking for a set of skills and tools will be happy with the practical tools included here.

The book, however, goes beyond tools and skills. The uniqueness of this book is the particular emphasis on the corresponding development of the coach. The act of coaching itself, when entered into by a thoughtful practitioner, provides a constant invitation to learning.

In my own work with leaders in business, government, and education, I've often felt that I was learning alongside those I was working for. The underlying premise of this book is that we can't truly serve the learning of others unless we are, at the same time, doing our own work. As you coach, you must also be a learner. It's my hope that the book will both inspire and guide you toward this end. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Ivy River Press (March 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974500356
• ISBN-13: 978-0974500355
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #181,730 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Doug Silsbee is a pioneer in the field of presence-based leadership development. He is an executive coach, trainer of coaches, presenter at conferences and retreats, and author in Asheville, NC. He combines deep experience in organization and leader development with a number of eclectic influences.


Doug specializes in coaching self-generative leaders in major corporations, small business, and education. His unique Presence-Based Coaching encourages clients to enter into strong commitments and to take meaningful and skillful action to produce results they care about. Along the way, clients cultivate leadership presence, resilience, and aliveness.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book breaks coaching out of the formula!, July 7, 2004

By 

T. M. Zwierzynski "TerriZ" (Cary, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mindful Coach: Seven Roles for Helping People Grow (Hardcover)

I love this book because instead of putting coaching into a series of formulas and canned techniques, Doug presents a holistic approach to coaching as a unique human interaction. The seven coaching roles he describes are useful and practical without being prescriptive, and the exercises really invite you to understand and know yourself as a canvas upon which the coaching conversation can happen.

Doug has written an important new perspective on coaching that all coaches, consultants, and managers can learn from. I highly recommend this book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Resource Book, April 29, 2010

By 

Dale R. Schwarz (Sunderland, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mindful Coach: Seven Roles for Facilitating Leader Development (Hardcover)

Doug's thoughtfully written book offers experienced and new coaches an important perspective on mindfulness and it's applications for coaching. In fact this book is valuable for anyone wanting to further develop their awareness and effectiveness in relating with others. In addition to theory, it includes valuable skills, techniques and exercises for you and your clients to practice. Doug's Septet Model is practical and based on ancient truths -what a great combination.

As a seasoned coach, I particularly appreciated the emphasis on being conscious of your own thoughts, emotions and behavior instead of changing others behavior. I highly recommend Doug's book as an excellent resource.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read for New and Experienced Coaches, April 22, 2010

By 

Anne S. Davidson "Anne S. Davidson, author of... (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mindful Coach: Seven Roles for Facilitating Leader Development (Hardcover)

This new edition of The Mindful Coach is a must-read for coaches and leaders serious about guiding the development of others. More than other coaching books, it focuses on how we can build our capacity to serve one another and manifest what we truly care about in the world.

Here Doug distills the wisdom from his many years of coaching and training other coaches and leaders into a readable, compelling book worthy of visiting again and again. The emphasis on the cultivation of self through mindful observation calls us to be accountable for having the integrity to model the very work we ask of our coachees. Doug demonstrates how to be both assertive as a teacher or guide while remaining client-centered and building people's ability to self-coach.

Readers of the 2004 edition of this book will find this new and revised edition worth acquiring. It is much more than a simple update. Doug presents his ideas, models and practices with increased clarity and simplicity. New and more exercises enhance the value of the book for self-guided development. I found especially helpful the separate sections on mindfulness at the conclusion of each of the seven voices (coaching roles) Doug articulates. And the application of the Septet model to leadership development is brought to the fore with links my clients will find compelling. Using this with Doug's excellent Presence-Based Coaching book as a companion will offer any coach or leader rich ground for deep and sustained growth.