Customer Reviews

The Philosophy and Practice of Coaching: Insights and Issues for a New Era

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As an executive coach who works with organizations in leadership development, I was eager to read this book. I reviewed Diane Brennan's chapter on Leadership Coaching: The Impact on the Organization, and took away several new insights. Brennan's intention was to explore the value of coaching for both the leader and the organization. She accomplishes this by introducing academic rigor to the coaching process, using case study material which is analyzed and linked back to leadership theory.

Brennan's writing style is easy to follow and informative. Using a scholar-practitioner model, Brennan offers her readers a synthesis of critical and creative insights. She challenges the reader to approach the coaching experience with a mind-set for continuous learning and critical reflective practice. Brennan demonstrates how to ask the "tough questions" as they relate to both the client and the coach. Furthermore, Brennan points out the duality of learning that can occur in the coaching partnership when inward reflection is at the core of the experience.

In my opinion, Brennan achieved her purpose by presenting a systematic approach that allows the reader to easily follow her thinking process. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn more about coaching and leadership.

This is a quote excerpted from a book review that appeared in "Coaching at Work" Magazine -
"This book adds to the growing body of rigorous coaching literature and is ideal for teaching the theoretical foundations of the field as well as opening up wider discourse on topics we will likely be discussing as coaching evolves." - reviewed by Suzanne Doyle-Morris, Director of Doyle Morris Coaching & Development - [...]