Total Life Coaching: 50+ Life Lessons, Skills, and Techniques to Enhance Your Practice...and Your Life (Hardcover)

by Patrick Williams (Author), Lloyd J. Thomas (Author) "Life coaching is more than a collection of techniques and skills..." (more)
Key Phrases: Sample Coaching Conversation Coach, Coaching Summary, Sample Coaching Conversation Client (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
An interactive experience in which you will find recipes for living your life more authentically -- Adolescence, Vol. 40, No. 159

Product Description
A compendium of coaching resources.

Life coaching has burst on the scene both as an adjunct to psychotherapy and as an alternative to it. With the myriad of coaching styles and programs available, it can be difficult to focus on any particular strategy. Here leading coach trainer Pat Williams presents 52 essential skills and techniques that can be applied to a variety of life coaching situations.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 350 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (December 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393704343
• ISBN-13: 978-0393704341
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #275,617 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Content did not live up to its introduction, January 29, 2006

By	Southern Reader "Reader who likes to learn" (Fort Lauderdale, FL) - See all my reviews

Unfortunately I purchased 7 copies of this book for a coaching program I was doing before I had read it. The cover information and introduction were intriguing.However, I found the content thin and failing to deliver on the promises laid out in the introduction of the book as well as the introduction of each chapter. I liked ideas that they told me they would tell me about; the authors delivered thin regurgitated material.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars big book- dissapointing content, February 13, 2007

By	Elizabeth Ellis, CPCC "Whole Life Coach- www.... (Sharon, MA United States) - See all my reviews

I was puzzled by much of the content of this book- probably based in part on the high expectations I had after reading some reviews here. Coaching as I know it focuses on the client's values and the agenda comes from the client rather than the coach. This book is full of exercises and "good ideas", but it seems to be infused with many of the writers' own personal opinions, agenda, and biases.

I am concerned that those who are new to coaching will be tempted to "lead", "know", analyze or attempt to "fix" their clients, rather than partner with clients with genuine curiousity to create what they want based on their own (the clients) values and agenda. Granted there are many effective syles of "coaching" and modalities. As a CTI trained life coach I admit I have a bias towards a more co-active, and less therapeutic model.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another master-piece from Pat Williams!, March 14, 2005

By	Coach Phil "Author of over 500 articles at ww... (Eugene, OR United States) - See all my reviews

Dr Williams has been a friend and colleague for several years and with Total Life Coaching, he has clearly established his position as the foremost leader in his understanding of life coaching skills. This is a a one-volume encyclopedia of coaching! Particularly if you are just starting to build your coaching library, this is a "must-have."

Covering 52 of the most common issues in coaching, organized along eight major themes, each chapter explains the theory, then includes examples, exercises, a short coaching "conversation" around the issue, and practical application steps to make the principle useful. While hundreds of books have been written on each of these themes, Williams and Thomas have collected much of the best information in one place, a "one-stop-shopping" over-view of essential skills and best practices in coaching.

Highly recommended! This is not a small book and it is not intended as a quick read There is real "meat" here! Buy it as a resource book (that's how it's intended to be used) and for more experienced coaches, it will serve as a valuable set of reminders and "first principles" to go back to over and over again. My only reservation about the book is its size and weight. Some people will be put off by its broad scope and massive size, but not you! Buy it and set a goal to read it straight through over a period of time, then keep it handy so you can access it frequently as you need resources, tools, or ideas. A well-done and valuable addition to the literature on coaching.