Masterful Coaching: Extraordinary Results by Impacting People and the Way They Think and Work Together (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Masterful coaching involves helping people in groups transform themselves, their communities, and their world..." (more)
Key Phrases: fluid framing, using defensive reasoning, learning enzyme, Chris Argyris, Fidelity Investments, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Finally, a book that helps release people's collective aspirations--almost non-existent in today's corporate environment--and links them to business goals. A treasure trove of 'take-action' tools!" --Melanie Warren, vice president, Fidelity Investments -- Melanie Warren, vice president, Fidelity Investments

"Robert Hargrove's Masterful Coaching sets the context of the coach as steward rather than mere teacher, a critical agent in transforming organizational cultures and developing the skills and capabilities necessary for new cultures to be sustained." (Peter Senge, author, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization)

"Finally, a book that helps release people's collective aspirations—almost non-existent in today's corporate environment—and links them to business goals. A treasure trove of 'take-action' tools!" (Melanie Warren, vice president, Fidelity Investments)

"Robert Hargrove's Masterful Coaching sets the context of the coach as steward rather than mere teacher, a critical agent in transforming organizational cultures and developing the skills and capabilities necessary for new cultures to be sustained." --Peter Senge, author, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization -- Peter Senge, author, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Review

"Robert Hargrove's Masterful Coaching sets the context of the coach as steward rather than mere teacher, a critical agent in transforming organizational cultures and developing the skills and capabilities necessary for new cultures to be sustained."
— Peter Senge, author, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization

"Masterful Coaching will empower you to stand for an impossible future while acting boldly in the present to make it a reality."
— Richard W. Severance, president, Conoco, North American Downstream

"Masterful Coaching brings clarity, power, and velocity to producing extraordinary leaders and extraordinary results."
— Tom Kaiser, president, Zurich Financial Services

"The author's five-step 'transformationa' coaching model has been field-tested by thousands of managers worldwide."
— Accounting Today

"Finally, a book that helps release people's collective aspirations— almost non-existent in today's corporate environment— and links them to business goals. A treasure trove of 'take-action' tools!"
— Melanie Warren, vice-president, Fidelity Investments

"This is a great hands-on book. . . . Hargrove explains how to coach a person through one frame of reference (paradigm) to another or to coach groups of individuals into a cohesive, collaborative team."
— Net Results

"Masterful Coaching provides thorough descriptions of the characteristics of a coach and thoughtful insights about becoming an effective coach."
— Canadian HR Reporter

"If you are looking for some techniques to help your employees creatively meet your customers' needs, this is a must read."
— The Business Resource

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 310 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1st edition (August 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0893842818
• ISBN-13: 978-0893842819
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #859,980 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

93 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful Coaching, January 22, 2000

By	J Henderson (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

I would highly recommend Mr. Hargrove's book, Masterful Coaching, for individuals who are ready and willing to take on the challenge of transforming their own life and impacting others both in the workplace and on a personal level. The author assists the reader in the journey to personal transformation and the journey of coaching others to expand and grow. It is not an advice or prescription book but a tool to help one help themselves and also in the process help others. I especially appreciated the "Calling Forth Questions." The passion of the author is evident and the presentations of ideas are thought provoking, human, insightful and straightforward.

3 major points for pondering:

Personal Transformation: The author focuses on taking effective action throughout the book but the personal transformation that the book pushes readers to explore is powerful. "...coach is someone who engages and enters into the learning system of a person, business or social institution with the intent of improving it so as to impact people's ability to perform" (pg. 17) The presentation of coaching methodology and transformational learning discuss an individual's governing values and implications of those values in learning including Triple-loop learning, Double-loop learning, and Single-loop learning. Personal transformation is the foundation for everything that is presented in the book and is key to the "being" of a person.

A way of "Being" is central to being an effective coach: The characteristics of masterful coaches provide a guide for self-reflection and self-growth. The characteristics are the core of who one is and their sense of "being". Characteristics: 1. The ability to inspire; 2. Setting higher standards; 3. Honesty and integrity; 4. Disciplined intensity; 5. Forwarding action; 6. A passion to help others learn, grow, and perform.

Stewardship, commitment and learning models: The author discusses the shift from dominance to learning in groups and organizations and provides examples for the reader to internalize and better understand the paradigm shift. The role of the coach is is defined in the context of being a steward.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Among the Best on Coaching for Extraordinary Results, June 22, 2000

By	Matthew Foraker (Arizona) - See all my reviews

Robert Hargrove has done an exceptional job of clearly articulating and illustrating principles that have often been difficult to express in writing. Early in the text he links the ability to create truly extraordinary results with "personal transformation" and introduces the concept of "transformational learning." He does this by asking us to consider three learning loops: single loop learning (adding new skills-what normally passes for education), double loop learning (altering patterns of thinking/behavior), and triple loop learning (shifting context).

Fully grasping the third loop and its potential impact is not trivial, and the capacity to operate at this level provides a coach, manager, or leader an access to "transformation" of who people are and what they perceive in a given situation. The results can be far beyond the predictable. I personally know of corporate programs based on the principles of this book that have generated millions through productivity gains in a span of a six months.

This is NOT manipulation. Hargrove states in chapter 1, "it requires authentic communication" and again in chapter 4, "Any attempt to manipulate people will likely be detected and backfire."

If you are accountable for producing results through others as a leader, manager, business owner, or little league coach, this book provides powerful material for helping them achieve performance far beyond what is predictable.

For those already on the cutting edge of consulting in the distinctions of being, context, enrollment, and personal and organizational transformation, Hargrove's book offers yet more ways to express these ideas and produce the results that lead to effective action. The book also serves as a valuable text for individuals you wish to develop as coaches.

For those new to these ideas, the book is an excellent introduction to the principles of being vs. doing, committed speaking and listening, integrity (as a distinction), and personal transformation.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Makes A Difference, August 14, 2000

By	Derek McD (CA, United States) - See all my reviews

Mr. Hargrove has made the concept of "transformational learning" understandable in this well written and concise text. Masterful Coaching describes a process of thinking and coaching that leads to "being" versus "doing".

As a facilitator for a company that delivers adventure-based outdoor team building seminars, I was looking for a guide to help me make a real difference for my corporate clients; this book provides a structure for coaching that can have a profound and lasting impact.

My personal experience of participating in "transformational learning" seminars delivered by the Landmark Education Corporation, leads me to suggest that the maximum value of this book can be realized not just by reading, but by actually participating in a seminar or training program that gives one access to a trained "transformation coach". It was only after experiencing the distinctions of transformational learning on a personal level that I became effective at coaching others in transformation.