Book Reviews

 

Title: Positive Psychology Coaching
Author: Susanne Knowles Publisher: XlibrisAU ISBN: 9781984501943 Genre: Education/Business
Pages: 344
Reviewed by: Barbara Bamberger Scott

 

An experienced organizational coach and founder of the Australian Institute of Professional Coaches (AIPC) Susanne Knowles presents an intelligent overview of coaching, designed with potential practitioners as a target readership.

Coaching in the world of business and organizational development started in the 1970s, and is now a recognized strategy for assisting individuals and groups. Its aim is self-empowerment and transformational change across numerous realms of work and personal experience. Knowles offers the AIPC definition of coaching—“a supportive and encouraging process…” leading to creative, self-determined solutions. Tracing the historical development of significant streams of psychology, Knowles notes that coaching differs from most methods of counseling because it focuses on the present and future rather than examining the past. Specific areas of coaching currently include Life, Business, Career Transition, Leadership, and Executive.

One admirable aspect of Knowles’ book is that she invites the reader or prospective coach to design his or her own strategies, including some needed forms—welcome letter, feedback sheet, client details, and the like—instead of presenting pre-made templates. This methodology allows the reader to participate in the self-motivational aspect of being coached. Knowles explores the coaching process in great detail, and advises following the AIPC steps: Critical issue, Opportunities, Actionable goals, Commitment, Hold Accountable.

She states that the coach can determine when a client is truly ready for change by assessing the importance that change holds for that individual, and their level of self-efficacy—the ability to make the needed change.

While much of this highly practical manual focuses on psychological factors and direct coaching techniques, there are also useful guidelines for locating a client base and convincing organizations of the usefulness both motivational and financial, in accessing the services of a coach. Knowles analyzes management styles and leadership strategies which a coach will need to grasp in order to reach out convincingly to new clients.

Knowles is clearly an example of her own philosophy as she guides prospective coaches through various stages of coaching to promote their clear understanding of what is required. Her book is extremely well organized, underpinned with salient examples from a number of disciplines and a lengthy list of references. Her work in the field of coaching should be studied by anyone interested in that career, as well as by students of psychology, business management and personal growth strategies.

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If you have ever wondered about the value of coaching to improve your chances for promotion or to overcome life events that handicap achievement, this book clearly defines the options available and explains what may be confusing differences. A current concise definition for coaching is a “valid personal and professional intervention delivered by coaches.” However, it takes eighteen chapters to cover the differences and nuances. For example, in coaching, the coach and client are equals. Mentoring, however, is marked by the status of participants and is characterized by someone senior in status investing time mentoring a junior. In counseling, issues discussed are from past events; in coaching, training sessions will likely follow to assist with upcoming or recent changes. In-person coaching is typical, but modern methods include telephone or video coaching. Tangible action steps are assigned by the coach to promote and track progress.

The author commends positive psychology coaching as a strategy to deal with promoting the growth necessary to accommodate change. The change could either be threatening or offer great opportunity. The ©AIPC Coach holds the client and/or team members accountable via a worksheet that tracks one or two key performance indicators (KPI) that demonstrate progress. Knowles has divided her exhaustive 326-page book into chapters that clearly spotlight the ABCs of coaching. Chapter 3 helpfully covers the benefits to individuals and business teams/executives. For coaches, Chapter 5 is very useful in its definition of the skills needed and the process to be used (Chapter 7). For organizations as well as students, Chapters 9-18 expertly explain applications where coaching proves of service. The information conveniently located through a large table of contents and index makes this author’s work a helpful reference tool.

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Source: https://www.theusreview.com/reviews/Positive-Psychology-Coaching-by-Susanne-Knowles.html#.XeGyHugzbIU