Challenging Coaching

Challenging Coaching is a real-world, timely and provocative book which provides a wake-up call to move beyond the limitations of traditional coaching. Based on the authors' extensive experience working at board and management levels, they suggest that for far too long coaching approaches have shied away from adopting a more challenging stance - a stance that can provoke greater performance and unlock deeper potential in business leaders and their teams.

The authors detail their unique FACTS coaching model, which provides a practical and pragmatic approach focusing on Feedback, Accountability, Courageous goals, Tension and Systems thinking. The authors explore FACTS coaching in theory and in practice using case studies, example dialogues and practical exercises so that the reader will be able to successfully challenge others using respectful yet direct techniques.

This is an original and thought-provoking book that dares the reader to go beyond traditional coaching and face the FACTS.

“Importantly, this book challenges coaches too by giving them permission to break some of the 'golden rules' of coaching. John and Ian show how the FACTS model can help leaders deploy tough coaching skills with the humility that will be necessary to engage and motivate the modern workforce. This is an excellent contribution to the advancement of executive coaching. I hope that others will wake up to this important challenge through reading and re-reading this timely book.”

- Sir John Whitmore (from the foreword)

This is a terrific book that should provoke and challenge coaches to 'up their game' and thus provide more value to individuals and also, vitally, to their organisations. The philosophy, observations, process and tools that John and Ian describe are very consistent with my and my colleagues' approach. Read it and I believe you will improve your coaching. - Graham Alexander - Founder of The Alexander Corporation, originator of the GROW Model, and author of Supercoaching and Tales From the Top

This is a real-world, practical, easy to understand approach to a more challenging style of coaching. A style that is needed to help leaders sit back and think of different solutions and new mind sets in a more uncertain business world. For leaders who are driving for higher performance the FACTS model will allow them to adopt a challenging style but one which, crucially, is respectful rather than threatening in its impact. - Tony McCarthy - Group HR Director, ENRC plc

Not just for the coaches. This book is critical reading for any business leader seeking to take an honest and challenging approach to developing their people, as well as anyone seeking to add robustness and realism to their business relationships. - Scott Sundermann - Managing Director, Healix Group

This is a book that is at the same time inspiring and transformational. Inspiring because it reinforces the motivational aspects of coaching and transformational because it progresses the discipline in light of today's business environment. I recommend this book to all coaches who wish to challenge conventional coaching techniques. - Julian Wais - Director of Inverstor Relations, Cobham plc

This new book makes an important contribution to the coaching literature. Blakey and Day challenge all coaches to look at ourselves and how we work to help our clients - both individuals and their organisations. Whilst this might be an uncomfortable experience for us as a profession it is as important that we do it for ourselves as we do with our clients. - Ian Saunders - Associate Fellow, Said Business School, Oxford University

John Blakey is a coach to board-level leaders around the globe, having worked in the US, UK, Australia, Holland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Portugal, Czech Republic, Malaysia, India, France, and Germany in recent years. In his corporate career he was international managing director at Logica plc and later its director of coaching, the first such role in a FTSE250 organization. In the 1990s he was consulting director of Team121 Ltd, one of the fastest-growing private companies in the UK. He has an MSc in Information Systems, an MBA from Aston Business School, and is a PCC credentialed coach with the International Coach Federation. He features regularly as a conference speaker and writer on the topics of executive coaching, organizational change, and business growth. John's work draws upon a broad range of influences including his passion for systems thinking, his Christian faith, his expertise in t'ai chi and his extensive work with Olympic athletes and their coaches.

Ian Day is a coach, facilitator, and speaker working at board level for large international clients. Ian graduated with a degree in psychology and spent over 20 years in human resource and development roles in a variety of large organizations within the leisure and tourism, healthcare and utilities sectors, including head of talent for an international FTSE100 group, responsible for groupwide talent management, leadership development, executive coaching, and performance management. In this role Ian was coached, which was an inspiring turning point in his life and led him to study for an advanced diploma in coaching and mentoring, a certificate in counselling, and to his current work as a leadership consultant. Ian's interest in psychology has never left him as he applies models and theories in his work with individuals and teams, frequently using psychometric personality profiles to create within clients the awareness and energy to change.

Challenging Coaching is a real-world, timely and provocative book which provides a wake-up call to move beyond the limitations of traditional coaching. Based on the authors' extensive experience working at board and management levels, they suggest that for far too long coaching approaches have shied away from adopting a more challenging stance - a stance that can provoke greater performance and unlock deeper potential in business leaders and their teams.The authors detail their unique FACTS coaching model, which provides a practical and pragmatic approach focusing on Feedback, Accountability, Courageous goals, Tension and Systems thinking. The authors explore FACTS coaching in theory and in practice using case studies, example dialogues and practical exercises so that the reader will be able to successfully challenge others using respectful yet direct techniques.This is an original and thought-provoking book that dares the reader to go beyond traditional coaching and face the FACTS.

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