Customer Reviews

The Heart of Coaching: Using Transformational Coaching to Create a High-performance Coaching Culture

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I own no less than 30 books on coaching and giving performance feedback, and this is the best yet. I say this for three reasons. It is structured around an easy-to-understand model. It is detailed enough to be genuinely useful without being overwhelming. And lastly, it advocates a strong philosophy of genuine caring that is essential to effective coaching. You can bury people in skills training, but they won't do it in the real world unless they have beliefs and values that support this difficult set of management skills. Coaching is easy to talk about, hard to do. This book makes it clear what to do and also encourages the reader to actually do it.

As a senior manager with a major international manufacturing entity, I am continually educating my superiors, peers and subordinates about the value of developing exceptional coaching skills. After extensive research, The Heart of Coaching was the written vehicle we chose to develop these skills within our organization.

The most important aspect of this work, that sets it apart from all others, is it's focus on changing yourself and your own behavior rather than changing others. It is written with a simplicity that creates immediate understanding of the most effective behaviors of leaders who combine "heart" with results.

The results in our organization have been astounding. Not just a change in the effectiveness of individuals, but a cultural evolution.

I was in the middle of reading Dan Goleman's book, WORKING WITH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE. I kept thinking, "This is great, but how does one apply the concepts?" Then one of my colleagues gave me a copy of THE HEART OF COACHING. It answered my question. Tom Crane has written a clear and concise book. His ideas on "transformational" coaching as an ongoing cycle of creating a solid "foundation", developing a "learning loop", and "forwarding the action" is a practical description of how to create empowerment and high performance in any organization. I am recommending this highly readable and extremely useful guide to all who are interested in putting the"heart" back into the work we all do.

Buy this book if you do any coaching at work - easy to read - it contains some great insight and excellent information into motivation and techniques.

Of the myriad of books I've read on coaching and creating a high performance culture, The Heart of Coaching is by far the undisputed winner! Filled with foundational principles and practices, this book gave me all the tools I needed to feel confident and equipped in my coaching assignments. I was able to take what I learned in this book and apply it in the workplace immediately. As coaching continues to grow, I think Thomas G. Crane's book will come to standout as a definitive work.

The Heart of Coaching is a current and practical guide that demonstrates how coaching is the heart of leadership that creates and sustains an organization's competitive advantage. Every reader will understand why this coaching model is necessary to create a "high-performance, feedback-rich" culture. Most important for the busy manager, the author shows exactly how to do that. Many writers have emphasized the importance of a learning organization for flexible responses to changing demands. Crane highlights the key role of coaching so that managers can "walk the talk." If you only want one book on managerial coaching, make it this one. It's superior.

Tom has done a great job of showing how to enhance the EQ of both coach and client. His new and improved coaching process is even more user-friendly. And the inside look at the coaching conversation is an added bonus. Written with heart!

• Mark Kelly, coauthor of MASTERNG TEAM LEADERSHIP: 7 ESSENTIAL COACHING SKILLS

In a September 2000 Time Magazine article there was an important message for organizations about coaching: Ours is a fast-paced and changing marketplace and there's a big potential pay-off for companies whose managers know how to help valued employees develop and adapt to the changes. Crane's superior book shows how to do that -- how to provide feedback with respect, with clarity, and in a partnership that empowers people to contribute increasingly at higher levels of performance. It is current, practical, and my key resource in teaching managers how to coach. I particularly appreciate the "heart" of this approach -- the commitment to know and appreciate people as human beings and to transcend the traditional boss/subordinate relationship. If you are a manager, get this book. If you are a professional coach to managers, get this book.

Tom Crane's The Heart of Coaching provides easy to read and even easier to apply principles of coaching and leadership. The integration of logical and heartfelt approaches assures successful implementation. It is a great example of how to treat people with care and respect while getting results.

I found each chapter to be full of useful and thought provoking material for the coach and manager alike. The distinctions between a boss and a coach on page 121 are excellent. In fact, I've posted them in my office to remind me daily.

Every time I pick up this book I find pearls of wisdom, what makes the book unique is how the author presents them in such a user-friendly manner. I found reading this book easy and informative. I find applying what I learned profound.

The quotes sprinkled throughout the book are an added bonus.

This is a must read for anyone who wants to be more effective interacting with others!

Tom Crane has accomplished a difficult task--capturing the "essence" of coaching while building a rock-solid foundation for practicing this emerging art and science.

The Heart of Coaching should be kept close at hand to mine it's many tools and techniques and to rejuvenate coaches when they lose sight of why this is such a rewarding and difference making field of work.