Coaching : evoking excellence in others

277 Pages·2022·3.696 MB·English

by  James Flaherty

Coaching
Now in its fourth edition, the bestselling, seminal book by James F laherty,
Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Others, is an insightful, thought- provoking,
pragmatic guide that dissects the art and science of coaching.
This fourth edition includes two brand new chapters: the first is on
finding one’s inner guidance and purpose in traversing the world of work,
especially in more uncertain working environments; and the second is on the
topic of somatic intelligence. As in earlier editions, this foundational book
in coaching clearly presents the theories, concepts, and models, and then
moves on to consider rigorous methods of practice and self- observation in
a relationship of mutual trust, respect, and freedom of expression. It will
probe you to rethink how you relate to your clients and your staff, how
you produce long-term excellent performance in yourself, and how you can
become more effective in helping others to achieve their goals.
Coaching, Fourth Edition is a rich learning resource guide for new and
experienced coaches who want to challenge their methods of partnering
with clients. It is also an inspiring guide for training managers and leaders,
human resource development managers, and general managers who want
to develop their teams.
James Flaherty, MCC, is the founder of New Ventures West, Integral Lead-
ership LLC, and Integral Engagements LLC. He designed the Professional
Coaching Course and dozens of other programs, and over the past four
decades he has led coaching and leadership courses involving thousands
of people throughout North America, South Africa, Asia, and Europe. He
has coached top executives at many Fortune 500 companies and is a highly
sought-after speaker at meetings and conferences.
“James Flaherty’s Coaching has been for some years a foundational text for
the field. This fourth edition updates the material and adds two vital new
chapters, Somatic Intelligence and Midlife Drift. I continue to be impressed
with James’s clarity, thoroughness, compassion, wisdom, and his generous
referencing of a wide variety of useful sources. For those who have read
Coaching, this is a useful update; for those who have not—whether you are
a new or an experienced coach or interested in exploring coaching—this
book will not only open your eyes; it will provide insights and practices to
set you on a new course.”
Norman Fischer, poet, Zen priest, author of Museum of
Capitalism and When You Greet Me I Bow: Notes and
Reflections from a Life in Zen
“James Flaherty’s book Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Others has estab-
lished itself as an indispensable classic in the field. In this fourth edition,
new chapters on somatic approaches to coaching and on ‘midlife drift’ add
crucial pieces to an already excellent guide to coaching the whole person.
Highly recommended.”
Russ Hudson, author of The Enneagram: Nine Gateways to
Presence and co-author of The Wisdom of the Enneagram
“James Flaherty has written a thoughtful and deeply insightful guide for
coaches—equal parts theory and practical instruction with valuable distinc-
tions in how to apply these learnings to ourselves and our coaching practice.”
Laila Tarraf, Chief People Officer, Allbirds and author of
Strong Like Water
“Coaching is a must-read for coaches, HR professionals, and managers! It
has been a core foundation of my own coaching work for two decades. This
edition offers exciting new reflections and practices for building somatic intel-
ligence and navigating mid-life, enriching the coach’s toolbox significantly.”
Amy Jen Su, executive coach and author of The Leader You Want
to Be: Five Essential Principles for Bringing Out Your Best Self;
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Paravis Partners
“James Flaherty’s sage teaching clearly comes from one who has journeyed
his somatic interior thoroughly enough to know just the right ways to gen-
tly invite us to trust our own.”
Susan Olesek, Founder, Enneagram Prison Project
and The Human Potentialists
“In a practical and engaging way, James Flaherty skillfully synthesizes many
disciplines into an approachable and effective system for human transfor-
mation at an individual and collective level. In this new edition, James ex-
pands the coaching perspective to the world of somatic intelligence and
that of life transitions, particularly mid-life, offering powerful reflections
and practices to deepen one’s awareness and connection to meaning. A gem
to help anyone get closer to realising their potential.”
Luzette Jaimes, Director of Learning and Development, Ashoka
and Co-Founder of the Consciousness Coalition
Praise for Earlier Editions
of Coaching:
“In Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Others, James Flaherty brilliantly dis-
sects both the art and science of coaching—one of the more difficult and
least understood roles in organizations. Beginning with theories, concepts,
and models, he shows their application to practice and empowers any as-
piring coach to be more effective in helping people achieve their goals. A
better book on this subject just doesn’t exist.”
Jerry I. Porras, Lane Professor of Organizational Behavior
and Change Emeritus, Graduate School of Business, Stanford
University and Co-Author, Built to Last
“As the field of coaching finds its way to becoming a mature discipline,
James Flaherty’s dedicated field research, study, and sound articulation
offers a definitive ground and a sensibility of genuine care. At the core,
this book offers a way of thinking about human beings that makes action
and practice central to learning. This is a no-nonsense, generous, pragmatic
book that belongs on the shelf of every coach, novice or veteran.”
Richard Strozzi-Heckler, Ph.D., Founder of Somatic Coaching and
author of The Anatomy of Change and Holding the Center
“At long last, a book on coaching that moves beyond ‘advice from the side-
lines.’ James Flaherty convincingly shows that the only way to truly help
people grow is to help them in developing new practices and new language,
and that the only way to coach effectively is to enter into a reciprocal rela-
tionship where ‘coach’ and ‘coachee’ engage in a dance of mutual influence
and growth.”
Peter M. Senge, MIT and Society for Organizational Learning
“This extraordinary book clearly represents James Flaherty’s ability to in-
sightfully enable the self-generating and self-correcting capacities of his cli-
ents. His clarity and candor engage the reader to more deeply examine the
opportunities to live a more integrated and holistic life.”
Michele Goins, Vice President and Chief Information Officer,
Imaging and Printing Group, Hewlett-Packard Company
“James Flaherty focuses on the commonly overlooked fact that a coachee is
a ‘human-being.’ He effectively emphasizes that this is the most important
aspect that a coach should always have in mind, something that many of us
tend to forget. It was this tact that he applies toward coaching, as well as
many other brilliant insights, that helped me make the decision to publish
Coaching in Japanese and apply its lessons in my practice.”
Mamoru Itoh, President, Coach21 Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
“James Flaherty frames deep questions about how humans operate across
a series of interconnected domains such as the mind, body, and emotions,
which will give both new and experienced coaches pause to reflect. He
frames crisp distinctions about the coaching process which will generate
new perspectives on the role of the coach. He leaves a trail of deeply re-
searched threads that the reader can explore after reading to deepen their
knowledge and understanding. All of this is done in a crisp and quietly
elegant dialogue which makes you believe he is present as you are inspired
to explore, with profound curiosity, your own beliefs on what we are as
human beings and how we should show up as coaches. As you read and
digest his coaching metaphors, analogies and questions, there are inexpli-
cable possibilities that crystallize fresh insights that emerge and a renewed
commitment to explore oneself and the coaching we strive to master.”
Craig O’Flaherty, Director, Centre for Coaching, Graduate School
of Business, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Coaching
Evoking Excellence
in Others
Fourth Edition
James Flaherty
Cover image: © Getty Images
Fourth edition published 2022
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 James Flaherty
The right of James Flaherty to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Butterworth-Heinemann 1998
Third edition published by Routledge 2010
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Flaherty, James, author.
Title: Coaching : evoking excellence in others / James Flaherty.
Description: 4th edition. | Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge,
2022. | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2021051083 (print) | LCCN 2021051084 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781032073170 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032073187 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003206422 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Mentoring in business. | Employees—Training of. |
Employees—Coaching of. | Employees—Counseling of. | Executive coaching.
Classification: LCC HF5385 .F55 2022 (print) | LCC HF5385 (ebook) |
DDC 658.3/124—dc23/eng/20211018
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021051083
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021051084
ISBN: 978-1-032-07317-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-07318-7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-20642-2 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003206422
Typeset in Times New Roman
by codeMantra
To STacy and devin
in appreciaTion of The Love and digniTy
you Bring To Life
“Talent neglected or misguided, investigations into the nature of things not
completed, what is right understood but not acted upon, and the lack of energy
to rectify what is wrong—these are the things which pain my heart, which
I exist to remedy.”
—Kung–Tzu (ConfuCius)

Contents
List of figures xiii
List of tables xv
Foreword xvii
Preface to the Fourth Edition xxi
Preface xxv
How to Use this Book xxvi
Limits of the Text xxvii
Acknowledgments xxix
Orientation xxxi
Introduction 1
1. The Foundation for Coaching 3
Why Coaching Now? 3
What Is Coaching? 5
Operating Principles of Coaching 11
2. Basic Principles 17
What Is a Human Being? 17
Language, Observation, and Assessment 25
3. The Flow of Coaching 32
Stage One: Relationship 33
Stage Two: Openings 34
Stage Three: Assessment 35
Stage Four: Enrollment 36
Stage Five: Coaching Itself 37
4. The Coaching Relationship 39
Mutual Trust 40
Mutual Respect 42
Mutual Freedom of Expression 44
ix