The Complete Handbook of Coaching

Reviews / Votes

The second edition is an impressively comprehensive book, with so many leading experts and writers in coaching . The book is a consistently organised, accessible and practical handbook for coaches. Particularly helpful in the Introduction is the Table showing how each theory or approach is linked to the genres and contexts in which that style of coaching is used. The new edition is updated and covers coaching even more extensively than the first edition.
























-- Dr Hilary Geber When the first edition of the Complete Handbook of Coaching appeared, it became my first point of reference for everything to do with coaching. The second edition lives up to the standards of the first, bring existing chapters up to date and adding new chapters on health and wellness coaching and on coaching research. As the evidence base for coaching expands, it is good to have an updated edition of this wonderful book.


The strength of the book on my view is the inclusive nature of the coaching approaches included in Section 1 and the structured way the information is presented, allowing coaches and coaching students to reflect on a particular coaching approach and compare it both with their own practice and with other approaches explored in the book. It is thus a rich resource to help people develop their own approach or coaching model, not by adding tools or techniques in an ad hoc way, but by understanding the underlying assumptions and key features of a particular approach.


Section 2 includes a variety of contexts such as managerial, peer and team coaching as well as contexts such as skills and performance, developmental and transformational coaching. Coaches may read just the sections which are immediately relevant to them or may read others, and consider expanding their practice to these other contexts.


Section 3 examines current hot topics such as mental health, coaching supervision, ethics and continuing professional development for coaching. These are important issues for all coaches to reflect on, whether coaching students starting out or experienced coaches, wanting to ensure they remain up to date, and always provide the best service possible for those whom they coach.


This is an invaluable compendium and I commend it highly. If I could only have one coaching book on my bookshelf, this would be it!








-- Dr Grace McCarthy Leading coaching theorists Elaine Cox, Tatiana Bachkirova and David Clutterbuck have presided over a tour de force for all concerned in their second edition of the Complete Handbook of Coaching. Due to their true understanding of what matters in coaching, there is no doubt coaching is worthy of its place alongside established academic and practice traditions.


The influential Handbook dances with theoretical perspectives, provides much needed insight on contexts and genres and reveals effective and ethical professional practice to satisfy the curious and conscientious in coaching. A unique range of communities in coaching are connected, bringing together insightful contributors who explore established, current and emerging themes to powerful effect. In reviewing the conceptual orientation of coaching and deconstructing it to reveal its parts in a holistic way, we see what techniques and skills to administer and how to do so congruently. The confident thread of transparency running throughout the book displays informed discussions and critiques, seeks clarity on models and strategies in coaching practice and provides a compelling resource.


A yearning in the field of coaching for theoretical underpinnings, practice-based evidence and the accompanying 'know-how' is satisfied with this brave and masterful voice. -- Dr Pamela F. Murray The Complete Handbook of Coaching is an excellent reference book for all coaching practitioners. It provides a clear and accessible summary of the key approaches and the contexts in which they might be used. The authors give us clear guidelines for applying these approaches in practice, and provide a range of tools and techniques that can be easily used in practice, underpinned with up to date and rigorous academic evidence. Whether you are just starting out and are in need of a comprehensive guide, or already an experienced coach looking for some up to date CPD, I thoroughly recommend this book. -- Julia Yates This is a must-have guide to the coaching world that has something to offer every coach or aspiring coach...For students, researchers and those considering entering coaching, it is a rich and thorough guide to the potential of coaching...For me, this is truly valuable CPD and much more than I would expect to get from a single book. -- Cathy Warren, counsellor, coach, mediator and trainer, South London The editors have assembled an impressive list of contributors, comprising both academics and practising coaches...The variety of the contributions gave me the impression of a vibrant and creative discipline that is growing rapidly and also changing...The most helpful chapter for me was on'the future of coaching as a profession'. In this chapter there was a good overview of the struggles of a new profession trying to establish itself. This gave me a sense of how coaching may be coming together as a discipline rather than as a collection of individuals...To summarise, I think that for anyone interested in coaching there is plenty to learn and for those new to coaching it can serve as a useful introduction. -- Andy Wilson, BACP Counsellor, Cardiff