Lessons from an Executive Coach
Insights and Strategies for Learning and Practice
Published on 6. April 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
220 pages
978-1-80388-515-5 (ISBN)
Description
Lessons from an Executive Coach is designed to help coaches, at any stage in their
careers, to understand the realities of executive coaching. That is, to gain an insight
into what it is like to sit down with a range of very different clients and work with each
of them as their coaching journey unfolds and evolves. Drawing on his own extensive
experience, master coach Iain McCormick helps readers learn not by setting out the
dry theories and processes of coaching, but by presenting a series of engaging,
fictionalized case stories in a way that is designed to reveal the challenges, successes,
failures and insights inherent in each. From Adam, a middle manager whose story
reveals the enduring positivity at the heart of the coaching mindset, to Amanda, a
young accountant whose story reveals how learning can still take place even if goals
are not met, Lessons from an Executive Coach offers a colourful and accessible
account of coaching in action from both the client's and the coach's perspective.
careers, to understand the realities of executive coaching. That is, to gain an insight
into what it is like to sit down with a range of very different clients and work with each
of them as their coaching journey unfolds and evolves. Drawing on his own extensive
experience, master coach Iain McCormick helps readers learn not by setting out the
dry theories and processes of coaching, but by presenting a series of engaging,
fictionalized case stories in a way that is designed to reveal the challenges, successes,
failures and insights inherent in each. From Adam, a middle manager whose story
reveals the enduring positivity at the heart of the coaching mindset, to Amanda, a
young accountant whose story reveals how learning can still take place even if goals
are not met, Lessons from an Executive Coach offers a colourful and accessible
account of coaching in action from both the client's and the coach's perspective.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Hove
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
357 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80388-515-5 (9781803885155)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
IAIN McCORMICK is Founder of the Executive
Coaching Centre in Auckland, New Zealand.
After training in clinical psychology and
completing a PhD on work stress in Antarctica,
he moved into organizational consulting and
coaching, becoming a Partner in Deloitte and
working in Canada and New Zealand. Moving
to Hong Kong, he helped build a consulting
firm that was sold to a US multinational.
Iain returned to New Zealand in 2000 and
founded the Executive Coaching Centre. He
coaches boards of directors, chief executives
and senior managers. He has conducted many
thousands of individual and team sessions, as
well as publishing over 100 articles and book
chapters and several books. He has received
several awards including the Jamieson Award
for significant contributions to organizational
psychology in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Coaching Centre in Auckland, New Zealand.
After training in clinical psychology and
completing a PhD on work stress in Antarctica,
he moved into organizational consulting and
coaching, becoming a Partner in Deloitte and
working in Canada and New Zealand. Moving
to Hong Kong, he helped build a consulting
firm that was sold to a US multinational.
Iain returned to New Zealand in 2000 and
founded the Executive Coaching Centre. He
coaches boards of directors, chief executives
and senior managers. He has conducted many
thousands of individual and team sessions, as
well as publishing over 100 articles and book
chapters and several books. He has received
several awards including the Jamieson Award
for significant contributions to organizational
psychology in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Content
1. Introduction
2. The Story of Coaching and its Impact
3. The Bali Moment: The Client Finds Her Own
Unique Solution
4. The Problem Isn't That: Getting to the Heart
of the Presenting Issue
5. What Questions: Using Provocative Inquiry
to Facilitate Change
6. The Power of Reflection: Holding a Mirror
for the Client
7. Constructive Yet Challenging: The Power of
Empathic Confrontation
8. Reflective Feedback: The Reality as the
Coach Sees It
9. Holding To Account: Collaborative
Responsibility
10. When The Going Gets Tough: Keep Going
11. Changing The Lens: The Value of Reframing
12. Using Your Gut: Instinct as a Driver of Change
13. When Insight Is Enough: Sometimes Telling
the Story is Sufficient
14. Schema Coaching: Letting Stress Go
15. Coaching Coaches and the Power of
Deliberate Practice
16. When to Refer On: You Can't Coach Everyone
17. You Cannot Win Them All: We All Fall Short
Sometimes
2. The Story of Coaching and its Impact
3. The Bali Moment: The Client Finds Her Own
Unique Solution
4. The Problem Isn't That: Getting to the Heart
of the Presenting Issue
5. What Questions: Using Provocative Inquiry
to Facilitate Change
6. The Power of Reflection: Holding a Mirror
for the Client
7. Constructive Yet Challenging: The Power of
Empathic Confrontation
8. Reflective Feedback: The Reality as the
Coach Sees It
9. Holding To Account: Collaborative
Responsibility
10. When The Going Gets Tough: Keep Going
11. Changing The Lens: The Value of Reframing
12. Using Your Gut: Instinct as a Driver of Change
13. When Insight Is Enough: Sometimes Telling
the Story is Sufficient
14. Schema Coaching: Letting Stress Go
15. Coaching Coaches and the Power of
Deliberate Practice
16. When to Refer On: You Can't Coach Everyone
17. You Cannot Win Them All: We All Fall Short
Sometimes