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Rating: 
Summary: Not Quite on the Mark
Review: "Stop Managing, Start Coaching" has some very helpful insights, for example about giving feedback. On the other hand, I felt the authors could have more effectively expressed themselves in terms how coaching and management differ. While the authors suggest that coaching demonstrates more genuine interest and respect for people, they continually identify results of coaching solely in management terms-for example, increased job performance. I think the authors would have better demonstrated the value of coaching (vs. managing) if they had emphasized that coaching balances the interests of both the coached employee and the employers. Where effective coaching increases the potential, self-actualization, and self esteem of coached people, enhanced performance is one of several by-products of people with increased potential and healthier self esteem. Rather the authors suggest, "Performance coaching is a series of one-on-one exchanges between you and your people. The purpose of each exchange is to help you solve problems, improve performance, or get results." This seems to sound quite similar to traditional command and control management-especially in terms of expressing little of "what's in it for me?" from employee' perspectives. I think the authors' good ideas would be more evident if presented in a context giving credit to other positive initiatives toward human development. Instead, the authors dismiss the value of research, personality instruments, and leadership profiles and also the value of human resource development efforts. The authors may over generalize management malpractice. While there are many examples of "management malpractice," there are also many conscientious managers trying to do their best for both their companies and their employees. It seems we should be learning from the passion of these conscientious managers and working toward nurturing similar passion in our employees-instead of dismissing these conscientious managers and generalizing them as malpracticing. While "Stop Managing, Start Coaching" expresses some valuable ideas, I think these effective ideas may be overshadowed lack of respect for and integration into other human development paradigms.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful AND challenging framework
Review: This book is a useful and challenging framework for how to move from managing to coaching. It starts with an overview of "Contributions to Managerial Malpractice", including skills, attitudes and behaviors. Then they move on to explain the concept they call "Performance Coaching". They review the "Eight Elements of the Performance Coaching Process": 1. Developing a new human resource development philosophy. 2. Modularizing training. 3. Creating transfer of learning strategies. 4. Using human resource development professionals as internal consultants responsible for performance management systems. 5. Enhancing employee relations and creating an ownership attitude. 6. Using managers as performance coaches to do training. 7. Creating self-esteeming employees and teams. 8. Identifying reward strategies that motivate employees, improve their commitment, and get results. They use the "Four Phases of Performance Coaching" as a useful framework. 1. Developing a synergistic relationship with employees 2. Using the four roles of performance coaching 3. Developing self-directed and self-esteeming employees 4. Selecting rewards that build commitment and get results. I believe the framework is useful, but the implementation will still be a challenge. The nuts and bolts "how-to" is left for the reader to figure out.
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