Additional information
by Pamela McLean (Author)
Become a more effective leader by discovering the resources you already have
Pamela McLean, CEO and cofounder of the Hudson Institute for Coaching, has been at the forefront of the field for the past three decades, using clinical and organizational psychology to provide the highest-quality coaching and development training to professionals in organizations and solo practice worldwide. Now, Pamela is teaching readers to cultivate their leadership potential through "use of self as instrument," a key dimension of developmental coaching that emphasizes the whole person. Her holistic methods give coaches and other leaders a clearer framework for getting to know themselves, exploring their multiple layers, and fostering their latent abilities so that they can foster the abilities of others.
Self as Coach guides you along a path that interweaves six broad dimensions of your internal landscape into the fabric of great coaching. This creates lasting improvements, unlike more common remedial, tactical, or performance-based programs, which often only function as short-term solutions.
- Develop leadership skills using internal resources you already possess
- Achieve real improvements with long-lasting benefits
- Based on methodology proven successful in business and personal settings
- Includes useful practices and exercises for self-reflection and brainstorming
Whether you're an emerging or experienced coach, whether you want to grow your own leadership skills or develop them across an entire organization, Self as Coach can help. With its innovative approach, proven methods, and near-universal applicability, this book will not only provide effective instruction but also help you uncover lasting insights that will benefit you long after you've turned the last page.
Back Jacket
The best coaches are leaders. The best leaders are coaches. Both need to understand organizational systems, the psychology of leadership, the new dynamics of the global marketplace, and the challenges of living in an unpredictable and often volatile world. Like everything else in our fast-paced, rapidly evolving world, the field of coaching has changed dramatically over the years. There are hundreds of books on the market, an impressive body of multidisciplinary research, and well over 500 coaching schools in the United States alone. Coaching has become a multibillion-dollar business. As in other fields that have experienced explosive growth, the risk of complacency, the "business as usual" attitude, is ever-present. To excel as a discipline, we need to be consciously innovating and constantly improving. We need to cultivate great coaches that do far more than listen well and ask questions. The process of developing coaches has traditionally relied almost entirely on skill-based competencies. While still important, competencies alone are inadequate preparation for developing true mastery of coaching. We need to understand organizational systems, the psychology of leadership, the new dynamics of the global marketplace, and the challenges of living in an unpredictable and often volatile world. The traditional belief that a good coach -- or even a good leader -- can coach anyone is no longer valid. Today, we need coaches and leaders that can navigate complex and ambiguous issues, be agile, responsive, and adaptable. The best coaches are leaders. The best leaders are coaches.
Self as Coach, Self as Leader focuses on the concept of use of self as instrument--a key dimension in the practice of developmental coaching. While remedial, tactical or performance-based coaching may be sufficient to aid the client over the short term, developmental coaching places emphasis on the whole person. This innovative approach supplies coaches and leaders who are called upon to coach with a roadmap for exploring their internal landscape to strengthen the use of self as the most important tool in coaching. Along the way, both coaches and leaders will learn how to strengthen and harness the six broad dimensions integral to great coaching and great leadership--presence, empathy, range of feelings, boundaries and systems, embodiment, and courage. As coaches and leaders, we need this roadmap to make the very best use of ourselves as our most important resource. To make the leap from good enough to truly great. To explore what's below the surface. To transform us as leaders and do our best work.
Author Biography
PAMELA MCLEAN has been at the forefront of the emerging field of coaching for over 30 years. She is CEO and co-founder of the Hudson Institute of Coaching, providing the highest-quality coach training to seasoned professionals, leaders, and organizations worldwide. She is the author of The Completely Revised Handbook of Coaching and is co-author of the popular book on transition and change, LifeLaunch: A Passionate Guide to the Rest of Your Life.
