New book – insight coaching, coming in July

It has been a long time in preparation maybe two years from the initial idea. I’ve had the challenges of resistance and losing momentum. Seth Godin talks about the importance of shipping material and not holding back (this man has blogged every day for years and years now!) And Steven Pressfield really does understand what resistance is all about, and how to push on through. I was clear what needed to be said – it was a question of pulling it together into a coherent description of my coaching approach, with plenty of approaches that the reader can use. I wanted the book to be of equal use to coaches and their clients. I also wanted it to build on the ideas and framework that I set out in the first book in this series “Values Count”.

After going through all of the indecision and confusion, the book is written, edited and pushed through the machine that turns it into a publishable paperback (that last bit is trickier than it sounds)! A good friend of ours Kate Taylor has designed some beautiful cartoons to complement the text. I love her sense of humour and it really brings the text to life having her work included. Please check her work out here.

Within a couple of weeks, maybe sooner, “Insight Coaching” will be out in print. It’s in the system now and I am just waiting for a Proof Copy to arrive within the next week so that I can check all those little details that often don’t show up on a laptop screen. Then It can be approved and ready to share with the world (well, a bit of it anyway!) I’m really excited about this. The book has two sections: the first section looks at Practise with a series of chapters looking at key techniques from my coaching practice. I chose overarching theme for each of these chapters that describe the recurring topics in my coaching work. There are other ways that this could have been broken down, but the themes I used really resonated with me.

The chapter titles are:

• Leader
• Entrepreneur
• Isolation
• Creative
• Productive
• Maverick

The second section looks at the Insights that flow from those techniques. This is where the book digs deeper to look at the transformational aspect of coaching. The book connects strongly back to the first book in this series, Values Count. The new book’s subtitle is “from values to action”. It’s a very practical book, full of techniques that the reader can apply. Chapters in the second section are:

• Transitions
• Purpose
• Curiosity
• Reality

I will post more details about where to get the book next week. It will, of course, be available on this site as well as on Amazon.

Working with a team, including June’s input from the beginning with advice and ideas, has made such a difference to this project. It has been great to get input from everyone at each stage of the process. Here is the blurb from the back of the book, which was written by me and then brought to life by Amanda Craig:

Journey through the exciting and dynamic landscape of shared learning and experience that will help develop your coaching skills to support and encourage others, or open your horizons to being coached if you seek to transform how you think about your life and your work.

Full of tools and techniques, this book brings the world of coaching alive both for the individual and the coach. Stuart demonstrates through personal lived experiences the insight approach to coaching drawing on a wide range of models and approaches and showing these in practise.

Building on the values-based approach to working described in his earlier book Values Count, this book covers the major themes that shape and direct the learning from many coaching sessions. Exploring quick interventions to longer term approaches, you will find practical explorations of coaching methods and themes that lead to deeper insight both of others and yourself.