BALANCING CHALLENGE AND COMPASSION

A few days ago I read a new book on coaching, Challenging Coaching (2012) by two British authors John Blakey and Ian Day and the Preface written by none other than Sir John Whitmore. Overall the book has a lot of good stuff in it, they make a strong argument that Coaching is not and should not be confused with Therapy. They also urge the reader to focus more on the challenging part of Coaching than the supporting part. They also emphasize responsibility and accountability in the book. Yet as good as these parts of the book are, there are some severe weaknesses in the book that, for me, undermine its value and indicates a bit about where the field of Coaching is.