Coaching from A to Z and Back Again: 52 Ideas, Tools and Models for Great Coaching Conversations

Written by an experienced coach, mentor and mediator, this book is perfect for developing your coaching skills by drawing on ideas, tools and models to help you engage in effective coaching conversations.

It takes ideas from a variety of approaches to coaching and explores issues such as ethics, coaching as a line manager, boundaries and qualifications/accreditation. It summarises key ideas from the literature on management, leadership, psychology and personal effectiveness, as well as coaching.

Written in 52 short accessible chapters from A to Z and back again, it is a clear and engaging guide that can be read from beginning to end, or dipped in to as appropriate. Critical questions throughout help the reader to reflect on their own knowledge and apply it to their work or studies. This book is ideal for students on coaching programmes, people working as a coach, consultants, learning and development practitioners, and managers at all levels from supervisor to director.

Bob Thomson is a Professor at Warwick Business School, an experienced and accredited coach and supervisor of coaching, and a workplace mediator. He collaborated with the University of Warwick Wellbeing Services team to deliver a series of webinars to help line managers support their staff during the Covid-19 pandemic. He has worked as a volunteer counsellor and as a Samaritan. He is the author of a number of books on coaching and learning from experience.

He was previously Leadership Development Manager at National Grid Transco. Before moving into coaching and management development he worked as an economist for eleven years with British Steel and ICI. Bob has degrees in maths, in economics and in management learning. He also has Certificates in counselling, coaching, supervision, and mediation.