Challenging Coaching: Going Beyond Traditional Coaching to Face the FACTS

This book breaks the mould of traditional coaching approaches to challenge coaches and their clients to achieve courageous goals that sustainably transform bottom line performance.

Based on the authors' extensive experience working with international Board level teams, it suggests that for too long coaches have shied away from adopting a more challenging stance in their work - a stance that can provoke greater performance and unlock deeper potential in business leaders and their teams. In particular, the authors offer a new coaching approach, FACTS, to help coaches develop this challenging stance.

The FACTS approach with its emphasis on Feedback, Accountability, Courageous Goals, Tension and Systems Thinking is explored in theory and in practice using case studies, example dialogues and practical exercises. Long held coaching principles such as being non-directive, building rapport and holding to the client's agenda are put under the spotlight with the authors questioning their relevance to a 21st century business environment where the needs of the wider business must take precedence over the 'me me me' of any specific executive.

This is a timely wake up call for anyone who is responsible for the performance of others - be they coach, business leader or leadership development expert. An original and thought-provoking message that dares the reader to face the FACTS, and accept the coaching challenge.

About the Authors

John Blakey is a coach to board-level leaders around the globe, having worked in the US, UK, Australia, Holland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Portugal, Czech Republic, Malaysia, India, France, and Germany in recent years. In his corporate career he was international managing director at Logica plc and later its director of coaching, the first such role in a FTSE250 organization. In the 1990s he was consulting director of Team121 Ltd, one of the fastest-growing private companies in the UK. He has an MSc in Information Systems and an MBA from Aston Business School, and features regularly as a conference speaker and writer on the topics of executive coaching, organizational change, and business growth. His work draws on a broad spectrum of influences including his expertise in t’ai chi, his work with Olympic athletes and their coaches, his Christian faith, and his passion for systems thinking.

Ian Day is a coach, facilitator, and speaker working at board level for large international clients. Ian graduated with a degree in psychology and spent over 20 years in human resource and development roles in a variety of large organizations within the leisure and tourism, healthcare and utilities sectors, including head of talent for an international FTSE100 group, responsible for groupwide talent management, leadership development, executive coaching, and performance management. In this role Ian was coached, which was an inspiring turning point in his life and led him to study for an advanced diploma in coaching and mentoring, a certificate in counseling, and to his current work as a leadership consultant. Ian’s interest in psychology has never left him as he applies models and theories in his work with individuals and teams, frequently using psychometric personality profiles to create within clients the awareness and energy to change. Ian believes that everyone has greatness within themselves, and he works to release this potential by applying the model and skills of FACTS coaching.