Coaching for Performance: The Principles and Practice of Coaching and Leadership

Why I recommend it

I recommend this coaching classic for its practical account of how awareness, responsibility, and thoughtful questions improve performance. The GROW sequence gives leaders a memorable way to help someone clarify a goal, examine reality, find options, and decide what they will do.

What it changed in my thinking

Performance is stronger when people participate in understanding and choosing their actions. A manager can create accountability without taking ownership of every answer.

Who it’s useful for

Managers, coaches, team leaders, and anyone learning to replace reflexive instruction with questions that build another person’s judgment.

A tension or limitation

GROW is a useful scaffold, not a script. Some situations require expertise, direct feedback, a firm decision, or attention to systemic barriers that coaching questions alone cannot resolve.