The world of coaching is full of so many amazing people. Where I started way back  in 1993 was with Alan Fine, of ‘InsideOut’ who supported us to develop some incredible skills on the tennis court, getting results that most could barely believe.  I was then tasked with building a coaching course for managers so we used Alan Fine’s work and that of W. Timothy Gallwey and his work ‘The Inner Game of Tennis.’  We had course delegates building some amazing ball juggling skills on the tennis court!  What followed was a link to the work of Sir John Whitmore – (see below for a review link to his great book, ‘Coaching for Performance’), and the use of the GROW model of coaching

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews18008.html

Another on my list would be Myles Downey and his book, ‘Effective Coaching’ which is very accessible and practical for people in the workplace.  He says in his introduction, “Coaching has the capacity to bring humanity back into the workplace.”  Who wouldn’t want more of that!?

http://www.downeycoaching.com/publications.htm

Who do you know that you would nominate as a Coaching Guru?

• Coaching Change Have done a huge amount of coaching managers / leaders through change recently.  Some practical tips (top 20!), for being effective in this context are below, and I'm sure there are many more to add!  Support managers to:   Be confident – they do amazing things already! Have clear and positive view of progress......
• Using objects while coaching Using Objects as an aid to a Coaching Conversation   Introduction This article explains how everyday objects such as a pencil, pen, cup, saucer or spoon can be used to great effect in a coaching session.  Applications This technique can be used in any coaching conversation of 30+ minutes where......
• Coaching as a conversation Again and again I bump into this or that model of coaching, a 3 step, 4 step, 5 step, even an 8 step model.  Whilst I do appreciate that all these have their place, and especially for new coaches, are extremely useful for the purposes of 'navigation,' I worry a......
• What makes a Great Coach Coaching can be a very rewarding. It's the ideal career / activity choice for those who: Like to work with people Have a strong desire to see people excel in their lives Are prepared to let others do the talking Can connect with people and listen with interest and empathy......
• Coaching Models–useful or not? Working recently with an organisation on advanced coaching skills I suggested that the only 'model' necessary for them was for the conversation to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. They had previously been drilled in GROW. After their 1st practice session the feedback was, 'we felt liberated' (by......

• This will be my last update from Aussie Land... [/caption] Today was another great day and we finally had sunshine - yeah... I took the tram to Rod Laver and was able to get in straight away. Met with the Tennis Australia group that ran the Australian Coaches Conference and thanked them for making it such a great experience.......
• Make Blogging Work for Your Business pt 2 Are you ready to make blogging work for your business? If you already know the benefits associated with corporate blogging, then the next step is to put these concepts to work by creating your own corporate blog and sharing your company with the world. This is part 2 in a......
• Book Review: The Tipping Point There aren't that many economists who become celebrities; there's something about the profession (or perhaps the people who gravitate to the profession) that keeps them from achieving the same level of almost certain celebrity as, say, athletes or actors.  One of the exceptions to this rule is Malcolm Gladwell, who......
• In Tennis, Hewitt Targets an Event in Sydney as His Official Return From Injury Lleyton Hewitt, regarded as a former world number one tennis player in the entire world is planning to make his grand, official return from hip surgery very soon. His intention is to make his grand return from this injury at the Sydney International tennis tournament which is slated to begin......
• Blogging Away Debt Interviews Pensioner (The Top Prosper Lender with over 750 thousand Invested.) I (like many Prosper practitioners) have been following the exploits of one pensioner (click to see his portfolio). To date he has invested over three quarters of a million dollars.  Needless to say this guy believes in the law of large numbers. BloggingAwayDebt has a prosper loan as a borrower and recently......