Book: The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever. Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Read this book in 2016 but never published any review until now (2021, even if the post date is the day I finished the book). I don’t have much to say now, but at least I can publish my notes from 2016.

Here are my raw notes about the book:

  • Kickstart, AWE (and what else), and Focus - Are the guides for a coach.
  • You want people working with you to feel compensated, not in danger.
  • Every time you say Yes to something, think about what you’re saying no.
  • Ask more about the “what” instead of the “why”: “What are you thinking?” instead of “Why are you thinking about that?”.
  • In recent years, neuroscientists and behavioral economists have gained insight into how humans develop and maintain habits. There are five events that need to occur for a habit to form: cause, trigger, mini-habit, training, and an action plan.
  • Let’s go through each event. A cause is a reason you want to change the current behavior, like wanting to avoid giving advice, as it’s a hallmark of poor coaching. Once you know what you want to change, you identify your trigger – the moments that encourage you to offer advice. When you know your trigger, you’ll be prepared to deal with it.
  • Your mini-habits are the seven coaching questions you’ve learned in these blinks. Practice them as often as possible. That’s your training!
  • Finally, outline an action plan to fall back on when you slip up. Everyone makes mistakes, so you just need to figure out how to get back on track.
  • Importantly, write down your action plan. Your plan could read, “The next time John stops me in the hallway with a question, I’ll ask a coaching question instead of giving advice.”
  • Once you put theory into practice, you’ll develop a solid coaching habit that will stick with you for the rest of your life. Good luck – and happy coaching!