Top Coaching books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite Coaching books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of Coaching

Understanding the concepts of Coaching starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

Co-Active Coaching: Changing Business, Transforming Lives

Co-Active Coaching has proven time and again that it's an essential “must-read” for coaches everywhere, focusing on the scientifically proven Co-Active Model. It identifies the ground conditions necessary for sustainable and transformative change in all coaching relationships, whether formal or informal.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

The Advice Trap: Be Humble, Stay Curious & Change the Way You Lead Forever

From the author of the runaway bestseller The Coaching Habit comes an authoritative guide to getting the most out of your workforce—and it all starts with curbing your urge to dole out advice. In The Advice Trap, bestselling author, speaker, and leadership coach Michael Bungay Stanier shares his invaluable insights into developing team members’ professional performance, using tips that even th…

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Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Dweck, Ph. D., discovered a simple but groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In this brilliant book, she shows how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every area of human endeavor can be dramatically influenced by how we think about our talents and abilities.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

The Coaching Manual

The Coaching Manual is designed to make learning football an exceptional experience for coaches, players and families. With thousands of brilliant, easy to follow sessions from the best in the business and software tools which take all the stress out of planning and delivery.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Effective Group Coaching: Tried and Tested Tools and Resources for Optimum Coaching Results

This book provides a foundation and practical perspective on group coaching―what it is and how it differs from one-on-one coaching and training, and includes ready-to-use tips and resources for coaches/practitioners in the development, implementation, and marketing of their own group coaching programs.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Challenging Coaching

Challenging Coaching by John Blakey and Ian Day offers an alternative approach to coaching that challenges traditional methods and promotes questioning, disobedience, and authenticity. It encourages coaches to focus on creating a safe and supportive environment in which clients can challenge themselves and grow.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Additional Coaching Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Coaching, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

The coaching habit : say less, ask more & change the way you lead forever

In Michael Bungay Stanier's The Coaching Habit, coaching becomes a regular, informal part of your day so managers and their teams can work less hard and have more impact. Drawing on years of experience training more than 10,000 busy managers from around the globe in practical, everyday coaching skills, Bungay Stanier reveals how to unlock your peoples' potential. He unpacks sevenessential coac…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Co-Active Coaching, Fourth Edition: The Proven Framework for Transformative Conversations at Work and in Life

The flexible Co-Active Coaching model showcased in the book has stood the test of time as a transformative communication process that co-workers and teammates, managers, teachers, and students can use to build strong and collaborative relationships. In this highly anticipated new edition, the authors capture their broader experience in applying the Co-Active approach to leadership and human de…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

The Prosperous Coach: Increase Income and Impact for You and Your Clients

Steve Chandler is a powerful motivational speaker who used his expertise to write his first book 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself: Change Your Life Forever. The book, which received the 1997 King Features Syndicate AudioBook of the Year Award, teaches interested individuals how to remove the barriers that keep them from realizing their dreams. Believing that anyone can become a highly energetic, …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Coach the Person, Not the Problem: A Guide to Using Reflective Inquiry

This book will free coaches from the cult of asking the magical question by offering five essential practices of reflective inquiry: focus on the person, not the problem; summarize what is heard and expressed; identify underlying beliefs and assumptions; unwrap the desired outcome; and articulate insights and commitments. Using these practices, combined with a respectful and caring presence, h…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

Grit is the combination of passion and perseverance. It's about moving in a direction with consistency and endurance, like having a clear inner compass that guides all your decisions and actions. Dr. Angela Duckworth is a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Coaching Questions: A Coach's Guide to Powerful Asking Skills

In this volume, master coach trainer Tony Stoltzfus joins with 12 other professional coaches to present dozens of valuable asking tools, models and exercises, then illustrates these coaching strategies with over 1,000 examples of penetrating questions.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Specializations and Deeper Coaching Knowledge

You've got your basics in order – time to move on to some advanced and specialized concepts. Coaching is evolving every day, these books can help you master it.

The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching: A Revolutionary Approach to Masterful Coaching

This book is different because it: Includes brilliant tools for beginner-to-seasoned coaches. Offers advanced techniques for developing powerful questions without any lists. Provides principles of human behavior that help you quickly identify what's really going on.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Coaching Agile Teams: A Companion for ScrumMasters, Agile Coaches, and Project Managers in Transition

As an agile coach, you can help project teams become outstanding at agile, creating products that make them proud and helping organizations reap the powerful benefits of teams that deliver both innovation and excellence. More and more frequently, ScrumMasters and project managers are being asked to coach agile teams.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

This list is curated by MentorCruise and can include Amazon affiliate links. Have any other suggestions? Add here.

Augment your Coaching books

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With 17+ years of experience in the industry, I have worked as a tester, a lead/manager, and as a developer. I have worked on large teams (OneDrive, Power Automate), as well as taking a v1 product from inception to running at a global scale. Delivering interviews, designing systems to work …

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I currently run my own sales consulting & coaching company. When you're ready, I can help you to overcome your most pressing sales challenges. I specialize in turbocharging commercial teams and am passionate about helping people get better at SALES, a seriously misunderstood craft. In the past, I've helped over …

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Hello there! 👋 I’m a Senior Software Engineer with experience at TikTok, Apple, and Amazon, passionate about mentoring engineers at all stages of their careers. I specialize in technical career coaching, interview prep for FAANG+ companies, and providing guidance on immigration and financial planning. Whether you're navigating H1B, H4, EB2, …

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🚀 Accelerate Your Software Engineering Career with Proven Mentorship 🔥 Are you a software developer aiming to become better at what you do? 🎯 If you're serious about moving up in your career, my mentorship program promises to give you the support and guidance you need to succeed. 🔥 What …

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Hi, I'm Rick! With over 10 years as a Software Engineer at FAANG companies and startups, I specialize in Backend Distributed Systems and have a broad skill set in various technologies. I've also founded two startups. In the past, I mentored many engineers/non-engineers through work, volunteering, and bootcamps, focusing on …

$220 / month

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Hi! :) My name is Fatima, and I'm a Senior Software Engineer (backend) at Yelp. Here are some quick facts about me: - I graduated from the University of Waterloo, Canada, in September 2019 with a Bachelor's in Mathematics. I recently completed a Master's in Data Science in December 2023. …

$90 / month

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