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.

Trillion Dollar Coach

Brief summary. Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg and Alan Eagle is an inspiring tribute to Bill Campbell, the legendary Silicon Valley coach who helped to build some of the world's most successful companies by mentoring their leaders and fostering a culture of trust and collaboration.

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…

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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…

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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.

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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.

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The Coaching Habit

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

Additional Coaching Reading

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

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 Coaching Effect: What Great Leaders Do to Increase Sales, Enhance Performance, and Sustain Growth

Authors Bill Eckstrom and Sarah Wirth have spent a decade researching the activities, behaviors, and performance of leaders. After studying more than 100,000 coaching interactions in the workplace, primarily of sales teams, they have been able to determine how coaching affects team outcomes and growth. The authors share three critical performance drivers, along with the four high-growth activi…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Unlocking Potential: 7 Coaching Skills That Transform Individuals, Teams, and Organizations Michael K. Simpson

It describes how to assist your people to execute their goals flawlessly. To do this you will need to give feedback that is effective in helping the person move forward, and not feel complacent. There is advice on how to tap into the talent so many people possess, and how this can be developed.

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

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey provides a transformative guide for personal and professional success. It emphasizes proactive thinking, prioritization, effective communication, collaboration, and personal growth.

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

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.

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