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.

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

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

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

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

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 Life Coaching Handbook: Everything You Need to be an Effective Life Coach

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

Additional Coaching Reading

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

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

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

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

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

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

Coaching for Performance

Performance coaching, also known as high-performance coaching, is an ongoing process that aims to improve an employee's performance in the workplace. It's not about giving advice or being an expert though – it's about providing support as a performance coach, sharing feedback, and encouraging continuous improvement.

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.

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

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

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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I am a seasoned Marketing Executive with a proven track record of revenue growth, cross team collaboration and successful outcomes with experience scaling organizations from $1m to $350m+. Highlights of my career to date include: *A successful exit to Atlassian for $175M *Driving revenue growth, from $160M to $320M for …

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Hi, I’m Zehra. I’m based in New York, and I’m the founder and CEO of Savanah.ai, a generative AI platform that helps fashion and retail brands create high-quality product visuals without the cost or hassle of traditional photoshoots. We’re building tools that make creativity scalable and commerce more dynamic. My …

$240 / month

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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 …

$220 / month

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Hi there! 👋 I'm a former Software Engineering Manager at Meta / Facebook (ex-Google | ex- Palantir) with over 12 years of experience both as a Tech Lead and Engineering Manager at big tech companies as well as startups. For me, seeing others succeed and grow is the ultimate satisfaction. …

$240 / month

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Hi there, my name is Soroush Salehian, though I go by Rush. I am a leader, a coach, a mentor and a people person. About me: I have spent nearly 20 years as an engineer working on distributed, world class software that has been used by millions of users around …

$160 / month


Vikas is an accomplished engineering leader with 20+ years of experience, he has a proven track record of success in multiple leadership roles across startups and large organizations (Facebook, Amazon, Mastercard). Throughout his career, Vikas developed a deep understanding of the technical aspects of engineering, coupled with strong business acumen …

$270 / month

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