""The book provides a very accessible explanation of the whole area of coaching and mentoring across many different work settings, with practical examples and exercises. The new edition also includes a number of excellent case studies by those who have developed coaching and mentoring and a coaching culture in different sectors."
Peter Hawkins, Professor of Leadership at Henley Business School and author of Creating a Coaching Culture (Open University Press 2012) "Coaches, mentors and clients will welcome this second edition. With a focus on effective practice, clear links are made between principles, approaches and models, skills, tools and techniques and interactive case examples. The new material on reflective practice, supervision, accreditation and frequently asked questions makes this book an excellent resource for purchasers, providers and students of coaching and mentoring."
Dr Gerard Egan, Professor Emeritus, Loyola University, Chicago, USA
"As a coach and as an HR Director, this book has become a main source of reference since I first read it. It's an accessible and absorbing read. It has helped when preparing for difficult coaching sessions, and later, when reflecting on my practice. It provides a huge amount of information on the principles of coaching and mentoring and some really practical advice on how to apply these principles to improve performance at work. The new edition adds further superb insights and a more reflective dimension - together with concise answers to some frequently asked questions. My favourite coaching and mentoring book!"
Sue Covill, Coach and former Director of Human Resources
"With teams of teachers and school leaders The Skilled Helper Model has proved itself to be a robust and flexible tool for frameworking coaching conversations. I use it frequently both implicitly and explicitly with learners. The questions in the 2nd edition of Coaching and Mentoring at Work help explain the stages of the model to learners and provide invaluable prompts for leaders new to coaching."
Hannah Jones, BlueKiteCoach
"Mary Connor and Julia Pokora clearly live by one of the central tenets of their new book - 'effective practice is reflective practice'. They have listened to feedback on the 1st edition and made some pivotal changes. The book has a new structure of four sections that give a cohesive, interlinking framework that works. They have reconfigured the core of the earlier book and augmented it with some new material. I really like the way they have incorporated their own voices into the narrative - there was a real sense of how their current practice has emerged from a range of influences and approaches and is still developing.
There is an excellent new chapter on reflective practice and supervision that I anticipate I will be read and re-read many times. They have also brought clarity to me about the confusing world of coaching accreditation in another new chapter. Finally, the FAQ's in the final section are a distillation of pure wisdom. The new edition has exceeded all my expectations."
Alan Swann, Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist/Clinical Director for Revalidation & CPD, Newcastle Older Peoples' Mental Health Services
"We use "Coaching and Mentoring at Work" as one of our core texts on training courses for the London Deanery Coaching and Mentoring Service. Clinicians and healthcare professionals learn a model and skills which they can use in their everyday leadership, teaching, supervising, clinical and management roles, as well as more formally as coaches and mentors. This book is comprehensive in its cover of how this can be achieved, with examples and wide coverage of contracting and preparation for a mentoring session.
I like the definition of coaching and mentoring given in this book as 'learning relationships' which help clients to achieve outcomes that 'they want and value.' It is a paradigm and mindset shift for many doctors who have been taught the medical model which assumes the doctor is the all-knowing expert. In coaching and mentoring we learn to sit on our hands and assume that the mentee is resourceful and knows the answers better than us. I am pleased to see that the second edition has new sections on reflective practice, supervision and accreditation. These are all important in the development of quality coaching and mentoring."
Dr Rebecca Viney, Lead, London Deanery Coaching and Mentoring Service"
The new edition of this popular, practical and authoritative book has been revised and updated throughout, with two new chapters. It features: Nine key principles of effective coaching and mentoring, showing how to apply them Broader and deeper discussion of approaches to coaching and mentoring Answers to frequently asked questions A new chapter on reflective practice, supervision and accreditation Ideas about how to be an effective coach or mentor and how to be an effective client Self development checklists and prompts, and a wealth of interactive case material The Skilled Helper model and how to apply it to coaching and mentoring A range of tried and tested tools and techniques The hot topics of ethical practice, training and developing a coaching culture "Coaching and Mentoring at Work" is aimed not only at coaches and mentors but also at the other half of the partnership, clients.
About the Author: Mary Connor has worked as a consultant in individual and organization development, throughout the UK, in South East Asia and in South America. She has extensive experience as a coach, mentor, trainer and coach supervisor.
Following an early career with BP and Exxon, Julia Pokora established an independent consultancy, and was an Associate with Ashridge Teamworking Services. She has recently focused on developing mentoring and coaching capability in the Health Service.
Mary and Julia are founder members of Coaching and Mentoring Consultants which delivers training and supervision for managers, leaders, educators, clinicians and health professionals.
