Product reviews for How to Coach a Woman – A Practitioner's Manual

This is a book with a specific purpose; it is written for personal development trainers with women clients, life coaches with female coachees, and for men and women in leadership positions who have to manage or mentor women in the workplace. Although the term -˜coachee' grates aesthetically it is probably no worse than -˜client'. The authors stress that they are not sexist, but recognise that men and women think differently, and so need to be handled differently in the coaching session. Following the book's six Key Principles should enable coaches to adapt their approach and language “to find that perfect fit” for their female coachees. Briefly paraphrased, the Principles are: (1) Women require a personal and unique connection with their coach; (2) women use talking to solve their problems; (3) women can multitask; (4) women are more emotionally literate than men; (5) women use visualisation effectively; (6) women are more self-critical. The book provides easy-to-understand examples of the authors' adapted use of the standard -˜TGROW' (Topic, Goal, Reality, Options, Will/When/Why) framework of coaching. Where this book excels is in the detail of discussion and insights given around specific instances of interactions in coach-coachee sessions. Body language, rapport, matching/mirroring, visual and non-visual metaphor, and other communication strategies are well illustrated, and these would be applicable within any professional therapeutic intervention. Some techniques closely follow NLP. Another useful tool is the -˜wheel of life' -” an eight-spoked visual representation of key areas in a woman's life -” which is rated and drawn as a “satisfaction” scale and thus can be reviewed over the course of the coaching. A CD-ROM is provided, as well as advice on how to qualify as a coach. A useful and practical guide to therapeutic work with women.