Coaching and Mentoring
A Critical Text
- Simon Western - Analytic-Network Coaching Ltd
Coaching is often discussed as if it is a new 'profession' without adequate attention to how it has evolved, what underpins its practice or its training methods. Situating coaching in a wider social and historical context, Coaching and Mentoring: A Critical Text reveals that contemporary 'coaching theory' is more a collection of models and approaches mostly transferred from psychotherapy theory. Coaching claims to liberate creativity but can also entrap us by individualizing social experience. Author Simon Western brings a fresh and critical perspective on coaching and mentoring, challenging its normative assumptions and narratives, and proposing an ethical and emancipatory approach that takes it beyond instrumentalism and individualism.
Key Features:
- Accounts for how coaching has emerged and what discourses and normative practices underpin and influence contemporary coaching practice
- Develops a meta-theory of coaching that acts as a baseline for future developments
- Offers frames of thinking to support and guide coaching and mentoring practitioners and educators
This is a must read for coaches, mentors and coaching educators, and students and academics studying coaching and mentoring at both advanced undergraduate and graduate level.
This books gives a very good ovrview of Mentoring and coaching styles, and underpins practice and discussions
This is well written text with specific issues for developing mentee in the workplace.
Too high a level for the qualifications in mentoring and coaching that we deliver
Highly recommended. Provides a subtle and comprehensive overview.
This is an excellent overview of Coaching and Mentoring as a field of practice. The critical nature of text gives a refreshing change to the advocate nature of most coaching texts which are usually promoting one model of coaching without examining coaching practice in and of itself.
Highly recommended as an additional text in the review of Learning and Development Practices.
not as thought but passed the book on to another course for use. they have used this within the teacher training course
A worth while read for anyone who is on the A1 course as mentoring can be tuff and this book will aid you and guide you
This is a well written text. It supports the content of the coaching and mentoring units. It is focused on practice and practical issues. The text is not for beginners but would suit this course level. It develops a number of key thoughts for consideration.
I have used this extensively in my own writing, which will feature in my coaching sessions at the university. Therefore Western's book has been put as a strong recommendation onto our reading list; references to the book will be made throughout our course (in particular in terms of definition of coaching and mentoring).
A very useful read!
Good background reading for learners - may be a little too advanced for the PTLLS course but I would recommend this as a additional text for learners interested in coaching and mentoring.
