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  • The Coaching Habit

  • Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever
  • Written by: Michael Bungay Stanier
  • Narrated by: Daniel Maté
  • Length: 3 hrs and 3 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (322 ratings)

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The Coaching Habit

Written by: Michael Bungay Stanier
Narrated by: Daniel Maté
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Publisher's Summary

2016 Voice Arts Award Finalist

Coaching is an essential skill for leaders. But for most busy, overworked managers, coaching employees is done badly, or not at all. They're just too busy, and it's too hard to change.

But what if managers could coach their people in 10 minutes or less?

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 seven essential coaching questions to demonstrate how - by saying less and asking more - you can develop coaching methods that produce great results.

  • Get straight to the point in any conversation with The Kickstart Question
  • Stay on track during any interaction with The Awe Question
  • Save hours of time for yourself with The Lazy Question, and hours of time for others with The Strategic Question
  • Get to the heart of any interpersonal or external challenge with The Focus Question and The Foundation Question

©2016 Box of Crayons (P)2016 Post Hypnotic Press Inc.

What the critics say

"Coaching is an art, and it's far easier said than done. It takes courage to ask a question, rather than offer up advice, provide an answer, or unleash a solution. Giving another person the opportunity to find their own way, make their own mistakes, and create their own wisdom is both brave and vulnerable. It can also mean unlearning our ''fix it'' habits. In this practical and inspiring book, Michael shares seven transformative questions that can make a difference in how we lead and support. And, he guides us through the tricky part - how to take this new information and turn it into habits and a daily practice." (Brené Brown, author of Rising Strong and Daring Greatly)
"Daniel Maté sounds like an enthusiastic teacher as he narrates this upbeat lesson.... His entertaining phrasing and authentic presence give the author's ideas extra power." ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about The Coaching Habit

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    3 out of 5 stars

Accurate, but obvious

I feel like I learned more about the topic by googling "The Coaching habit summary pdf" than by listening.

It's interesting, it's mild and light, but not full of wow moments.

9 people found this helpful

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Meh

The book was helpful to a certain point only. This book seems to touch the tip of icerberg 'purposely' in order to advertise the author's company. This was a big throw-off throughout the entire audiobook, constantly being told to go to his website for 'more'. Videos on the website explain more but eventually once again tries to gain clients. 7 questions the author goes over are quite generalized and can't be applied well in many work environments. This book had a chance to be actully genuinely helpful if more depth or detailed examples would've been provided, and stopped advertising the author's company so much.

7 people found this helpful

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Okay audiobook, lots of great online resources

Good advice in digestible chunks, but the real gold mine is the many online resources it directs you too.

6 people found this helpful

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Short and sweet, with actionable ideas and tips

Great ideas and tips that you can start using right away on coaching others. Also, Daniel Maté does a wonderful job narrating this. Kudos to both! #Audible1

3 people found this helpful

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Not bad but a bit dated

The core content is great. The examples could use an update to more modern working conditions. The narrirator made the book more engaging. The author could be a bit more humble.

2 people found this helpful

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Exactly what I needed

The content is perfect for all leaders or others looking to just improve their ability to connect and support others. The narrator has a great flow and is pleasant to listen to. Worth every penny.

1 person found this helpful

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Practical book to change bad coaching habits

Many books give good advice which goes unused, but this one actually helps change bad habits to good ones! Very practical and applicable.

1 person found this helpful

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The content is interesting but repetitive

I found the narrator a bit flat toned and the author had a tendency to be very repetitive.

1 person found this helpful

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Great listen

Might buy the hard copy to put notes in. You can’t appreciate the references to other works while driving.

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Chock-full of great tips

This was recommended to me by my executive coach. It gave me a lot to reflect on and I look forward to applying some of what I learned to get better results.

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  • A. Yoshida
  • 2016-08-11

What's on your mind?

The advice given in this book could probably have been summed up in a magazine article. It is only a starting point to coaching employees. You ask questions like "what's on your mind?" and "what else is on your mind?" to start a free flowing conversation. But before they start complaining or gossiping, get them to focus on their problems by asking the question "what are the challenges that you're now facing?" The advice is simple but most people would find it hard to really listen to the answers and give the employees room to learn and grow on their own. The book also refers to a lot of popular business books (about building good habits, motivating employees, decision-making, etc.). If you haven't read those books, it's useful to know the key points. If you have, it feels like a rip-off to get highlights of books that you've already read.

84 people found this helpful

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  • Scott
  • 2016-08-26

practical application, not theoretical

the coaching habit gave me specific tools that I could use to manage my employees and I've started using those tools. I like that the book is very practical and its application and not theoretical like so many management books. I'm recommending it to all my colleagues.

40 people found this helpful

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  • B. Ferguson
  • 2017-04-04

Elegant and Excellent

This book is short and simple yet complete. It's very applicable with lots of great questions and examples. As a person who is an analyst and problem solver, almost as soon as someone presents a situation to me in the form of a sentence, I would provide a solution. People don't like that and it's annoying. As a result, I have been working on communication and asking questions. The book provided me with more why, more questions, and perspective. I have ordered a physical copy of the book for each person at my company. I feel it will help me make questions more of a habit. After all, as a problem solver I have a natural curiosity, just need to harness it for the better

38 people found this helpful

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  • Elita Torres
  • 2016-08-16

Coaching made simple

The Coaching habit delves into the key questions a coach can ask to get into the root of the issue quickly and to help further develop your team.

There are too many leaders who rush in with the solution first without asking the right questions. This book will help you build the habits necessary to change that.

21 people found this helpful

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  • LoveShoes
  • 2016-12-06

Best Ever

I read a lot of business books. This was PERFECT for my needs. It was clear and straightforward. Concepts were presented in a very accessible, creative and innovative manner. The concepts were so practical that I found myself reading/learning one day, and using them the next day. I also taught The concepts to others at work. The book is THAT GOOD. I am a raving fan.

19 people found this helpful

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  • Andrew Morris
  • 2016-07-09

very cool

simple advice to be a great business coach. I loved the habit focus. I loved the simple questions. this is a book you can share.

17 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Radu Antoniu
  • 2016-08-11

Good information, very well read

Good information. Very well read by the narrator. This book is better read than listened though

15 people found this helpful

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  • Juana Washington
  • 2016-10-03

Great Read for Coaches of all Levels

If you could sum up The Coaching Habit in three words, what would they be?

The Coaching Habit is a great tool for individuals trying to become a coach, refresh thier coaching skills, or develop new coaching skills. A great read with effective tools to aid in the implementation of these new ideas. Worth the read!

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the examples and opportunity to further your knowledge through the website available to readers.

What about Daniel Maté’s performance did you like?

Easy to follow and great guidance.

14 people found this helpful

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  • Will
  • 2019-06-06

A few good tips. Not my idea of coaching.

This book has a few good ideas and concepts, such as asking "what did you find useful about this meeting?" But I would not reccomend this book.
I reccomend trying the book Co-Active Coaching.

The Coaching Habit book ends with a quote, "if there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask?" If you're the type of person who classifies people as "stupid", then you're really not in a state to coach anyone. I listened to it because we've got someone at the office at the c-suite level who really loved it and is passing out copies. I was hoping to stop half-way through, but I'm not one to quit so early. I've read quite a few leadership, management, and coaching books and I've picked up better, healthier ideas from other books.

8 people found this helpful

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  • Daniel
  • 2016-09-19

DanCoro

This book will help you be a more effective coach/leader. The questions have great power!

8 people found this helpful