James Flaherty, MCC, is the founder of New Ventures West, Integral Leadership LLC, and Integral Engagements LLC. He designed the Professional Coaching Course and dozens of other programs, and over the past four decades he has led coaching and leadership courses involving thousands of people throughout North America, South Africa, Asia, and Europe. He has coached top executives at many Fortune 500 companies and is a highly sought-after speaker at meetings and conferences.
James Flaherty's Coaching has been for some years a foundational text for the field. This fourth edition updates the material and adds two vital new chapters, Somatic Intelligence and Midlife Drift. I continue to be impressed with James's clarity, thoroughness, compassion, wisdom, and his generous referencing of a wide variety of useful sources. For those who have read Coaching, this is a useful update; for those who have not-whether you are a new or an experienced coach or interested in exploring coaching-this book will not only open your eyes; it will provide insights and practices to set you on a new course.
Norman Fischer, poet, Zen priest, author of Museum of Capitalism and When You Greet Me I Bow: Notes and Reflections From A Life in Zen
James Flaherty's book Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Others has established itself as an indispensable classic in the field. In this fourth edition, new chapters on somatic approaches to coaching and on 'midlife drift' add crucial pieces to an already excellent guide to coaching the whole person. Highly recommended.
Russ Hudson, author of The Enneagram: Nine Gateways to Presence and co-author of The Wisdom of the Enneagram
James Flaherty has written a thoughtful and deeply insightful guide for coaches-equal parts theory and practical instruction with valuable distinctions in how to apply these learnings to ourselves and our coaching practice.
Laila Tarraf, Chief People Officer, Allbirds and author of Strong Like Water
Coaching is a must-read for coaches, HR professionals, and managers! It has been a core foundation of my own coaching work for two decades. This edition offers exciting new reflections and practices for building somatic intelligence and navigating mid-life, enriching the coach's toolbox significantly.
Amy Jen Su, executive coach and author of The Leader You Want to Be: Five Essential Principles for Bringing Out Your Best Self; Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Paravis Partners
James Flaherty's sage teaching clearly comes from one who has journeyed his somatic interior thoroughly enough to know just the right ways to gently invite us to trust our own.
Susan Olesek, Founder, Enneagram Prison Project and The Human Potentialists
In a practical and engaging way, James Flaherty skillfully synthesizes many disciplines into an approachable and effective system for human transformation at an individual and collective level. In this new edition, James expands the coaching perspective to the world of somatic intelligence and that of life transitions, particularly mid-life, offering powerful reflections and practices to deepen one's awareness and connection to meaning. A gem to help anyone get closer to realising their potential.
Luzette Jaimes, Director of Learning and Development, Ashoka and Co-Founder of the Consciousness Coalition
Praise for Earlier Editions of Coaching:
In Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Others, James Flaherty brilliantly dissects both the art and science of coaching-one of the more difficult and least understood roles in organizations. Beginning with theories, concepts, and models, he shows their application to practice and empowers any aspiring coach to be more effective in helping people achieve their goals. A better book on this subject just doesn't exist.
Jerry I. Porras, Lane Professor of Organizational Behavior and Change Emeritus, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University and Co-Author, Built to Last
As the field of coaching finds its way to becoming a mature discipline, James Flaherty's dedicated field research, study, and sound articulation offers a definitive ground and a sensibility of genuine care. At the core, this book offers a way of thinking about human beings that makes action and practice central to learning. This is a no-nonsense, generous, pragmatic book that belongs on the shelf of every coach, novice or veteran.
Richard Strozzi-Heckler, Ph.D., Founder of Somatic Coaching and author of The Anatomy of Change and Holding the Center
At long last, a book on coaching that moves beyond 'advice from the sidelines.' James Flaherty convincingly shows that the only way to truly help people grow is to help them in developing new practices and new language, and that the only way to coach effectively is to enter into a reciprocal relationship where 'coach' and 'coachee' engage in a dance of mutual influence and growth.
Peter M. Senge, MIT and Society for Organizational Learning
This extraordinary book clearly represents James Flaherty's ability to insightfully enable the self-generating and self-correcting capacities of his clients. His clarity and candor engage the reader to more deeply examine the opportunities to live a more integrated and holistic life.
Michele Goins, Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Imaging and Printing Group, Hewlett-Packard Company
James Flaherty focuses on the commonly overlooked fact that a coachee is a 'human-being.' He effectively emphasizes that this is the most important aspect that a coach should always have in mind, something that many of us tend to forget. It was this tact that he applies toward coaching, as well as many other brilliant insights, that helped me make the decision to publish Coaching in Japanese and apply its lessons in my practice.
Mamoru Itoh, President, Coach21 Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
James Flaherty frames deep questions about how humans operate across a series of interconnected domains such as the mind, body, and emotions, which will give both new and experienced coaches pause to reflect. He frames crisp distinctions about the coaching process which will generate new perspectives on the role of the coach. He leaves a trail of deeply researched threads that the reader can explore after reading to deepen their knowledge and understanding. All of this is done in a crisp and quietly elegant dialogue which makes you believe he is present as you are inspired to explore, with profound curiosity, your own beliefs on what we are as human beings and how we should show up as coaches. As you read and digest his coaching metaphors, analogies and questions, there are inexplicable possibilities that crystallize fresh insights that emerge and a renewed commitment to explore oneself and the coaching we strive to master.
Craig O'Flaherty, Director, Centre for Coaching, Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, South Africa
