[The Weekly Coaching Conversation] [By: Brian Souza] [November, 2014]

Brian's book is a must read! It is fun, easy to read and full of valuable advise. I read the book within a couple of days and I just couldn't put it down! When I reached the end I was like .. Wooow...so much that I had to take my lunch break time in the office to finish reading. On my way back to the office, I gave my book to my manager and said... YOU HAVE TO READ THIS! the best part is that my manager and I now follow Brian's advise and it's made a massive difference in our day to day working life & performance

I just opened the package and the book has dark dust marks on it and scratches. I will still read it but I am a bit disappointed.Currently waiting to see if I will have customer service, I just submitted the review.

Not as per expected

Business parables are a favorite of mine, so when I learned that Brian Souza had written his newest book, THE WEEKLY COACHING CONVERSATION as a parable, it was a pleasant surprise. Having read Souza's previous book, Become Who You Were Born to Be, I was amazed at how his writing style in this allegory is so much different from the earlier work. The previous work was in typical "self-help" style really keeping on target throughout and interjecting numerous quotes and principles - this more recent work is much more light-hearted and a very quick and easy read.I found The Weekly Coaching Conversation to be somewhat of a conglomeration of several other books I have read, rolled up into a very interesting allegory about a young, newly promoted sales manager who happens to meet a sage who takes a liking to the young man and offers tutelage in the art of leadership. The story introduces - somewhat subliminally - servant leadership. It also draws upon the principles of another book - Sprout!: Everything I Need to Know About Sales I learned From My Garden. This includes the principle of preparing the soil before planting the seeds and knowing the conditions in which the seeds will thrive.Anyone who has ever worked in sales is familiar with the principle of ABC - Always Be Closing. Here, Souza points to a slight variation for front line leadership - Always Be Coaching. This is really the heart of the matter of this book. Souza stresses that developing a "world class" team cannot be achieved with annual or even quarterly performance reviews. Excellence requires constant care and development.He also stresses what I believe is an often overlooked principle. People get promoted often for no other reason that that they are top performers in their field - be it sales or any other line of work - but that being a star performer hardly qualifies one to be an effective leader. There are countless examples of this in the sports world - athletes who were the best of the best at their respective sports but failed miserably when put into a coaching role, such as Michael Jordan, Ted Williams or Magic Johnson. It wasn't that they didn't know how excel at their respective sports - what they lacked was the ability to coach others how to be their best. It's often that was in the business world as well. Top performers are given top consideration when it comes promotion time, but just because someone has the skill set to be a top performer doesn't mean they have the skill set to lead others.This book is really geared towards a newly promoted frontline manager but would be beneficial for most anyone in a team leadership position. The principles here can be applied to most any scenario - business, sports or military. The principles of leadership - and more specifically - team development, are the same. This is a very quick and easy read that I highly recommend.

This is a great book with quick tips along the way you can implement today. I liked how it was a story vs tell format. For me it helps to paint a picture of how to use the tips.

This is a business fable. It is story telling mode. Me? I find that style very effective. If you do as well... read on. If you don't find that style effective - stop reading now - you won't like this book.Now, you've seen I've given this 4 out of 5 stars. Why?- It is very readable/easy to understand- It gives a hard hitting message of coaching (vs. dictating/managing/coercing)- It celebrates that most people (nearly all) want to do a great job- It affirms that the right approach to coaching can lead to that great job- It hits on that the best coaches are not usually the best doers- The messages of: 1. Maximize the team with the players you have 2. Communicate constantly/listening and speaking 3. Learn the individuals and what makes them tick- All those messages are extremely valuable in a great coach, IMO- In fact, the "coach" is highly regarded, and the read sees why.Souza calls this all out without beating you over the head with it.Gee... that all sounds great, so why 4 stars? Why not 5? Well, I've read the Lencioni books (similar approach). Those are better because...- With Souza, we never see (until the end) any perspective from the "players"- A lot of this is quick between the "coach" and the protagonist - yet- There are the people being coached - and they don't play a real role