Hone your skills and strengthen your practice with this series of twenty-five fresh and provocative questions for reflection that challenge the conventional wisdom in the coaching profession.

Like any established profession, coaching is full of unexamined assumptions. These need to be regularly questioned and tested to keep the profession vital and valuable. Coaches need to engage in the same kind of scrutiny and self-examination that offers such powerful benefits to their clients.

In Positive Provocation, coaching thought leader Robert Biswas-Diener asks a series of twenty-five provocative and sometimes playful questions that take a fresh look at some of coaching’s most cherished beliefs. What if coaches had agendas? Why are ethics so boring? What’s so great about interrupting? Can we trust eureka moments? What if we used less empathy?

This is not an attack on the coaching profession—Biswas-Diener writes with a light, conversational, and often humorous touch. These are positive provocations, meant to stimulate your curiosity, engage you with the latest research, and invite you to see your practice with new eyes.

Biswas-Diener covers philosophies of coaching, communicating with clients, common coaching concepts, coaching interventions, and a big final provocation: should coaching be informed by science? This book will give you a richer understanding of the coaching process, make you more articulate about your own beliefs, and allow you to feel more engaged with the craft.

About the Author

Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener is known for his pioneering work in the application of psychology to coaching. He has published more than 70 articles on positive topics ranging from hospitality to leadership to happiness to friendship. He has trained professionals at organizations as diverse as Standard Chartered Bank, Kaiser Permanente, Deloitte, and the Australian Department of Defense. Robert also trains coaches at his ICF-accredited institute, Positive Acorn. He is the author of The Upside of Your Dark Side, Happiness, and other titles.

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