Power Up With This Book: The Heart of Laser-Focused Coaching

Welcome to February's selection for continuing education credits via our book club and monthly book review: The Heart of Laser-Focused Coaching.

Reading The Heart of Laser-Focused Coaching

The book's author, Marion Franklin, is a certified master coach who has not only trained coaches but maintains a coaching practice herself. Every coach to date that she has trained has passed the certifying level they were aiming for!

This book is 29+ chapters chock full of coaching wisdom for not only new coaches but for seasoned coaches as well, perfect for health and wellness coaches. I found her book to be a goldmine of coaching nuggets. She has the ability to boil things down to a succinct point, in true coach fashion!

What Laser-Focused Coaching Is and Isn't

One thing I found very helpful is, she outlines what laser-focused coaching is and is not. Here are some of the author's points, directly from her book:

“Laser-focused coaching is about going deeper, not broader; that is getting to the bottom line efficiently and effectively.”

“Laser-focused coaching emphasizes coaching the “who” and separating the “who” from the client’s “story” or situation.”

“Laser-focused coaching does not work in every situation. It works best when your client is stuck or frustrated with an existing way of thinking and can’t seem to move forward. It works well when you can identify a limiting belief (thought or idea), as well as one of the themes from Chapter 8, to help your client realize a different way of viewing their situation.”

Anatomy of a Coaching Conversation

The book breaks coaching down into the beginning, the middle, and the end, and she spells out what needs to happen in each step of the process. She refers to this as the anatomy of a coaching conversation.

Coaching is not about trying to be brilliant because this gets in the way of good listening and the ability to create a breakthrough for your client. Coaching success comes from letting go of the need to provide value or reach a specific outcome. It’s about being of service to your client. Any help or advice we offer implies a judgment that the client is broken and we don’t trust them.

Want to hone your coaching skills? Read the Heart of Laser-Focused Coaching by Marion Franklin, MS, MC

Coaches: 2 questions for every client

According to the author, if you want to be a laser-focused coach, the two questions you should always ask yourself when listening to your client are:

1. Why are they telling me this?

2. What’s making this a problem for this person?

Being a great coach means continually working on your personal development and growth. The more a coach works on themselves, the better their coaching, says the author.

Franklin Says Pick What Works Best for You

Offering many coaching skills to work on the author encourages coaches to pick and choose what works best for you. Remember that continually enhancing your listening and communication skills is the bedrock of all masterful coaching.

The Heart of Laser-Focused Coaching is a must-have book for new and not-so-new coaches. This book is one I intend to keep handy so I can refer to it frequently to keep my coaching skills sharp. I recommend the same for any health and wellness coach looking to hone their skills.

Want to know even more about this book? Check out the author's website where you can learn more and order your own copy.

About The Book Author

From laserfocusedcoachingbook.com: Marion Franklin has been a Mastered Certified Coach (MCC) since 2006. She is sought after for her laser-focused approach and direct communication. Marion’s work includes developing and teaching her unique program, Laser Coach Your Way to Sustainable Success Intensive that emphasizes masterful coaching skills. She facilitates ongoing Coach with Confidence mentor groups, and provides individual mentoring and supervising and published the audiobook Life’s Little Lessons: Improve Your Life One Lesson at a Time.

She serves as a supervisory coach and examiner for developing coaches in an executive coaching program in addition to individual coaching clients, has been interviewed on TV for her coaching expertise, coached executives at Fortune 500 corporations, presented at numerous coaching conferences, and has been cited in The Wall Street Journal. Marion holds master’s degrees in business and education and taught high school. Marion resides in Tarrytown, New York.