Review of Insights for Coaching Leaders beyond 2021

[Amy DiMaio]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Insights for Coaching Leaders beyond 2021" by Jill Flynn.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Insights for Coaching Leaders Beyond 2021 is written by Jill Flynn. The book mainly highlights how the pandemic has changed the work environment and how leaders should respond to these changes. The book is written from the perspective of a life coach. Flynn begins by discussing where coaching and psychotherapy may work in tandem to help a client, but each focuses on different aspects of a client/ patient’s life and require different skills. The text later relates lessons from coaching into a manner that can be applied within the post-pandemic workplace to improve company morale as well as retain employees. The effects of the pandemic are briefly summarized to emphasize the balancing act leaders must navigate to increase profits or desired outcomes while preventing burn-out in a post-pandemic world which faces both lingering and emerging challenges. The main chunk of Insights for Coaching Leaders Beyond 2021 consists of a discussion of strategies that life coaches use to assist clients in fulfilling their potential and overcoming roadblocks without feeling defeated. Flynn describes the types of people that come to life coaching and how coaches help clients to build a personal brand and market themselves. Flynn additionally provides commentary on how leaders can go beyond simply including a diverse group of people by facilitating active participation for employees.

The author occasionally uses metaphors. These are effective because metaphors have an introduction which may give background on the topic and explicitly states how each aspect of an issue relates to the metaphor. This makes the metaphors easy to understand. Flynn gives a moving anecdote in the novel discussing her visual impairment and experiences with disability and the ableist mentality that the majority of people with disability will not experience a fulfilling life and will face goal-stopping barriers. Insights for Coaching Leaders Beyond 2021 helps to bring a new perspective to famous quotes and psychological theories through a coaching lens which helps put these concepts into a working strategy for leaders to implement in their workplace.

Theories are mentioned in that they relate to the topic being discussed, but those theories are not always described. For full understanding, plan to look up summaries of many of the theories mentioned. The use of formal language and theories makes the novel feel dense and dry towards the beginning, but the text becomes more relaxed and becomes application-based as the novel progresses.

I rate Insights for Coaching Leaders Beyond 2021 as 3 out of 4 stars. Some errors exist and should be fixed, concepts regarding theories should be further developed for the layman, and the text felt boring at times. However, Flynn has original insights on coaching and brings valuable practices for coaches and leaders which are ready to be implemented in the workplace and community. Readers will learn something reading this book, especially if they are unfamiliar with the issues facing leaders whose job entails motivating clients/ employees.

This novel is for people who have no experience with a life coach and would like to know about what roles a coach plays in a client’s life and how a coach can help someone to become better and motivated. For leaders with a little background in psychology, the interplay between coaches and psychotherapists may be an important dynamic to learn about. Managers looking to motivate their employees would benefit from the examples on how certain theories can be applied to improve productivity without the expense of the employee being dissatisfied. Those looking to enter a managerial position would benefit from the list of common themes and problems leaders face as well as how to negotiate those competing interests. People looking to analyze their own diversity and inclusion programs would find the end most helpful for critiquing their current strategies used to include people with disabilities.

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Insights for Coaching Leaders beyond 2021
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