Coaching and Mentoring: a Critical Text

Citation

(2013), "Coaching and Mentoring: a Critical Text", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 21 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/hrmid.2013.04421baa.012

Coaching and Mentoring: a Critical Text

Article Type: Suggested reading From: Human Resource Management International Digest, Volume 21, Issue 2

Simon Western, Sage, 2012, ISBN: 9781848601635

Coaching and Mentoring: a Critical Text does indeed provide a critical, novel and often controversial perspective on the fields of coaching and mentoring. The book aims to encourage coaches to reflect upon not only their own practice but also the foundations on which their practice is based.

The book is split into four sections: first setting the scene for viewing the fields of coaching and mentoring through a critical lens; second providing a genealogy of coaching; then outlining Simon Western’s classification of the dominant discourse in coaching; and finally providing details of the future of coaching in relation to a discussion of coaching theory and coaching education. The book targets coaches, academics and HR specialists alike, although the content is probably more academically inclined than practitioner.

Through the 14 chapters in the book, Simon Western engages in interesting debates on issues such as accreditation, coaching techniques, coaching background, underlying assumptions and ethics. However, some of the author’s claims may not sit comfortably with the reader who is not supportive of the psychoanalytical perspective to coaching.

Particular highlights in the book were the chapters entitled “The Managerial Discourse” and “The Network Coaching Discourse”. They outline approaches that coaches are likely to adopt (often without an explicit awareness that they are doing so) and highlight the strengths and potential limitations of these approaches.

Also the chapter entitled “Developing Coaching Theory” is excellent and succinctly highlights the key challenges in the literature in this area.

Unfortunately the following chapter, “Creating a New Coaching Meta-theory”, is a difficult, confusing and often-abstract chapter.

Overall, the author succeeds in providing a critical perspective to coaching. You may not agree with all he has to say but it is likely that he will lead you to reflect on coaching in a new way.

Reviewed by Rebecca Jones, doctoral researcher and executive coach, Work and Organizational Psychology Group, Aston Business School, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK.

This review was originally published in Training and Management Development Methods, Vol. 27 No. 1, 2013.