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At the outset I have to state that I'm not sure if I can be as objective in writing a review of Doug Silsbee's book, Presence-Based Coaching: Cultivating Self-Generative Leaders Through Mind, Body, and Heart, as I have been on other reviews I've done for Training Media Review.

I've known Doug Silsbee for many years. He's been a dedicated member of and active contributor to my own organization, The Peer Resources Network. I've seen dozens of rave reviews of his coach training retreats; I've known many coaches who highly value what they've learned from him; and my own interactions with him have always been productive and enlightening.

I also read and greatly admired his first book, The Mindful Coach: Seven Roles for Helping People Grow and have recommended it many times as one of the best guides for learning how to be an effective coach.

The coaching world has grown considerably since I first became acquainted with Doug's work. There are now dozens of coaching associations; more than 450 coach training organizations; and an estimated 80,000 coaches practicing worldwide. To some degree I can tell that he has played a significant role in enlarging that world. From the person who wrote the foreword in his current book to the 20 testimonials that accompany the book, Doug is connected to and has had an influence on a veritable "who's who" in the coaching arena.

While beginning coaches could benefit from this book, it is mostly addresses both coaches and leaders who want to deepen their understanding of themselves and fully develop what Doug calls "presence."

The majority of the book is dedicated towards helping readers look inside themselves. Doug teaches the reader to "cultivate and discover" the role of heart, mind, and body "in generating our capacity to learn and develop."

Presence, he believes, "is central to our capacity to be self-generative," and, "in fact, our ability to facilitate lasting, sustainable development in others absolutely rests on the presence that we offer to the relationship."

The foundation for Doug's book, and a statement that can be treated like an axiom in the helping professions, is we must first work on our inner selves before we can hope to deliver "what coaching often promises."

The principles that Doug is referring to that are essential for developing presence have long been the practices that have made a significant difference in my professional, personal and leadership work. Like Doug, I too have seen the impact that presence can have in acting as a catalyst for change.

Doug has taken the knowledge he has gained from working with thousands of clients and leaders, mentoring other coaches, and learning from the participants in his training and has identified and articulated concepts, growth exercises, practical tools, examples, and illustrations from the business world to help others become "grounded in a solid understanding of how we grow and change...."

While this book isn't exactly a how-to treatise, he provides many details about the methodology of presence-based coaching and provides examples of dialogues or conversations to illustrate how accelerated growth takes place using a presence-based approach.

In virtually every one of the 12 chapters in this book, Doug includes practice exercises designed to maximize learning the principles and ideas described with such precision in each chapter.

In some ways this can be a difficult book to get through. It's not the language, the concepts, or the ideas that make it slow going. It's the challenge to the reader to engage in the particular exercise. Doug intends for the book reader to experience presence while he or she is actually reading the book.

The exercises, therefore, can challenge an existing viewpoint or belief system. He provides guidance for dealing with these challenges and recognizes that moving too quickly through an exercise can be "an excellent way to protect what you already know."

He suggests that readers take his advice an engage in a "presence pause" in order to entertain "possibility."

There are some additional touches that make the book worthwhile. Throughout the book Doug has included quotes from well-known sources. Each one acts as a succinct and meaningful statement about what the chapter will be about. He provides a summary at the conclusion of each chapter that acts as a review of the key points.

And while other books provide a bibliography of references or citations from each chapter, Doug has gone one step further and included an annotated bibliography of that particular reference giving the reader a more thorough understanding of the content of the cited sources.

Recommendation
Presence-Based Coaching is an excellent book not just for coaches but also for leaders and educators. Its focus on authenticity, reflection, and self-renewal will help anyone in those fields become a master in their work and life. But be sure to write your name and address in your copy because, if you loan it to someone, they probably will want to keep it for a long time.

PRESENCE-BASED COACHING Rating