Judith Wilson & Michelle Gislason 
Coaching Skills for Nonprofit Managers and Leaders 
Developing People to Achieve Your Mission

The only nonprofit orientation to coaching skills available,
Coaching Skills for Nonprofit Leaders will provide nonprofit
managers with an understanding of why and how to coach, how to
initiate coaching in specific situations, how to make coaching
really work, and how to refine coaching for long-term success.

Coaching Skills for Nonprofit Leaders offers practical steps
for coaching leaders to greatness and complements the academic and
theoretical work in nonprofit leadership theory. The book can be
used by the coaching novice as a thorough topical overview or by
those more experienced with coaching as a quick reference or
refresher.

Based on the Inquiry Based Coaching? approach, Coaching Skills will
strengthen and expand the reader?s ability to drive organization
mission, while retaining the intrinsic values of the nonprofit
culture and working towards outcomes that create a culture of
discipline and accountability and empower others to be even more
responsible, accountable, and self-motivated. This book uses
accessible language, examples, case studies, key questions, and
exercises to help:

* Promote better relationships

* Know when to delegate, direct and coach.

* Balance directive and supportive styles of leadership for
productive partnerships

* Overcome fears and deal head-on with difficult situations and
conflict.

* Use coaching for performance improvement and on-the-job
development.

* Support independent thinking and personal reflection

* Gain commitment and accountability from others and build
teams

Table of Content

Figures, Charts, Exercises, and Worksheets ix

Acknowledgments xi

Preface: A Note from the Authors xiii

Introduction: Why Coaching Now? xix

One What Coaching Can Bring to Your Role 1

What a Coaching Manager Does Differently 3

Using the Coaching Approach to Manage Others 10

What Coaching Is Not 14

How Coaching Differs from Other Ways of Developing Staff 16

Opportunities to Coach 18

The Approach We’ll Be Using 21

Two Foundational Coaching Skills 23

Skill 1: Listening 25

Skill 2: Inquiring (the Skill of Inquiry) 39

Skill 3: Giving Feedback 58

Skill 4: Sharing 82

Three The Coaching Framework 91

The Framework: Short Version 92

1. Clarify the Focus: Get to the Point 95

2. Identify the Goal: Know Where the Conversation Is Heading 100

3. Develop Solutions: Identify What’s Needed to Get from A to B 104

4. Create Accountability: Call Forth Commitment and Ownership 110

Put It All Together 113

Four The Coaching Mind-Set 121

Believing in Others 123

Managing Needs 130

Earning Trust and Showing Respect 135

Staying Connected 139

A Word About Confidentiality 149

Five Knowing When to Use a Coaching Approach 151

Providing Coaching for the Different Stages of Learning 152

Coaching When the Manager Sets the Focus 158

What to Do When Coaching Is Not Working 163

More Opportunities to Coach 167

Six Coaching in the Nonprofit Workplace 169

Coaching Up, Down, and Across the Organization 171

Coaching and Self-Management 190

Coaching in Difficult Situations 194

Coaching Top Performers 228

Seven What’s Next: Developing a Coaching Culture in Your Organization 237

What Is a Coaching Culture, and Why Bother with It? 238

Factors to Consider in Creating a Coaching Culture 239

Conclusion 248

Resource A: Coaching Manager Self-Assessment 249

Resource B: Questions, Questions, and More Questions 257

Resource C: Practicing Culturally Aware Coaching 275

Resource D: Additional Information 281

References 288

Index 292

About the Authors 300

Compass Point Nonprofit Services 302

About the author

Judith Wilson is one of only six hundred International Coach
Federation-master certified coaches. She regularly provides
leadership coaching and training globally.

Michelle Gislason is a senior project director at Compass Point
Nonprofit Services and a certified organizational coach.