LEADERS IN EXECUTIVE COACHING

December 2005 saw the publication of partner Peter Shaw’s ‘Conversation Matters – How to Engage Effectively With One Another’ (Continuum Books). ‘Conversation Matters’ addresses an issue which, although fundamental to human behaviour, remains largely unexplored.

Peter explains the rationale for his new book: “In my experience of coaching senior managers, many of them are concerned about their effectiveness as communicators, particularly in one-to-one conversations. It’s not that they want to dominate the other party: they simply want to ensure that their interaction with colleagues is productive and beneficial.

“We think there’s very little to conversation: we speak and we listen. And yet, it’s rare that we think actively about how we can use conversation as a tool for good. Conversation is the most vital and immediate means of communication and we shouldn’t take it for granted: we must make best use of it.”

‘Conversation Matters examines, in an accessible way, the building blocks and power of conversation and, specifically, the use of conversation to encourage: engagement – promoting trust and openness; discernment – making questioning supportive and non-confrontational; and stretching – ensuring that conversations stimulate learning.

“Each time we start a conversation”, says Peter, we’re entering uncharted territory. We should consider what we want to achieve in conversations and be attuned to understanding the other individual’s concerns. Whatever its length, the objective should be to make a conversation a constructive and, ideally, enjoyable experience. We owe it to ourselves and others to make conversation work better.”