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Coaching: An International Journal of

Theory, Research and Practice
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Challenging coaching: going beyond

traditional coaching to face the FACTS
a
Anne Whitham
a
Cross the Line, Wolverhampton , UK
Published online: 18 Jun 2012.

To cite this article: Anne Whitham (2012) Challenging coaching: going beyond traditional coaching
to face the FACTS, Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 5:2,
151-153, DOI: 10.1080/17521882.2012.694459

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17521882.2012.694459

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 Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice
Vol. 5, No. 2, September 2012, 151
153

BOOK REVIEW

Challenging coaching: going beyond traditional coaching to face the FACTS, by John
Blakey and Ian Day, London, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2012, 254 pp., £19.99
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(paperback), ISBN 978-1-904838-39-5, eISBN 978-1-85788-950-5

There are two ways to interpret Challenging coaching. One is that it describes a style
of coaching, and the other is that it is a challenge to coaching. I was expecting the
first and got a strong sense of the second. Blakey and Day paint a picture of what
they call ‘traditional’ coaching as a cosy conversation in which the coach has only
one role, that of supporter to the coachee. In this characterisation the coach is a
follower who does not challenge, offer uncomfortable feedback or hold the coachee
to account. This is not my experience of executive coaching. Coaching is about
change, and it is hard to imagine any change resulting from such a soft scenario.
Blakey and Day do not offer any tangible evidence that their picture has any
foundation. Rather they point to coaching’s beginnings in the helping professions of
person-centred therapy (Carl Rogers) and counselling (Gerard Egan), environments
where practitioners work to replace dysfunction with normal functionality.
Challenge, direct feedback and holding people to account are not appropriate there.
The executive coaching environment is different in that these qualities are part of our
stock in trade. Once we have established a strong relationship with our coachee
through building rapport, active listening, good questioning, we use these next level
behaviours to get our coachee to cross the line and venture outside their comfort
zone to achieve the change outcome specified in the contract.
Blakey and Day’s stated intention is to be provocative and stir up the coaching
profession. They have done this by portraying non-directive coaching as being very
different from their style of challenging coaching. In fact it is not. It is just another
branch on the evolutionary tree. When non-directive executive coaching is done well it
does hold the mirror up to the coachee so they do receive difficult messages, it does hold
their feet to the fire and challenge them. It can be a tough conversation. Like anything
else, when it is done badly, it looks a poor comparator and makes an easy target.
FACTS is a neat acronym. The letters stand for Feedback (coach gives feedback
on behalf of all stakeholders), Accountability (coach holds coachee to account on
behalf of all stakeholders), Courageous goals (game changing and stretching),
Tension (getting the balance right so as to move the coachee towards their
courageous goals and achieve transformation) and Systems thinking (linking things
into the bigger picture and issues in the business world). There are add-ons that do
not fit nicely into a pronounceable acronym. Alongside FACTS comes ZOUD
the
zone of uncomfortable debate
where the difficult topics are faced and dealt with. In
addition there are what Blakey and Day term ‘new gems of coaching’. These are
ISSN 1752-1882 print/ISSN 1752-1890 online
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17521882.2012.694459
http://www.tandfonline.com
 152 Book Review

‘build the contract, honour the contract’ and ‘speak your truth, face the FACTS’.
Both make key contributions to effective executive coaching.
Building a contract at the beginning of the coaching process provides clarity as to
the purpose of the coaching and specifics as to goals. Without this it is impossible for
the parties to know if or when coaching has been successful. Three way contracting at
the start ensures the common interests of both coachee and their organisation are
identified, shared, articulated as specific outcomes for coaching and, as a conse-
quence, both parties benefit from the coaching. Contracting gives direction and this
means if coaching conversations are wandering (perhaps because the coachee doesn’t
want to face up to a situation) the coach can legitimately bring it back on track.
Speak your truth refers to the coach tuning into their own feelings and intuitions as
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the coaching conversation progresses and then sharing these with the coachee. This
gives an openness and honesty to the relationship and is itself a source of challenge.
This resonates with Peter Bluckert’s (2006) reference to the coach’s use of self as
instrument and to Catherine Sandler’s (2011) psychodynamic approach to coaching.
There is much in this book to commend it. Blakey and Day include helpful
example dialogues between coach and coachee in each element of FACTS. It has its
feet firmly based in practicalities. There’s a sense of urging readers to step up a gear
to ensure that their coaching fits with and properly serves the changed organisational
and business world since the financial crisis first hit. They focus on the need for
coaching to serve the organisation that pays the coach as well as the coachee, and
articulate the fact that the coach has a responsibility to both. And whilst the authors
present a disparaging view of ‘traditional’ coaching, they do acknowledge the shared
essential skills of establishing rapport, active listening, asking open questions,
reflecting back and so on. Their passion is to encourage the use of next level
behaviours which are more challenging and risk taking to both coach and coachee.
Challenging Coaching is an interesting read. It highlights some important aspects of
executive coaching and grabs attention by doing so through a provocative lens. It is
well structured and worth a place on any executive coach’s book shelf.

Anne Whitham
Cross the Line, Wolverhampton, UK
anne.whitham@cross-the-line.co.uk
# 2012, Anne Whitham

Notes on contributor
Anne Whitham is the principal of Cross the Line. A
qualified executive coach and leadership mentor, she is a
member of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council
and the Institute of Leadership and Management. Before
setting up Cross the Line Anne was a senior leader in
operational delivery in the public sector in the UK,
working in a challenging and public facing environment.
Anne is a chartered surveyor and has degrees in psychology
and law.
 Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice 153

References
Bluckert, P. (2006). Psychological dimensions of executive coaching. Maidenhead: Open
University Press; McGraw Hill Education.
Sandler, C. (2011). Executive coaching: A psychodynamic approach. Maidenhead: Open
University Press; McGraw Hill Education.
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