Editor’s Book Recommendations
7 Transformational Coaching Books Every Coach Should Read
Whether you’re an experienced coach or just starting your journey, finding the right resources can deepen your impact and fuel your growth. In celebration of International Coaching Week 2025—an event that brought together coaching professionals from around the world—we’ve curated a collection of seven powerful books that continue to resonate well beyond the week itself.
Each book offers unique insights, practical tools, and inspiring perspectives that help coaches support others more effectively and grow personally along the way. From emotional resilience to team dynamics and leadership development, these must-reads are timeless guides for anyone committed to making a difference through coaching.
Best Read for: Achieving Meaningful Change
CET Yourself Free
Dr. Lisa Turner
£14.99/$17.95, Rethink Press
Most of us carry emotional baggage, whether it’s from the past or just the stress of everyday life, and often, we don’t even realise how much it’s affecting how we think, feel, and show up in the world. For coaches and the people, they support, these hidden blocks can quietly hold back growth, confidence, and real progress.
In CET Yourself Free, Dr. Lisa Turner shares a simple but powerful way to let go of emotional pain and unhelpful beliefs, without needing years of therapy. Her method, Conscious Emotional Transformation (CET), helps people understand what’s really going on beneath the surface and gives them tools to make lasting, positive changes. Drawing from her own life and years of experience in psychology, Lisa offers practical, down-to-earth advice that’s easy to follow.
With a PhD in mathematical modelling and aero-acoustics, Dr Lisa applies the same scientific rigour to healing emotional pain. Having been kept as a house prisoner by a paedophile from the age of 15, she successfully freed herself from PTSD and continued to experiment until she found the key to letting go of past emotional pain. For 20 years, Dr Turner has been guiding others to do just that through her work at CETfreedom.
This book invites us to work out difficult emotions and turn them into fuel for growth. It’s a timely read for International Coaching Week, especially for coaches who want to support deep, meaningful change in themselves and others. CET Yourself Free is an excellent and empowering guide for anyone ready to let go of the past and move forward with more clarity, courage and connection.
Best Read for: Personal Growth
The Human TOUCH
Sukaiyna Gokal
£17.99/$19.99, Rethink Press
In the world today, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and disconnected from what really matters. Sukaiyna Gokal understands that during times of uncertainty, losing touch with our true selves is common. In her book The Human TOUCH, Sukaiyna offers a simple and practical way to find peace and purpose.
Sukaiyna founded Garden of Ayden in 2012 with the goal of helping people around the world heal and empower themselves. Her calm and supportive approach has already helped thousands of people reconnect with who they really are. Now, she’s sharing her method for personal growth with a wider audience.
The book is based on five powerful principles, including tolerance, openness, unity, collaboration, and harmony. These principles help readers look inward, understand what’s holding them back, and make real, lasting changes in their lives.
The Human TOUCH isn’t about quick fixes; it’s about creating a solid foundation for growth and living a life that feels authentic. From facing personal challenges to feeling more connected and balanced, this book gives readers the tools to move forward with confidence and clarity.
Ideal for International Coaching Week, The Human TOUCH is essential for anyone looking to grow personally or help others do the same.
Best Read for: Team Coaching
Mastering the Art of Team Coaching
Georgina Woudstra
£28.99/$15.99, Team Coaching Studio Press
The right guidance can make a huge difference to a team. But, in today’s fast-paced world, traditional coaching models can feel too rigid. That’s where the idea of emergent team coaching comes in. It’s flexible, adaptable, and designed to meet the unique needs of each team.
In the updated edition of Mastering the Art of Team Coaching, Georgina Woudstra dives deeper into emergent team coaching, offering practical tools and new insights to help you navigate the challenges that come with working with teams. The book now includes fresh chapters and clearer frameworks, giving you the tools to be more effective without following a one-size-fits-all approach.
Georgina helps you build essential skills for coaching, including confidence to handle any challenge, competence to make a real difference in team situations, coherence to bring together different ideas into a clear approach, and congruence to create a coaching style that feels true to you.
This book will help you coach teams in a way that’s flexible and impactful. With years of experience in coaching senior teams across industries, Georgina’s guide is a must-read for anyone serious about improving their team coaching skills.
Best Read for: Corporate Coaching
The Complete Corporate Coaching Toolkit
Monica Jonsson
£45.09/$16.99, Independently Published
In an increasingly complex and fast-moving business world, the demand for strong, human-centred leadership has never been greater. Monica Jonsson’s The Complete Corporate Coaching Toolkit is a practical, visually engaging guide for both professional coaches and business leaders who want to enhance their impact and develop the soft skills essential for modern leadership.
Drawing from over 15,000 coaching hours and work with more than 90 client companies, Monica presents a powerful collection of tools designed to encourage reflection, self-awareness, and growth.
The book focuses on seven essential soft skills needed in today’s corporate world. They include leadership, effective communication, emotional intelligence, stakeholder management, influencing and negotiation, personal efficiency, and life balance. Each tool is designed for real-world use, whether in personalised coaching sessions or for self-development by executives, from CEOs to team leaders.
Monica, a pioneer of corporate coaching in Luxembourg and founder of CoachDynamix, brings decades of industry and coaching experience to this resource. With its A4 format and full-colour design, the book stands out as both a practical manual and a visually accessible reference.
Ideal for coaches and leaders alike, this toolkit supports anyone looking to lead with greater clarity, confidence, and humanity in the ever-evolving business landscape.
Best Read for: Effective Coaching Tools
The Little Book of Big Coaching Models
Dr. Bob Bates
£14.99, Pearson
The Little Book of Big Coaching Models by Dr. Bob Bates is a straightforward, easy-to-use guide made for busy managers and team leaders who want to quickly improve how they support and work with their people. It includes 76 simple coaching models that help with everyday challenges like improving performance, having better conversations, boosting motivation, and getting teams to work better together – without needing to read for hours or take a course.
Each model is short, clear and practical, making it simple to understand and apply straight away. From handling tricky situations to trying to grow as a leader, or just wanting fresh ideas to help your team succeed, this book has something that fits.
Dr. Bob Bates draws from years of real-life experience working in government and teaching leadership. His advice is grounded, realistic and helpful across all kinds of workplaces, from small businesses to big organisations.
Perfect for new managers or experienced leaders who want quick and effective coaching tools, this book is a handy reference to keep close by when you need a boost or a new approach that works.
Best Read for: Creating a Coaching Culture
How to Create a Coaching Culture
Gillian Jones and Ro Gorell
£26.99/$15.99, Kogan Page
How to Create a Coaching Culture by Gillian Jones and Ro Gorell is a hands-on guide for leaders and HR professionals who want to build a more engaged, high-performing workplace. The book shows how to embed coaching behaviours across an organisation so that employees feel empowered, motivated, and supported to do their best work.
This updated second edition includes fresh insights on topics like employee engagement, rethinking performance reviews, and updated case studies from companies such as HarperCollins and British Airways. It offers practical tools, templates, and step-by-step advice on how to build a coaching culture that aligns with company goals, gains leadership support, and delivers measurable impact throughout the employee lifecycle.
With real-world examples, assessments, and downloadable resources, this book gives readers everything they need to plan, launch, and sustain a coaching approach at every level of an organisation. It’s especially useful for those leading change, managing talent, or developing leadership at scale.
Co-authors Gillian Jones and Ro Gorell bring years of coaching, leadership, and change management experience to the table, making this an essential, practical resource for organisations aiming to thrive in a fast-changing world.
Best read for: Different Coaching Methods
The Tao of Coaching
Max Landsberg
£9.99/$15.99, Profile Books
Coaching has become an important skill for leaders and managers who want to help their teams develop and thrive. However, as there are many different coaching methods out there, it can be hard to know which one to try first or what will work best.
Max Landsberg simplifies the process in his book The Tao of Coaching. He presents a clear, practical guide for anyone looking to improve their coaching abilities. Focusing on a handful of essential coaching principles, the book shows how to strengthen your team and improve communication without overwhelming you with complicated theories.
Each chapter breaks down a coaching method with practical tips you can use right away. These techniques not only help others perform better, but they also support your own growth and job satisfaction. The book shows how coaching can be a great tool for both personal and professional development.
With years of experience in executive coaching and leadership, Max Landsberg presents an easy-to-follow guide to becoming a more effective leader, delegating tasks better, and getting better results. If you’re looking to enhance your leadership skills, The Tao of Coaching is a key resource.
While International Coaching Week 2025 may have come and gone, the drive to learn, grow, and support others is always in season. These seven books are more than just timely picks—they’re enduring companions for every coach who wants to refine their craft and spark meaningful change. Whether you’re coaching individuals, teams, or entire organisations, consider these reads essential tools on your journey.
