In a world where the word coaching would automatically take us to competitive exams or tuitions for students, leadership coaching has a big fight at hand to be understood for what it is. ‘Unfiltered: The CEO and The Coach’ gives you just that: a very incisive account of a coaching engagement, start to finish. The process, the people involved, some assessment frameworks, and how all of this manifests in a fruitful engagement. As a Master Coach myself, I recognise the mastery at play here and how the business CEO transforms through a powerful partnership.
Given the organisational context and that two professionals are working with each other, at the heart of it, this is a narrative of two human beings having an authentic, vulnerable, and real conversation that leads to a transformative experience. The book gives us an inside view of how both Saurabh Mukherjea, the CEO, and Ana Lueneburger, the coach, engaged with each other.
From meet and greet to closure and all else that transpires in between, the book highlights essential stages of coaching. It answers some fundamental questions: How can coaching help, what does it entail, what should you keep in mind while choosing a coach, what does a conversation look like, how would a coach establish comfort with a client, what happens in between sessions and how does one close the session. A valuable contribution to organisations/leaders to navigate the ambiguous world of this nascent coaching industry. This is narrated as a personal experience, lending a human touch.
An organisation hires a coach for their top leader, who, first tentatively and then wholeheartedly, embraces the process, leaves the organisation, and follows his purpose and dream to set up a portfolio investment firm. A classic example of how coaching meanders through unchartered territories and enables meaningful outcomes. The client says, “I find my way in the world with a sense of balance” in the last chapter of the book.
The book is unique in that it brings forth perspectives from both sides. How did Ana, the coach, establish trust and safety and what was it like for her to enter into the coaching space? Similarly, what were Saurabh’s thoughts, feelings, as he chose Ana as a coach and his thought process during the sessions?
That the power of coaching is experienced in how invested the CEO is: between sessions the CEO has thrown himself at his own growth journey, by reading up material the coach has shared, working on the various tools that were inputs into the session, and continuing the reflective practice. It highlights that work in the session is as important as work in between.
The coach shares her style of coaching where she works on leveraging the strengths of the client. Hence, she uses various frameworks such as culture mapping, and values in action assessment that are appropriate to the leader’s situation and personality as well. (The resource section of the book is very generous in frameworks and book references).
Unfiltered truly lives up to its name in Chapter 6, where a Fish Bowl excerpt is shared. Kudos to the coach and CEO who courageously share their inner narratives. What prompted the coach to ask a question, what went on in her mind, her fears and vulnerabilities on one hand, and parallelly, what was the client’s response, what prompted him to say what he did, his fears and vulnerabilities, and his inner narrative before answering that question. As readers, we are in both people’s heads and this is very insightful as it brings out their vulnerabilities and strengths, and makes for a very authentic human narrative. A critical element for a transformative experience.
It is very rare to be able to be privy to these inner narratives simultaneously.
The book concludes with both the CEO and coach’s reflections over a five-year journey. The narrative has an easy and organic flow to it, making it an easy read.
I would keep in mind that this is one such journey between two powerful and invested individuals and it must not be generalised. The experience varies given how the coach and client are invested and as the dynamics of the relationship emerge and evolve. Every session, client, coach is unique.
Unfiltered is a must-read for both coaches and organisations that are considering hiring a coach for their senior leaders. As a Master Coach, I wish I has read this in my early training days in the run-up to the mastery credential.
Check out the book on Amazon.
(Priya Ramesh is a master certified coach, a leadership coach and a coach mentor)