In today’s complex, fast-paced, multigenerational workplace, one leadership skill stands above the rest –coaching. In their new book Coaching Power, Tom Preston and Luciana Nunez, partners at the renowned executive coaching firm The Preston Associates, argue that a leader’s ability to coach—not just command—is the key to unlocking potential, navigating change, and supporting long-term organizational success.
“Nobody would ever think of putting a world class athlete onto the field without a coach, yet we do it every day in business,” explain the authors. “Almost always, the difference between a gold medal and a bronze medal is not physical, it is mental. It is about attitude, confidence, determination, ownership, and mindset.” A skilled coach can nurture these attributes, helping individuals and teams alike to visualize success and determine what it takes to get there, they say.
Preston and Núñez have guided hundreds of senior leaders across industries and around the world to develop the coaching skills necessary for individual, team, and organizational outperformance. In Coaching Power , they share their unique tools and frameworks, focusing on:
Coaching Fundamentals – Great coaching rests on two fundamental skills: listening and questioning. After detailing their model for deep listening, the authors address the premises of good coaching questioning. As they explain, “great questions are those that move someone’s thinking forward, that unlock and unblock.”
The Magic of Storytelling – The authors undertook a seven-year study to determine how great leaders communicate. They outline what they call “The Emotional Leadership Flow,” which lays out what success looks like, sets clear expectations, gives context, shares benefits to those involved, and specifies how success will be measured. They bring this framework to life through detailed examples.
How Beliefs Influence Leadership Styles – “If you want to gain self-awareness as a leader, understanding and examining your beliefs is key: beliefs shape a leader’s perspective, decision-making process, and overall approach to leading others,” Preston and Núñez write. Their self-reflection prompts enable leaders to explore their core beliefs, from collaboration vs. competition to scarcity vs. abundance to safety vs. danger.
One-to-One Coaching – The authors explain that, ultimately, 1:1 coaching is a “Thinking Partnership” between two people, where the coach guides a process of questions and inquiry that helps the coachee find their own answers and solutions. In this section, they detail the “Trilogy Questions” that are the “secret sauce” to effective Thinking Partners.
Coaching Teams – Team leadership today requires far more agility and adaptability than it did in the past. Preston and Núñez discuss the commonalities of high-performing teams—including shared vision of collective success and actively fostering trust—and provide their framework for team coaching.
Building a Coaching Culture – “Creating a coaching culture within an organization is essential for fostering business growth, continuous learning, and innovation,” the authors write. Including best practices from real businesses, they lay out how to embed coaching into the fabric of any company.
What Leaders Need to be Future-Fit – In the face of accelerating change and disruption, the need to upskill and reskill teams has become an imperative. Coaching can help leaders harness the power of the skills that will be most valuable in the future: emotional intelligence, digital literacy, cultural competence, and adaptability and agility.
Throughout the book, Preston and Núñez share detailed examples and step-by-step guidelines, addressing a host of key topics. These include: the power of visualization; crafting an authentic personal brand; strategic thinking; safe feedback; facilitating great team meetings; and more.
“A coach is someone who helps their people navigate change and uncertainty, and to find solutions that they couldn’t find on their own. Today, leaders have a responsibility not only to be great coaches to their people, but to help them develop their own coaching skills,” Preston and Núñez write. COACHING POWER is the comprehensive guide these leaders need for empowering others, inspiring growth, achieving excellence, and creating meaningful impact in an ever more challenging world.
Tom Preston, co-author of Coaching Power, is the founder of The Preston Associates, a premier executive coaching firm with a network of international offices. Their clients include Bank of America, Dyson, Christie’s, Harrods, Johnson & Johnson, and Novartis. With decades of experience coaching leaders across industries and geographies, he has helped organizations achieve extraordinary outcomes. A former private equity executive and bestselling author of Coach Yourself to Success, he brings deep insights and practical wisdom to his work.
Luciana Núñez, co-author of Coaching Power, is a partner and Head of Americas at The Preston Associates, one of the world’s premier executive coaching firms. An accomplished executive coach and former CEO with more than 20 years of leadership experience at Fortune 500 companies, including Bayer, Danone, and Roche, she blends her strategic expertise with a passion for mentoring, serving as a board member, investor, and advisor to entrepreneurs and executives worldwide.
