Simon Western is CEO and founder of Analytic-Network Coaching Ltd, an avant-garde coaching company whose purpose is to ‘coach leaders to act in good faith to create the good society’ www.analyticnetwork.com.  He is an internationally recognized thought leader on leadership, coaching and organizational behaviour. Taking his unique experience and an unusual theoretical position into the workplace, he draws on critical theory, networked theory, social movement theory and psychoanalysis to help leaders develop new insights, act ethically and create progressive change in organizations.   Simon leads advanced coaching and leadership training courses to develop new ‘Eco-leadership’ approaches to help leaders adapt to today’s disruptive, network society. With over 200 registered coaches across the globe, Analytic-Network Coaching is growing fast. He shares his thinking as an international keynote speaker, academic and is author of three acclaimed books; Global Leadership Perspectives, Insights and Analysis (with Eric-Jean Gautier),  Leadership: A Critical Text (3rd edn: Sage, 2019) and Coaching and Mentoring: A Critical Text (Sage 2012).  Simon works directly with senior leaders on radical change strategies, organizational change and in-depth on personal and leadership challenges, drawing on his psychotherapist background.

′In my view the Psy Expert Discourse chapter is in a class by itself. The theme here is the influence of psychology and psychotherapy on coaching. The author analyses this impact by taking different current psychotherapeutic approaches as points of departure. All are strutinized in terms of strengths and weaknesses they imply for coaches′ - Gunnela Weslander International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching ′Finally an in-depth inquiry into coaching and why it is so popular. Coaching and Mentoring contains a profound analysis of the cultural background of coaching and reveals its dominant discourses, which makes it a must-read for experienced practitioners. This "critical text" challenges popular coaching assumptions and sets out a robust theoretical outlook for future best practice′ - Erik de HaanDirector of Centre for Coaching, Ashridge, and Professor of Organisation Development and Coaching, VU University Amsterdam′I see a lot of books on Coaching, and this is without doubt the most stimulating, original, thoughtful and and well-founded account... this is an authoritative, well researched, critical and appreciative account of coaching that has at its heart a profound concern for people, for social life and for the predicaments we face. It will be really helpful for anyone in coaching, for coaches and educators, for students of organization and work′ - Professor Jonathan GoslingProfessor of Leadership Studies, University of Exeter

• About the AuthorAcknowledgementsIntroduction: Coaching - the Merger of the ′Wounded-Self′ and ′Celebrated-Self′PART ONE: SCOPING THE FIELD WITH A CRITICAL LENSA Critical Theory Approach To Coaching Scoping The Field: Definitions and Divergence of Practice PART TWO: FROM FRIENDSHIP TO COACHING: A BRIEF GENEALOGY OF COACHINGIntroductionPre-Modernity: Helping Relationships Modernity: Experts, Tools and Technology Post-Modernity: Coaching Hybridity ConclusionPART THREE: THE DOMINANT DISCOURSES OF COACHINGIntroductionThe Soul Guide Discourse: A Mirror to the SoulThe Psy Expert Discourse: Coaching the Outward SelfThe Managerial Discourse: Coaching the Role SelfThe Network Coach Discourse: Influencing the Network Discourse Mapping: Coaching across and between DiscoursesPART FOUR: THE FUTURE OF COACHING Developing Coaching Theory Creating a New Coaching Meta-Theory: The Micro-Practices and the Macro-Social of CoachingCoaching Formation: Coach Education and Pedagogies EpilogueAppendixReferencesIndex

Simon Western is CEO and founder of Analytic-Network Coaching Ltd, an avant-garde coaching company whose purpose is to ‘coach leaders to act in good faith to create the good society’ www.analyticnetwork.com.  He is an internationally recognized thought leader on leadership, coaching and organizational behaviour. Taking his unique experience and an unusual theoretical position into the workplace, he draws on critical theory, networked theory, social movement theory and psychoanalysis to help leaders develop new insights, act ethically and create progressive change in organizations.   Simon leads advanced coaching and leadership training courses to develop new ‘Eco-leadership’ approaches to help leaders adapt to today’s disruptive, network society. With over 200 registered coaches across the globe, Analytic-Network Coaching is growing fast. He shares his thinking as an international keynote speaker, academic and is author of three acclaimed books; Global Leadership Perspectives, Insights and Analysis (with Eric-Jean Gautier),  Leadership: A Critical Text (3rd edn: Sage, 2019) and Coaching and Mentoring: A Critical Text (Sage 2012).  Simon works directly with senior leaders on radical change strategies, organizational change and in-depth on personal and leadership challenges, drawing on his psychotherapist background.

′In my view the Psy Expert Discourse chapter is in a class by itself. The theme here is the influence of psychology and psychotherapy on coaching. The author analyses this impact by taking different current psychotherapeutic approaches as points of departure. All are strutinized in terms of strengths and weaknesses they imply for coaches′ - Gunnela Weslander International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching ′Finally an in-depth inquiry into coaching and why it is so popular. Coaching and Mentoring contains a profound analysis of the cultural background of coaching and reveals its dominant discourses, which makes it a must-read for experienced practitioners. This "critical text" challenges popular coaching assumptions and sets out a robust theoretical outlook for future best practice′ - Erik de HaanDirector of Centre for Coaching, Ashridge, and Professor of Organisation Development and Coaching, VU University Amsterdam′I see a lot of books on Coaching, and this is without doubt the most stimulating, original, thoughtful and and well-founded account... this is an authoritative, well researched, critical and appreciative account of coaching that has at its heart a profound concern for people, for social life and for the predicaments we face. It will be really helpful for anyone in coaching, for coaches and educators, for students of organization and work′ - Professor Jonathan GoslingProfessor of Leadership Studies, University of Exeter

• About the AuthorAcknowledgementsIntroduction: Coaching - the Merger of the ′Wounded-Self′ and ′Celebrated-Self′PART ONE: SCOPING THE FIELD WITH A CRITICAL LENSA Critical Theory Approach To Coaching Scoping The Field: Definitions and Divergence of Practice PART TWO: FROM FRIENDSHIP TO COACHING: A BRIEF GENEALOGY OF COACHINGIntroductionPre-Modernity: Helping Relationships Modernity: Experts, Tools and Technology Post-Modernity: Coaching Hybridity ConclusionPART THREE: THE DOMINANT DISCOURSES OF COACHINGIntroductionThe Soul Guide Discourse: A Mirror to the SoulThe Psy Expert Discourse: Coaching the Outward SelfThe Managerial Discourse: Coaching the Role SelfThe Network Coach Discourse: Influencing the Network Discourse Mapping: Coaching across and between DiscoursesPART FOUR: THE FUTURE OF COACHING Developing Coaching Theory Creating a New Coaching Meta-Theory: The Micro-Practices and the Macro-Social of CoachingCoaching Formation: Coach Education and Pedagogies EpilogueAppendixReferencesIndex