15 Quotes by John Whitmore

Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their growth.

I am able to control only that which I am aware of. That which I am unaware of controls me. Awareness empowers me.

Building awareness and responsibility is the essence of good coaching.

Coaching is unlocking people’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.

The carrot and the stick are prevasive and persuasive motivators. But if you treat people like donkeys, they will perform like donkeys.

Coaching focuses on future possibilities, not past mistakes.

Whether we coach, advise, counsel, facilitate, or mentor, the effectiveness of what we do depends in large measure on our beliefs about human potential. The expressions “to get the best out of someone” and “your hidden potential” imply that more lies within the person waiting to be released.

To get the best out of people, we have to believe the best is in there – but how do we know it is, how much is there, and how do we get it out?

The blame culture that still prevails in the majority of businesses works against this, as it causes “false reality syndrome” or “I will tell you what I think you want to hear, or what will keep me out of trouble.