Foundations of Professional Coaching is the essential guide to developing coaching skills and creating influential coaching relationships. Offering foundational concepts and underlying principles of coaching, this text will help all types of coaches cultivate a growth environment that encourages lasting change and maximizes each client’s potential in their personal and professional lives.

Grounded in the International Coaching Federation's eight core competencies, the text covers the theoretical basis of professional coaching models and the application of those models in modern coaching. Readers will enrich their coaching skills as they learn to embody the coaching mindset:

• Understanding the journey of behavior change with key models on the change process
• Employing inclusive frameworks for working with clients to set and pursue goals and overcome challenges
• Adhering to ethical protocols, such as how to appropriately respond to clients' identity, environment, values, and beliefs
• Cultivating trust and safety in the coaching relationship with respect to power and relationship dynamics
• Establishing presence as a coach and developing a coach’s voice
• Communicating effectively, with active listening and appropriate areas of inquiry

Throughout the text, personal stories offer insights into meaningful coaching engagements, providing context for the concepts and their application to a wide variety of coaching interests, including those related to health and lifestyle wellness, professional and career concerns, and leadership development. Additionally, downloadable resources, delivered through HKPropel, include practical tools—such as forms and checklists—for a successful coaching practice.

Foundations of Professional Coaching provides a pathway to excellence in coaching practice, with practical guidance on how to partner with clients in overcoming obstacles and developing goal-directed strategies leading to sustainable change.