For the last several years I was fortunate to have attended the now defunct HR Service Delivery and Technology Forum hosted by Willis Towers Watson; the event was chock full of outstanding networking opportunities both in my "industry" of higher education and with HR leaders from the private sector. There were informative education sessions, amazing events and activities, and some of the best keynotes I've been witness to in all my years in HR. It was at the 2015 Forum that I was introduced to the wit and wisdom of Michael Bungay Stanier.

He enthralled the audience, got us working together, had us laughing and thinking, and when all was said and done he left us with new ideas to take home.

In the nearly year since, he has become one of my favorite knowledge bombers; to that end, I've read Michael's wonderful Do More Great Work (and some of his other titles) and provided copies to everyone on my management team; it (and Michael's array of resources and insights available on his blog and elsewhere) have become an ongoing part of my team's leadership dialogue and I'd like to think made us all better managers and leaders.

That said, I've found myself fortunate to receive and read an advance copy of Michael's latest book The Coaching Habit - and it is a game changer; the simple yet profound message of the text being that coaching is critical to great work and the best coaching is that which feels natural and is a regular part of your management routine. To quote the publisher, and a notion I wholeheartedly agree with after reading The Coaching Habit:

In Michael Bungay Stanier’s The Coaching Habit, coaching becomes a regular, informal part of your day so managers and their teams can work less hard and have more impact.

And needless to say, I'll be picking up a handful of copies for my team when The Coaching Habit hits shelves officially later this month (and you should too).