The Weekly Coaching Conversation: A Business Fable About Taking Your Game and Your Team to the Next Level

by Brian Souza

Improve performance. Transform productivity. Change lives.  Whether your team is in an office, on a field, in a classroom, or in your living room — have you ever thought they had more to give, but you weren’t quite sure how to get it out of them? Have you ever wanted them to play up to their potential, but didn’t quite know how to make it happen? Are you looking for that one new idea, that one simple strategy that will take your career and your team’s performance to the next level? If so, The Weekly Coaching Conversation is definitely the book for you. Every once in a while a book like this comes along with a message so simple—yet so profound—it literally changes people's lives.  In a story as inspiring as it is informative, bestselling author Brian Souza reveals the secrets to unleashing a person's potential. Introducing a groundbreaking, yet easy-to-apply model that's backed by rigorous research, The Weekly Coaching Conversation gives leaders the playbook to turbocharge any team's performance.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Management, Leadership, Human Resources, Self Help, Reference

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Christine Galvin-Combet · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some valuable nuggets in this book but there isn't much depth. It is a quick read and I think that's helpful for those who are looking for a quick primer or refresher to boost their coaching skills but who are crunched for time.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doesn't explain how to coach

Unfortunately this ends way sooner than I expected, and that means it's basically a very long advertisement for their free videos or paid training program. The end just says "you should ask these 5 questions", and those questions aren't even phrased in a way that you could ask them to a person - they just give topics to talk about.

Perhaps I'm too advanced to be the target audience here. But the moral is "coaching is important" with no explanation on how to do so. Read Michael Bungay Stanier's The Coaching Habit instead.

Sorry Mr. Souza, I'm sure you tried hard here and have a little to teach, and have done some great work with many orgs. This book just didn't land for me.

[Kate Fitzgerald · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mandatory book for work. Terrible. Mostly a "fable" written by an author who was nervous about writing it because he doesn't even read fiction. There is one major takeaway: spend less time managing process and fixating on a couple deals that need to close, more time coaching your reps to be their best. There was zero need to have that expressed within a fable.

The main character is a complete d-bag. The author is trying to relate to young people by having the manager sing "I Gotta Feeling" while riding around San Francisco, order Purple Hooter shots, and say things like "my bad" and "bring it". So cringe.

Then there are some best practice lists but nothing that specific, as this is just a teaser for 10 hours of video training the author suggests as a next step. Ugh. (Note to my own manager: Forcing your team to read a book and watch videos is not coaching.)

At the end the author tells a quick version of his own story, which is much better than the stupid fable. He should have led with that.

[Damiaan · Rating 1 out of 5]

While the book starts very good, has a easy to read story, the framework explanation in the second part of the book is highly disappointing.

The second part comes down to a sales talk to view the free video's on the website and a telling how good the framework is. Bit they do not explain the framework

The book mentions 5 questions you should use biting the coaching on the one but last page of the book. And then end the book without going into detail. Together with a poor excuse that he could add a lot more.

The book is very short. Why not add important information. He should have added 40 more pages explaining at the conversation self.

You can't call a book the weekly coaching conversation and not explain the content conversation itself.

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book is about a sales manager named Brad, I think it has application to instructional coaching in an education setting, too. This fable about a sales manager who thinks he's arrived because he wins a company award discovers that he's leaving his team of salespeople behind. By coincidence, he meets a wiser, experienced businessman, Coach, who walks him through some important lessons about how to lead his team of salespeople. While we see the change in attitude from Brad, we don't hear much about how he actually applies what he learns from Coach in his day-to-day interactions with his team.

One thing I like about the format of the book is that it highlights important quotes. I've selected just a few to include here. "The only way to systematically improve individual performance is to provide constructive coaching and developmental feedback. In fact, countless studies have show that there's a direct correlation between the quantity and the quality of constructive coaching an individual receives and his or her level of performance improvement," (p. 158). "To get your team to become coachable, you must first become coachable. To get your team to open up, you must first open up. To get your team to embrace developmental feedback, you must first embrace developmental feedback. As a coach, you set the standard for your team to follow. And your personal example is the most powerful leadership tool you have" (p. 110). "Great coaches consistently get the most out of their people because they consistently put the most into their people" (p. 72).

[Todd Mckeever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review: The Weekly Coaching Conversation
Author: Brian Souza

Introduction to the Book

Brian Souza’s The Weekly Coaching Conversation presents a transformative approach to leadership that shifts managers from being bosses to becoming coaches. Through a fictional yet highly relatable story, the book emphasizes that great leaders don’t just manage performance—they develop people.

The central premise is that weekly coaching conversations, rather than annual performance reviews or occasional feedback, are the key to sustained employee growth, motivation, and high performance. The book provides a practical framework for leaders to adopt a coaching mindset and drive real engagement within their teams.

Chapter-by-Chapter Review

Part 1: The Shift to Coaching Leadership

1. The Difference Between a Boss and a Coach

Main Takeaway: Managers who act as “bosses” focus on control and results, while coaches prioritize development and long-term success.

Coaching Action:
• Start seeing yourself as a coach, not just a supervisor.
• Focus on developing people rather than managing them.

Apps:
• Notion (to track coaching conversations and progress)
• Evernote (for storing coaching insights and reflections)

Books:
• The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier (on integrating coaching into daily leadership)
• Multipliers by Liz Wiseman (on leaders who amplify others’ strengths)

Quotes:

“The best leaders are not those who demand results but those who develop people to achieve great results.” — Brian Souza

Part 2: The Power of Weekly Coaching Conversations

2. Why Weekly, Not Monthly or Yearly?

Main Takeaway: Consistent coaching helps employees grow and improves performance over time. Sporadic feedback isn’t enough.

Coaching Action:
• Schedule weekly 15-30 minute coaching conversations with each team member.
• Make it a habit, not an event.

Apps:
• Google Calendar (for setting recurring coaching meetings)
• Trello (for tracking team development over time)

Books:
• Radical Candor by Kim Scott (on giving frequent, honest feedback)
• Dare to Lead by Brené Brown (on creating a culture of trust)

Quotes:

“Success is not about one big breakthrough—it’s about daily, small improvements.” — Brian Souza

3. The Structure of an Effective Coaching Conversation

Main Takeaway: A structured coaching conversation involves asking the right questions, listening actively, and guiding rather than directing.

Coaching Action:
• Use the GROW Model for conversations:
• Goal: What do you want to achieve?
• Reality: Where are you now?
• Options: What can you do?
• Will: What will you commit to?

Apps:
• Otter.ai (to record and transcribe coaching conversations for review)
• Snipd (for capturing coaching insights from podcasts and audiobooks)

Books:
• Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Schmidt (on coaching in high-performance environments)
• Measure What Matters by John Doerr (on setting clear goals)

Quotes:

“Great coaches don’t give answers—they ask great questions.” — Brian Souza

Part 3: The Coaching Mindset and Execution

4. The Five Coaching Conversations Leaders Must Master

Main Takeaway: Effective leaders adjust their coaching based on the situation.

Coaching Action:
• Master these five types of coaching conversations:
1. Performance Feedback – Address what’s working and what’s not.
2. Goal-Setting – Help employees define clear, meaningful goals.
3. Motivation Check-in – Keep team members engaged and inspired.
4. Problem-Solving – Guide employees in overcoming challenges.
5. Career Development – Help employees grow professionally.

Apps:
• Slack (for ongoing coaching check-ins and feedback loops)
• Typeform (for collecting employee feedback on coaching sessions)

Books:
• Drive by Daniel Pink (on motivation and purpose in work)
• Start with Why by Simon Sinek (on inspiring employees)

Quotes:

“Employees don’t leave companies—they leave managers who fail to coach them.” — Brian Souza

5. Overcoming Resistance to Coaching

Main Takeaway: Some employees resist coaching because of fear, ego, or past negative experiences. Leaders must build trust and show that coaching is for their benefit.

Coaching Action:
• Position coaching as a partnership, not a performance review.
• Celebrate small wins to build momentum.

Apps:
• Gratitude Journal (to track progress and recognize growth)
• CoachAccountable (for structured coaching progress tracking)

Books:
• Mindset by Carol Dweck (on fostering a growth mindset)
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey (on leadership and personal development)

Quotes:

“Coaching isn’t about fixing employees—it’s about helping them become their best.” — Brian Souza

Summary of the Book

The Weekly Coaching Conversation is a must-read for managers, leaders, and entrepreneurs who want to shift from being reactive supervisors to proactive coaches. Souza provides a clear, structured approach to coaching that emphasizes consistency, engagement, and asking the right questions.

The book challenges the outdated approach of annual performance reviews, advocating instead for frequent, meaningful conversations that drive long-term employee growth and company success.

Coaching moments (toddmckeever.com)
1. Commit to Weekly Coaching: Block time on your calendar for a 15-30 minute coaching session with each team member.
2. Use the GROW Model: In your next coaching session, ask questions based on Goal, Reality, Options, and Will.
3. Evaluate Your Leadership Style: Are you acting more like a boss or a coach? Write down one change you can make.
4. Ask Better Questions: Replace advice-giving with powerful questions that help employees think critically.

This book is an essential resource for leaders who want to create a high-performance, engaged team by fostering a culture of coaching, accountability, and growth.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very inspiring! It gives specific things to change about yourself. It's a slap in the face but with a ice bag ready to go and encouraging words that allow you to believe in yourself. The ending hits your heart like demolition team who also rebuilds new and improved structures.

[Serge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not written as a usual one, it's a story about salesman Brad and a guy he met in the bar, whom people refer to as Coach. Brad has just become a manager and needs a transformation to stop thinking like a sales guy about "making my number" to a leader who cares about "helping them - the team - to make their numbers".

While the book is extremely easy to read and the story is quite inspiring, it doesn't go deep dive on any of the topics discussed. It's a 150-pages preamble to 10-pages learning material, followed by a link to some website with "more free materials".

If you never worked as a manager and it's the first time you're stepping into this path, this book might help you to have this internal dialogue on how to shift your personality from caring about yourself to caring about the team you're responsible for.

The weekly coaching framework might also work - depending on the size of your team and, probably, their maturity - but again, it's just entry-level suggestions with really poor details on how to implement them practically.

I'm rating this book as 3 stars because I liked (and could resonate myself) with the story told and it's really short. However, I can't recommend it as a go-to guide for a new or seasoned manager to get better.

[Gale Moreland · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is your favorite quote from the book?
“Change your mindset, and you’ll change your behavior. Change your behavior, and you’ll change their behavior. Change their behavior, and you’ll change their performance. It’s that simple.”

Which coworker would you recommend this book to?
My spouse.

What is a specific real-world application that you will be able to make from what you learned in this book?
I wonder how this will work on children. More like middle school and up. How this could change parenting to be more of coaching teens and even pre-teens rather than managing them.

What is the one thing that you think you will do differently or think differently about since you read the book?
Coaching moments are more casual than I have experienced. It's a conversation with adjustments made rather than a big change kind of deal.

What is one point you disagreed with, or at least questioned, in this book?
The leadership moment. It seemed like a fairy tale. One split moment and suddenly the reset button was pressed and everyone lived happily ever after. It would be more realistic to think you will have to arrive there over and over. Ppl are slow to recognize and quick to forget so it would need to be reached at multiple points.

How does something you learned from this book tie into one of the core values of the company?
Simplicity. This book was written in such a way where you don't have to stretch in order to understand the concepts. It's easy to digest and retain. It drives home our #1 core value of simplicity. Break it down so you don't need special training to understand or follow through on what was learned.

[Katricia · Rating 1 out of 5]

More an extended advertisement for the associated online webinar than a standalone book, though the general thesis of the book--managers are more effective when they invest in their people first--seems reasonable.

Also, I have never seen mild language (e.g. nothing more explicit than 'shit' or 'ass' in a few lines of dialogue.) censored in writing like this.

Fuckin' weird as shit, especially given the character in question was fictional...

[Jo Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seriously lacking. Total scam. Don't buy this book!!!

The fable is well done but then what? The book has hyperlinks to a website that supposedly has the tools on it that the book purports to provide. The link goes to a website that is under construction. There is nothing there but a box to put your email on an email list. It's a total scam and rip off.

[PJ Wenzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Or younger managers of people, or immature self-focused professionals, this is likely a very helpful place to begin. It can be read in 1-2 sittings. There are some good core principles of approach here. It’s not going to give you the details or the right questions to ask of your team. But the framework is there. It’s maybe step one of several.

[Nathan Feaver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good ideas about coaching and great to have someone who's done a lot of research about how to be a great manager talk about strategies. The poor storytelling makes the book less enjoyable but does help you digest the lessons in a more memorable way.

[Jenifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the getAbstract version of this, found it very helpful for work management. Played it in my weekly management meeting. Love the focus on everyone working together as a team and less on one person.

[Chase Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

We read this for our work book club, easy read, good content! Pulls your heartstrings a bit. With out giving away the content, this book keeps it simple, engages dialog and is a great jumping off point to become motivated in coaching and engaging your team(s) weekly!

[Dean · Rating 1 out of 5]

Such Promise. Such Disappointment

I wanted this to be good but it was short and ultimately disappointing. The links to the special offers he made throughout the book go to a one page website with no special training. This book should be 99 cents or free.

[Daniel Schonberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

No favors

The fable approach does this book no favors. It had a good message, but that framing needs work. Worth a read.

[Joe Colunga · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was a good presentation of dry material. I am planning on passing along it's concepts to my daughter. It is short enough to finish on a flight layover.

[Shelia Merkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a people leader, this is one of the best books I have ever read on coaching and becoming a world class leader. This is a book that I will reference and read again,

[Alma · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good message but can’t say that the style of writing was something that I recommend.

[Karatull · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has changed the way I think about leading. It has changed my mindset in a professional and personal way. It's an easy read with a profound lesson. I loved it!

[Adrienne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was hoping for more substantive conversational starters or practical advice for structuring coaching conversations. Reads like a much worse version of Kim Smith's Radical Candor.

[Ansley Frost · Rating 5 out of 5]

While reading this book, I learned a lot about myself not only as a manager but as a person as well. This was very helpful and I have been using tips from the book to help coach my team!

[Brooke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good nuggets, but very little substance or how-to.

[Amanda Stohl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was a required reas for work. It has some good tidbits and nuggets of wisdom told through an unbelievable fable. Not my cup of tea.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good tips but very superficial content overall. TLDR summary leads to link to a training series that might have more detail.

[Joe Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read that moved away from the typical texbook approach and told a relatable story. We all could benefit from having a conversation with the Coach from the story. Have to wait and how this is implemented at work but I'm optimistic and enjoyed the book.

[Sue Fitzgibbons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of the simplest to read yet most impactful leadership training tools I've had the pleasure of reading. It is highly relatable and should be mandatory reading for anyone who has people reporting to them. My son and daughter-in-law are teachers and I will recommend this to them as it could be just as effective for them with their students as it will be for me with my colleagues and subordinates.

[Naturegirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a professional development book written for men. The entire analogy of the book revolves around sports, and since I hate sports, I couldn't get into this. The premise though is a good one. Basically, to be a good leader you must be a coach, not a dictator. There you go. Save your money, save your time. Be a coach.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initially I was turned off by the pop culture references and plot that seemed designed to appeal to a 23-year old male. But once I got in to the book, I found it to be full of solid management advice. It's a quick, easy read with some easily implementable tips. I would recommend.