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Conscious Coaching: The Art and Science of Building Buy-In
In the world of strength and conditioning, learning how to move others—not just physically, but also psychologically and emotionally—is paramount to getting the most out of them. People are the ultimate performance variable, and understanding how to effectively blend knowledge of proper training with the nuances of human behavior is integral to helping athletes achieve their ultimate goals. Unfortunately, while much attention has been given to the science of physical training, little attention has been given to the science of communication. Conscious The Art and Science of Building Buy-In bridges this gap. Readers learn the foundational principles of improving relationships, enhancing engagement, and gaining the trust of athletes through targeted communication. And, every bit as important, readers also learn concrete strategies to apply these principles in day-to-day coaching situations they will inevitably encounter. The result is a game-changing book that sets the stage for coaches to create a culture of success not only within sport, but also beyond. Conscious Coaching is a movement and its time has come.
291 pages, Paperback
Published March 8, 2017
717 people are currently reading
1763 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
November 26, 2020
I think Connor McGregor would be proud of the unrelenting beating some of these reviewers gave this dude. I mean, apart from the wincing as I read through the comments, I was generally impressed by how strongly and consistently the blows were landing on someone's innocent literary attempt at dispersing gained knowledge to others.
I thought the book was decent. If nothing else it gives messaging and real world examples from his own and other coaches experience to help reinforce good coaching/leadership decisions. Being honest about my intentions when reading books like this though, I'm mostly reinforcing lessons that I've long known. It doesn't hurt to be reminded how important graciousness, empathy, flexibility, and unwavering belief in the inherent goodness of people are to persons who want to mentor and lead others. I would read other books on the topics of leadership, management, and coaching before this one if I were someone else.
About the archetypes that take up a good portion of the book, apart from now having self-satisfying labels like "The Manipulator" or "The Mouthpiece" to describe the more irksome persons I might encounter in life, I was pretty wary of making much use of them. Personally, I read through that section, appreciated the real life stories of how coaches learned to manage those persons and situations best, and gained an overall lesson of being flexible, nimble, and strategic in my interactions with those I work with.
The book wasn't "my dream". It was a decent attempt at taking one apparently well seasoned coaches lessons learned by experience and imparting it others. Also gave me an insatiable urge to do push ups, run time trial sprints, and eat power bars so that's an extra little plus right there.
I thought the book was decent. If nothing else it gives messaging and real world examples from his own and other coaches experience to help reinforce good coaching/leadership decisions. Being honest about my intentions when reading books like this though, I'm mostly reinforcing lessons that I've long known. It doesn't hurt to be reminded how important graciousness, empathy, flexibility, and unwavering belief in the inherent goodness of people are to persons who want to mentor and lead others. I would read other books on the topics of leadership, management, and coaching before this one if I were someone else.
About the archetypes that take up a good portion of the book, apart from now having self-satisfying labels like "The Manipulator" or "The Mouthpiece" to describe the more irksome persons I might encounter in life, I was pretty wary of making much use of them. Personally, I read through that section, appreciated the real life stories of how coaches learned to manage those persons and situations best, and gained an overall lesson of being flexible, nimble, and strategic in my interactions with those I work with.
The book wasn't "my dream". It was a decent attempt at taking one apparently well seasoned coaches lessons learned by experience and imparting it others. Also gave me an insatiable urge to do push ups, run time trial sprints, and eat power bars so that's an extra little plus right there.
January 23, 2018
Overblown phrasing and a clumsy writing style. He misuses fancy words a lot so you get the feeling he’s trying a little too hard. The archetypes are woolly and seemed to go on forever. A lot of this is replicable wisdom that you’d find in very basic behavioural psychology and tired management courses. I didn’t get a thing out of this book.
September 25, 2017
Title& Author: Conscious Coaching: The Art and Science of Building Buy-In by Brett Bartholomew
Publisher & Year: Bartholomew Strength; 2017
REVIEW:
“We can know everything about an athlete's body, yet we have no idea what's going on inside their heads. Your athlete needs to know that you care and that you are available.” – Coach Daniel Noble
There has certainly been a lot of buzz surrounding this book, and after reading Conscious Coaching I can see why. More than anything this book is the first of its kind, in my opinion, that discusses the topic of the athletes’ own individual mind and the challenges strength coaches face to make their athletes better people as a whole. I always enjoy books that a) challenge me as a coach to be better and b) provide tools I can utilize on a daily basis, this entire book accomplishes these two factors in spades. There is an art and science to coaching athletes; Conscious Coaching provides an avenue for which we strength coaches can make an impact in and out of the sporting realm.
Spanning just 5 chapters and 260ish pages, there is so much content that you can’t afford to just read this book once. The first two chapters introduce the “conscious coaching” concepts and describes the importance of figuring out your own temperament before being able to help your own athletes. The third chapter introduces archetypes of different athletes strength coaches might come across in their careers. Each archetype is broken down with a brief description of strengths, weaknesses, and how to connect to that particular athlete. Also, each personality type has corresponding real life examples from various coaches throughout the profession that explain their own experience working with that particular archetype. Lastly, the book finishes with Bartholomew’s own anecdotes and lessons from his experience in the field of strength and conditioning. Conscious Coaching is about establishing those ever important relationships with athletes and this book gives you the tools to do just that.
Publisher & Year: Bartholomew Strength; 2017
REVIEW:
“We can know everything about an athlete's body, yet we have no idea what's going on inside their heads. Your athlete needs to know that you care and that you are available.” – Coach Daniel Noble
There has certainly been a lot of buzz surrounding this book, and after reading Conscious Coaching I can see why. More than anything this book is the first of its kind, in my opinion, that discusses the topic of the athletes’ own individual mind and the challenges strength coaches face to make their athletes better people as a whole. I always enjoy books that a) challenge me as a coach to be better and b) provide tools I can utilize on a daily basis, this entire book accomplishes these two factors in spades. There is an art and science to coaching athletes; Conscious Coaching provides an avenue for which we strength coaches can make an impact in and out of the sporting realm.
Spanning just 5 chapters and 260ish pages, there is so much content that you can’t afford to just read this book once. The first two chapters introduce the “conscious coaching” concepts and describes the importance of figuring out your own temperament before being able to help your own athletes. The third chapter introduces archetypes of different athletes strength coaches might come across in their careers. Each archetype is broken down with a brief description of strengths, weaknesses, and how to connect to that particular athlete. Also, each personality type has corresponding real life examples from various coaches throughout the profession that explain their own experience working with that particular archetype. Lastly, the book finishes with Bartholomew’s own anecdotes and lessons from his experience in the field of strength and conditioning. Conscious Coaching is about establishing those ever important relationships with athletes and this book gives you the tools to do just that.
July 12, 2018
Actually thought this book isn't training/sports based, own fault that I didn't read the summary carefully. Book has a lot of information, much of it based on the author's own (sometimes anecdotal) experience. There are references to different science researches as well, but still. The "Stereotypes" section was really long and the author laid out around 20 different stereotypes, all in the context of sports. In the end it was nearly impossible to differ some stereotypes from the other. Plus the solutions how to handle different kind of personality types, were all kind of similar: communication, get to know the person, gain respect.
May 9, 2023
I really liked it, as I was able to take so many notes from it
July 25, 2017
If this is cutting edge content for sport/strength and conditioning coaching then what are they learning? A poorly contrived book that seems to be an effort to better the sport coaching community but is light on any appropriate science. In fact, much of the authors concepts are just poorly digested psychology which only serves to demonstrate two things. The author is not a content expert and should have stayed in his lane or had a co-author for certain parts of the manuscript. Archetypes? Carl Jung would have told this author that this is not valid science and so is acting as if you can identify traits of athletes without assessment or appropriate training. Knowing a little bit about something does not mean expertise is obtained as is knowing things is not the same as understanding. Secondly, there is a gaping hole in how our coaches are trained in the most important aspects - working with people. It's clear this was an attempt to bridge such gaps but it fails on all accounts.
April 29, 2017
While this focuses on coaching in the world of athletics, I was thrilled to see the parallels for any type of coach or teacher. The book has fantastically specific examples and anecdotes and is rich with practical wisdom.
February 6, 2018
Brett uses strength coaching as his application but the teachings in this book really extends well beyond that field. I learned a lot from this book and from the way it was taught I feel it'll be very easy to put this into practice, to become a better coach and leader.
May 15, 2018
I thought this book by an athletic training on coaching would have more transferable skills to non-athletic coaching areas than it did, but instead I read a LOT about strength and conditioning.
November 18, 2024
Very informative and helpful to the new coach. I did feel as though Brett went into extensive detail about certain concepts and ran-on longer than necessary with them, but the book was inspiring nonetheless.
September 27, 2019
It is dense with information, but use it as a textbook and I think it's a phenomenal book.
May 8, 2024
Became very list-y. Felt like I wasn’t reading a book, more of a buzzfeed format. Content was not bad, the format did not hit the way I wanted it to.
September 13, 2021
“People are the ultimate performance variable” states Bartholomew in this humanistic and introspective approach to enhancing client communication, building buy-in and leveraging a range of athlete archetypes.
Coaching’s not all about the science of sets, reps and meal plans; the undeniable social art of communication and relationship management deserve equal if not more attention for becoming an effective coach.
The yawning chasm which exists between many coaches and clients however is defined by dismal communication and basic ignorance of client needs, backgrounds and motivations.
Clients are defined via the metric of “being coachable” for their ability to shut-up, follow the program and don’t ask questions.
Coaches managing congested client rosters default to impersonal “cookie-cutter” templates to minimise the interactions and communicative aspect of what should be a collaborative process.
The “personal” in personal-trainer is seemingly redundant.
I experienced this first hand when I hired a well known respected coach in the industry only to discover a very hands off and minimally collaborative process.
Macros were spit out in the form of an eating plan. A standard template workout was issued and check-ins were once a week with minimal chance to ask questions or suggest alterations.
Needless to say, I didn’t commit to a second training block beyond the purchased 12 week package. The results were shit and it took me a long time to reel back my blown out waistline and general distaste for the whole process.
Although this coach was a technical genius in the social media world, he was a zero in his ability to communicate with his clients. Discovering from a YouTube video that he had a client roster of almost 300 people sealed the decision to abandon this nonsense.
Bartholomew asserts that all the book-smarts and technical know-how are redundant unless you understand the best leverage points for cultivating trust and buy-in. While many coaching books focus on the technical and tactical tools of coaching, Bartholomew argues that mindset and relationships underpin the foundation for everything else.
Good coaching is a parallel process of self-examination and self-development. Knowing ourselves enables us to understand others better and Bartholomew suggests a number of personality assessments and tools to determine one’s strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for growth.
Although these tests lack any credible validity, they do cultivate an introspective mindset to aid coaches envision “a bigger picture” of self-awareness, reflective practice and growth mindset for both themselves and their clients.
Parallel to the introspective process is the development of social agility to deal with a range of personalities a coach will encounter in their journey. Bartholomew details a range of personality archetypes one can refer to when navigating the communication and rapport element of coaching.
I couldn’t help but replace the phrase “athlete archetypes” with “student archetypes” or “office archetypes” as many of these identifiable descriptions are applicable to the people that we meet in any respective industry.
In fact, I found many of the principles of this book to be highly transferable to not only the coach-client dynamic but also any situation relatable to leadership.
It’s an accessible, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, blended with a scoop of “Chicken Noodle Soup for the Soul” for coaches.
Dealing with the human factor will always be the most complex variable in any coaching equation. It’s an iterative process that takes time but will ultimately translate into more effective interactions and intuitive interventions from knowing your athletes on a deeper level.
Coaching’s not all about the science of sets, reps and meal plans; the undeniable social art of communication and relationship management deserve equal if not more attention for becoming an effective coach.
The yawning chasm which exists between many coaches and clients however is defined by dismal communication and basic ignorance of client needs, backgrounds and motivations.
Clients are defined via the metric of “being coachable” for their ability to shut-up, follow the program and don’t ask questions.
Coaches managing congested client rosters default to impersonal “cookie-cutter” templates to minimise the interactions and communicative aspect of what should be a collaborative process.
The “personal” in personal-trainer is seemingly redundant.
I experienced this first hand when I hired a well known respected coach in the industry only to discover a very hands off and minimally collaborative process.
Macros were spit out in the form of an eating plan. A standard template workout was issued and check-ins were once a week with minimal chance to ask questions or suggest alterations.
Needless to say, I didn’t commit to a second training block beyond the purchased 12 week package. The results were shit and it took me a long time to reel back my blown out waistline and general distaste for the whole process.
Although this coach was a technical genius in the social media world, he was a zero in his ability to communicate with his clients. Discovering from a YouTube video that he had a client roster of almost 300 people sealed the decision to abandon this nonsense.
Bartholomew asserts that all the book-smarts and technical know-how are redundant unless you understand the best leverage points for cultivating trust and buy-in. While many coaching books focus on the technical and tactical tools of coaching, Bartholomew argues that mindset and relationships underpin the foundation for everything else.
Good coaching is a parallel process of self-examination and self-development. Knowing ourselves enables us to understand others better and Bartholomew suggests a number of personality assessments and tools to determine one’s strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for growth.
Although these tests lack any credible validity, they do cultivate an introspective mindset to aid coaches envision “a bigger picture” of self-awareness, reflective practice and growth mindset for both themselves and their clients.
Parallel to the introspective process is the development of social agility to deal with a range of personalities a coach will encounter in their journey. Bartholomew details a range of personality archetypes one can refer to when navigating the communication and rapport element of coaching.
I couldn’t help but replace the phrase “athlete archetypes” with “student archetypes” or “office archetypes” as many of these identifiable descriptions are applicable to the people that we meet in any respective industry.
In fact, I found many of the principles of this book to be highly transferable to not only the coach-client dynamic but also any situation relatable to leadership.
It’s an accessible, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, blended with a scoop of “Chicken Noodle Soup for the Soul” for coaches.
Dealing with the human factor will always be the most complex variable in any coaching equation. It’s an iterative process that takes time but will ultimately translate into more effective interactions and intuitive interventions from knowing your athletes on a deeper level.
July 31, 2019
This was a great read/audio that I highly recommend to anyone who coaches athletes. I was especially intrigued with the concept of framing the different types of athlete archetypes - while I am sure it would be easy to poke holes in the explanation or recommendations, the broad concept is really sound.
First, understand the different types of archetypes of whom you will likely be exposed to in your coaching. Then think about each athlete - what archetype or archetypes do they fit; then consider what approach will likely be most productive.
In addition to the archetypes, the author provided a lot of great pragmatic advice, best characterized as “feel or approach”. It was obvious that the author had spent a lot of think thinking deeply about what he had done at his best and worst in coaching athletes and was eager to share his experience.
This book seems like one of many “must reads” for coaching looking to continue their development. For me, I also found a ton of relevance to parenting or understanding other peoples perspective. It was a good Emotional Intelligence touch up as well.
First, understand the different types of archetypes of whom you will likely be exposed to in your coaching. Then think about each athlete - what archetype or archetypes do they fit; then consider what approach will likely be most productive.
In addition to the archetypes, the author provided a lot of great pragmatic advice, best characterized as “feel or approach”. It was obvious that the author had spent a lot of think thinking deeply about what he had done at his best and worst in coaching athletes and was eager to share his experience.
This book seems like one of many “must reads” for coaching looking to continue their development. For me, I also found a ton of relevance to parenting or understanding other peoples perspective. It was a good Emotional Intelligence touch up as well.
May 5, 2021
To start this review I miss speak about expectations. This isn't a book that will teach you training principles and that is full of science. Its a "soft skills" coaching side of the coin. I feel many coaches need to read this book to develop this side of the game.
I found the section on the different Archetypes of athletes and personalities very interesting and have encountered this daily as a coach. Team sports, CrossFit Coaches even P.T fitness professionals I do feel every coach can get something from this book.
If you can't get anything, well then you are the best coach in the world and we should be reading your book. In the reviews I found Brett highly criticized and couldn't understand why really. It was a humbly delivered book on his experiences and research. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to any coach.
I found the section on the different Archetypes of athletes and personalities very interesting and have encountered this daily as a coach. Team sports, CrossFit Coaches even P.T fitness professionals I do feel every coach can get something from this book.
If you can't get anything, well then you are the best coach in the world and we should be reading your book. In the reviews I found Brett highly criticized and couldn't understand why really. It was a humbly delivered book on his experiences and research. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to any coach.
dnf
February 8, 2018Full disclosure: I did not finish this book. I didn't even come close.
If I had done my research to determine that this was a self-published book, I probably would have thought twice about picking it up. Nothing against self publishing, but these sorts of books simply do not need to go through the same level of scrutiny as traditionally published books. That was clear here.
I also feel hoodwinked because the recommendation came from a writer and coach I respect, as one of his "top books of 2017" . . . but as it turns out, he was listed as an editor on the book. So maybe he really did think the book was that great, but as an outsider, I found it boring, painfully slow to get to the point, and overly academic in style (but not content).
If I had done my research to determine that this was a self-published book, I probably would have thought twice about picking it up. Nothing against self publishing, but these sorts of books simply do not need to go through the same level of scrutiny as traditionally published books. That was clear here.
I also feel hoodwinked because the recommendation came from a writer and coach I respect, as one of his "top books of 2017" . . . but as it turns out, he was listed as an editor on the book. So maybe he really did think the book was that great, but as an outsider, I found it boring, painfully slow to get to the point, and overly academic in style (but not content).
August 20, 2021
Fantastic book that aims to delve deeper into the human aspect of coaching; teaching you how to connect with the individual, the person-and not just the athlete.
While it took me a while to read, without question, it was worth the time investment. In short, the book is for all coaches, teachers, and communicators.
Overall, Conscious Coaching is an excellent book for the motivated, intelligent, and forward-thinking coach. The major themes are: awareness, self-reflection, growth and development, communication, connecting, and relationship building.
While it took me a while to read, without question, it was worth the time investment. In short, the book is for all coaches, teachers, and communicators.
Overall, Conscious Coaching is an excellent book for the motivated, intelligent, and forward-thinking coach. The major themes are: awareness, self-reflection, growth and development, communication, connecting, and relationship building.
March 6, 2018
Best book I've read!
This book highlights the behavioral side of coaching. Everyone is so focused on the science and as !y experience in the fitness industry has shown me, it doesn't matter how much you know of you can not relate to the client or build buy in. This book breaks down how to just that, which in turn, if you take these principles and put them into action you will become a better and note successful coach.
This book highlights the behavioral side of coaching. Everyone is so focused on the science and as !y experience in the fitness industry has shown me, it doesn't matter how much you know of you can not relate to the client or build buy in. This book breaks down how to just that, which in turn, if you take these principles and put them into action you will become a better and note successful coach.
March 16, 2020
Excellent book! The concepts and strategies mentioned in this book should be in every exercise science degree. Unfortunately, they are not neither at the bachelor's nor master's level. Highly recommended for every aspiring or not Strength and Conditioning Coach out there. I realized the value of those concepts from my first internship; that's why I searched and found this book, and it delivered even more than I was expecting!
June 22, 2018
A book worth reading over and over. Great learning tool!
Great book! It gives great examples of how to become a better coach but also a better mentor in the strength and conditioning world but also in the entire medical world. Great examples and stories that can be used throughout every day life. This is a book that you can read over and over and still learn something new.
Great book! It gives great examples of how to become a better coach but also a better mentor in the strength and conditioning world but also in the entire medical world. Great examples and stories that can be used throughout every day life. This is a book that you can read over and over and still learn something new.
December 29, 2019
Getting the most out of athletes as individuals
I first heard of this book from a friend who told me the more he teaches, the more he feels the need to listen. After reading this, I can see why he recommended it.
It's all about getting in touch with oneself and the inner drives before getting to know ones students. Kind of reminds me of that poem "They Ask me Why I Teach."
I first heard of this book from a friend who told me the more he teaches, the more he feels the need to listen. After reading this, I can see why he recommended it.
It's all about getting in touch with oneself and the inner drives before getting to know ones students. Kind of reminds me of that poem "They Ask me Why I Teach."
March 1, 2019
A treasure trove of.wisdom
This book.was a fantastic read- lots of useful .information for the aspiring coach about how to be better at your job. The bibliography is another great resource. Well-researched and thorough without being dull.
This book.was a fantastic read- lots of useful .information for the aspiring coach about how to be better at your job. The bibliography is another great resource. Well-researched and thorough without being dull.
August 17, 2019
A strength training coaches techniques that consider the fact that he is dealing with humans and many details related to working with humans come before the science of exercise.
This book contains many lessons for nonsports related domains such as business coaching.
This book contains many lessons for nonsports related domains such as business coaching.
January 4, 2021
There is no such thing as a “must-read” book in any profession except ministry. That said, everyone whose job or livelihood revolves around helping others get more out of their efforts would be well-served to read this book.
February 1, 2023
Wealth full of knowledge!! It has answered many questions of mine and really had me thinking. It also gave me another perspective on life and others. Overall it’s a book where I will have to reread again because it was that good!
April 23, 2017
Excellent read!!
February 17, 2018
Great book
This is a must read for anyone in the industry. Great book that has easily applicable steps. Highly recommend it.
This is a must read for anyone in the industry. Great book that has easily applicable steps. Highly recommend it.
August 30, 2018
Audiobook, great to follow, highly recommended
August 4, 2019
This book puts right what is in front of your face into words. Its amazing on how easily and naturally you can translate this book into your own training.
September 30, 2020
Excellent ideas on how to manage the many personalities that you WILL have an opportunity to coach in your carreer.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews