About the Book
The most effective leader behaves more like a coach
Authors Bill Eckstrom and Sarah Wirth have spent a decade researching the activities, behaviors, and performance of leaders. After studying more than 100,000 coaching interactions in the workplace, primarily of sales teams, they have been able to determine how coaching affects team outcomes and growth.
The authors share three critical performance drivers, along with the four high-growth activities that coaches must execute to build a team that is motivated to achieve at the highest levels. Through both hard data and rich stories, Eckstrom and Wirth demonstrate how leaders can measure and improve their coaching to lead their teams to better results.
The Coaching Effect will help leaders at all levels understand the necessity of challenging people out of their comfort zone to create a high-growth organization. Leaders will learn how they can develop trust relationships, drive accountability and leverage growth experiences to propel their team members to the highest levels of success.
About the Author :
Bill Eckstrom is an executive, entrepreneur, mentor, student, husband, and father. His primary passion is growth--especially how coaches and leaders influence the growth and performance of individuals and teams.
Bill began his management career in 2000 and climbed the ranks to become US director of sales in just three years. In 2004, Bill was named the senior vice president of business development for a publicly traded health-care organization. In 2008 he founded the EcSell Institute, a research-based organization that works with leaders internationally to help them better understand, measure, and elevate coaching's impact on performance.
Bill's work as a keynote speaker is internationally renowned. He has presented to hundreds of groups and is a popular guest on podcasts and shows around the world. His viral TEDx Talk "Why Comfort Will Ruin Your Life" was the fastest-growing talk in the history of the event when it was released in 2017.
Bill's home is in Nebraska, where he lives with his wife, Kerstin. Together they have three children--Will Jr., Claire, and Maddie.
Sarah Wirth has twenty years of experience in employee assessment, leadership development, sales executive coaching, and customer service.
In 2011, Sarah came on board with the EcSell Institute as vice president of client service and increased its retention rate to over 94 percent.
Sarah has a passion for leadership and its impact on the performance of teams. Sarah has presented to executives from across the globe. Her expertise, combined with her fact-based and commonsense approach, make her a sought-after presenter.
Sarah has a BA from the University of Nebraska, holds a JD from the University of Michigan Law School, and is a member of the Nebraska Bar Association. She has served as a legal advisor for many organizations, specifically in the areas of contract, employment, and intellectual property law. She lives in Kansas City with her husband, Mike, and two sons, Miles and Emmett.
Review :
"The Coaching Effect makes a compelling and evidence-based case for ambitious future leaders learning how to coach and embrace discomfort."
--Yannick Jacob, Existential Coach and FMR Programme Leader, MSc Coaching Psychology, University of East London
"A leader's ability to coach is no longer a nice-to-have and is now a must-have."
--Tom Olson, Chairman and CEO, Points West Community Bank, Windsor, CO
"An interesting and fact-based read that teaches how high-performance coaching creates real business value."
--Karen Flynn, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, West Pharmaceutical Services
"Bill and Sarah are the real deal. Their guidance has added a new dimension to our sales leadership that is missing in most organizations!"
--Karen M. Gustin, LLIF, Ameritas(R), Executive Vice President - Group Division
"Bill and Sarah do an excellent job of applying systems thinking principles to their method of coaching for performance improvement. I teach these same scientific-based principles to my MBA class on Leading Change every semester. Bill's 2017 TEDxUniversityofNevada talk provides valuable support material for the book. Highly recommend!"
--Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Management, College of Business, University of Nevada
"Bill Eckstrom and Sarah Wirth are clearly the brightest minds in the field of sales coaching. The advice in this book is priceless. It should be mandatory reading for anyone who is in charge of a sales team, or any customer facing team. If you want to grow sales, this book will help you win."
--Gerhard Gschwandtner, Founder and Publisher, Selling Power magazine
"Eckstrom and Wirth help you rethink coaching effectiveness and growth. Using research and data-driven methods, they honed their approach to coaching by considering the perspective of the coach, the coachee, and whether it delivered results. The outcome is insightful and proven-effective. Check out the discomfort factor (unexpected), the Growth Rings and how they fuel the Coaching Performance Equation, how to consider both the quantity and quality of coaching, and their simple but effective 4-step coaching process. If you want to improve coaching and organization performance, this is the right book for you."
--Mike Kunkle, founder, Sales Transformation Architect, Transforming Sales Results, LLC
"I've read dozens of books on 'how to play' the sales game. Finally, we have seminal research and observations about what is required to extract high-sales performance in a compelling and practical approach. If you're a sales leader now or want to know how to assess a good leader, this is the playbook we've been waiting for. A big Gatorade shower for Bill and Sarah. Bravo!"
--Russ Pastena, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Sales Operations and Enablement
"The objective and data-driven focus on the value of effective coaching on sales growth makes this book an excellent read."
--Kevin Siebert, President, Tecumseh Poultry LLC
"There are about as many sales books as there are salespeople, but nothing else on the shelf compares to The Coaching Effect. It will have a long lasting effect on me and mine."
--John Rood, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Disney Channels Worldwide
"Unbelievably practical information backed by extensive research. Every single leader who is willing to change the nature of their communication to the coaching style so clearly laid out by Bill and Sarah will increase the rapport they have with their team and results. If you lead sales folks then this is a must read and implement."
--Peter Jensen, Ph.D., Canadian Olympic Sport Psychologist; Founder, Performance Coaching Inc.
"Using evidence-based findings and vivid examples, Bill Eckstrom and Sarah Wirth reveal the 'missing piece' in leadership: the coaching factor. They show how, using growth rings and healthy tension, you can get the great people you hired to perform at peak capacity."
--Mary Uhl-Bien, Ph.D., BNSF Railway Endowed Professor of Leadership, Texas Christian University
"We have used the train the trainer methodology for years in Special Operations, coaching the coach with these tools and data is a must-have for all leaders."
--Commander Jack Riggins, Navy SEAL (Ret.)
"Working in the high-performance mindset field with elite coaches and teams I can tell you this book is spot on about what creates and sustains growth. I can say with absolute certainty--read this book and you will become a better coach, a better leader, and a better human being."
--Larry Widman, M.D., High-Performance Mindset Coach; Cofounder, Performance Mountain
