2025 has been a rich year for new books in coaching, mentoring and leadership – so much so that my recommended reading list is a bit longer than usual. I hope you find a few inspirational texts to explore as you have breathing space over the coming year.
Here, in no particular order, are my top reads from 2025. Enjoy.
Leadership coaching with horses
by Michele Damone
I miss riding – the connection with a horse is something wonderful and hard to express. This book goes a long way towards explaining the relationship and why coaching with horses is such a powerful learning experience.
Relational mindfulness for coaches
by Emma Donaldson-Fielder and Liz Hall
Mindfulness has a mixed press. Inappropriately used, it can promote rumination and make things worse for people in depression. Appropriately used, it permits deep transformation. This book provides both a strong foundation of theory and a plethora of practical tools and techniques.
Defy: The Power of No in a World that Demands Yes
by Sunita Sah
The ultimate guide on how to say “No” when it matters.
Therapist to Coach: Transforming Qualified Counsellors, Psychotherapists and Psychologists into Exceptional Coaches
by Trish Turner
The boundary between coaching and therapy isn’t always clear, so any guidance on managing it is welcome. Here is a book that provides multiple perspectives and insights. Hopefully, it will become required reading in coach education.
Coaching as a leader
by Jennifer Kidby
Shows how to combine coaching and leadership as two sides of the same coin.
The CEO Mindset
by Shiv Shivakumar
A personalised perspective from one of India’s most experienced CEOs.
Duty of Care in Coaching: A Comprehensive Approach to Navigating the Complexities of Contemporary Practice
by Dr Benita Mayhead.
The Codes of Ethics from coaching bodies emphasise duty of care, but there has been little in depth guidance on the practicalities. This book fills the gap.
Smart Conflict: How to have hard conversations at work
by Alice Driscoll & Louise van Haarst, published April 2025.
How to have hard conversations at work. Much of this has been said elsewhere, but this is a comprehensive overview.
SmartWankernomics: A Deep-Dive Into Workplace Bullsh*ttery
by James Schloeffel and Charles Firth
A deep – and very funny – dive into corporate gobbledegook
What Next?: The savvy woman’s guide to redefining retirement
by Jane Moffett
Pretty much everything I have seen written about retirement is biased towards the transition for men. Here is a timely antidote!
Outdoor Coaching: A Practical Guide for Coaches and Supervisors to Working with Clients, Teams and Groups Using Blue-Green Psychology
by Jonathan Passmore and Ellie Lloyd Jones
A practical guide to a fast-growing area of coaching. Makes you want to get up and go for a walk in the fresh air!
The Path to Individual and Organizational Transformation: Confronting the Elephant in the Room
by Manfred Kets de Vries
Contains many nuggets, but I was particularly struck by a list of 25 key benefits that executive teams perceive from team coaching. These range from identifying hidden conflict to clarifying roles and deeper understanding of team challenges, to aligning team norms with an accountability structure. It’s a valuable checklist to apply when engaging with a team, to answer the question: “What would you like team coaching to do for you as a team?”
CORE Leadership: A Four-Step Framework to Lead Yourself, Grow Your Influence, and Amplify Your Impact
by Miki Feldman Simon
This book starts with “Leadership is an inner journey before it becomes an outward expression.” I liked its pragmatism and lack of polemics. It presents four perspectives of leadership: clarify, operationalise, reflect, evaluate.
Becoming the Mentor: Two Lives, One Journey, A Million Gifts
by Fabio Salvadori and Rossella Pin
The authors express the hope that their book “inspires you to see in yourself a million gifts waiting to unfold, one mentoring conversation at a time”. An intriguing dip into mentoring conversations as they happen.