Effective Coaching Starts Here

“Match” is a much-needed contribution. Coaches are constrained by their belief that coaching is a one-size-fits-all model, and all should fit into it. Instead, “Match” takes coaching from an off-the-rack offering to haute couture, raising it to the level of a unique relationship designed for a specific person in their precise situation, maximizing their strengths and capacities. In the age of AI, this kind of human authenticity cannot be surpassed. But “Match” goes further—it is a fabulous resource for coach training, helpful for the beginner or advanced practitioner.

Coaching, like leadership, when done well, combines art, science, and most importantly, discipline. A practical gem for coaches, “Match” provides a top-notch model for human development grounded in decades of leadership research. Marshall Goldsmith and Suzie Bishop have given coaches an elegant framework that supports both new practitioners and experienced professionals to become, not just good, but great.

As coaching continues to evolve as a profession, coaches need frameworks that are both grounded in proven principles and adaptable to the complexity of human behavior. “Match” successfully brings those two ideas together. By applying the Situational Coaching® Model to the coaching conversation, Marshall Goldsmith and Suzie Bishop have created a practical resource that helps coaches respond with greater precision, flexibility, and impact.

The most powerful coaching relationships begin when people feel truly seen—and are then challenged in ways they can hear and embrace. “Match” is a practical, deeply human guide to meeting leaders where they are without leaving them there. Marshall Goldsmith and Suzie Bishop show coaches how to adapt their approach, spark meaningful change, and help people become more capable, confident, and coachable.

It’s a universal principle that everything we do in relation to others evolves toward greater contextual awareness. Coaching is no exception, but the Situational Coaching® framework is applicable to leadership practice more broadly. If you believe in Situational Leadership®, let “Match” be your next professional guide.

I coach leaders in high-context cultures, where meaning lives beneath the surface, where the most important things are felt before they’re said. In those settings, the lesson at the heart of “Match” isn’t optional, it’s essential: Coaching begins not with what you know, but how you read and navigate what shows up in front of you. Marshall Goldsmith and Suzie Bishop have honored the complexity of human development in pivotal moments, while making the path to it refreshingly clear. This is a robust yet simple framework, flexible enough to travel across industries, generations, and continents.

Great coaching is not about using the same method with every person. It is about understanding what someone needs in this moment to get better. “Match” turns that simple idea into a clear and practical framework. Marshall Goldsmith and Suzie Bishop have created a book that will help good coaches become more thoughtful, and great coaches become even better.

The best coaching not only addresses behaviors, but it also fits the context in which those behaviors live. “Match” captures what I’ve witnessed in my own work with leaders: Unlocking someone’s full potential requires meeting them exactly where they are, not where you wish they were. Practical and situationally incisive, this is coaching at its best.

Today’s leaders operate in environments defined by constant pressure and accelerating change. Marshall Goldsmith and Suzie Bishop understand that the coaches who make the greatest difference continually flex to match exactly what each leader needs. As a coach, fluidity is more important for catalyzing growth than a formula, and this essential truth is captured in these timely, insightful pages.