The Illuminare Leader as Coach Field Guide
Helping People Get Off the Maze™
Help people strengthen awareness, ownership, accountability, and growth through more meaningful coaching conversations.
The goal is not to solve the maze for people.
The goal is to help them see the maze more clearly.
People often become caught in assumptions, emotions, habits, and limited perspectives. Effective coaching helps them step back, understand what is happening, recognize its impact, and take ownership of what comes next.
Coaching is helping someone see what they cannot currently see on their own.
A Simple Framework for More Meaningful Coaching Conversations
What?
Help people see the situation clearly.
• What is happening?
• What behaviors are being observed?
• What facts are known?
So What?
Help people understand why it matters.
• Who is affected?
• What is the impact?
• What are the consequences?
Now What?
Help people create ownership for moving forward.
• What options exist?
• What action will be taken?
• What support is needed?
Build Coaching Into the Way You Lead
The field guide helps leaders move beyond solving problems for people and begin developing their capacity to think, take ownership, and grow.
Prepare for more meaningful conversations
• Coach rather than judge
• Address difficult behavior with clarity and respect
• Navigate resistance and emotional pushback
Develop stronger people and teams
• Strengthen ownership and accountability
• Repair relationships after difficult conversations
• Develop stronger, more independent team members
A Practical Resource—Not Just a Book
The Illuminare Leader as Coach Field Guide is designed for use before, during, and after coaching conversations. Read it from beginning to end, or return to individual tools whenever you need help preparing for a conversation, developing an employee, strengthening accountability, or helping someone gain a new perspective.
Foundational Frameworks
• The Innovation Maze™
• Coach vs. Judge
• What? So What? Now What?
• The Illuminare Coaching Model
Practical Application Tools
• Reflection questions and exercises
• Coaching planners
• Conversation guides
• Practical question banks
• Tools for accountability and difficult conversations
Choose the Edition That Fits Your Needs
Perfect-Bound Edition
The perfect-bound paperback edition is available for individual purchase through Amazon. It is ideal for leaders, managers, coaches, and professionals who want to explore and apply the framework independently.
Wire-O Workshop Edition
The wire-o edition is designed for active use during Illuminare Group workshops. Its lay-flat format makes it easy to write in, complete exercises, and reference coaching tools throughout the learning experience.
The wire-o edition is provided as part of applicable workshops and may also be available for in-person purchase at conferences and selected events.
The wire-o edition is not currently available through Amazon or for individual online purchase.
Develop Stronger Leaders—One Conversation at a Time
Give leaders a practical framework for creating greater awareness, ownership, accountability, and growth.
Created by Frank J. Ciccia, MBA, MS, founder and CEO of Illuminare Group and creator of the Illuminare Leader as Coach framework.