The Playbook

Use it when...

Use it when...

Use it when...

You want coach-led support with the PCI dimension you chose.

Use it when...

Use when someone says development is happening to them rarely, unevenly or too late, or when a manager suspects the same about their team.

Use it when...

You need to consider capability and the work system before choosing a coaching response.

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People expect different things and you need to discuss the unspoken expectations.

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Use at the start of a new working relationship or project (Exchange), in recurring 1:1s (Check-In), and in a monthly team meeting (Review).

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Use when a team or leader wants to see how well trust holds "under pressure."

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Trust feels thin and you need a human-led repair conversation.

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Use when: a leader has observed a specific behavior they want to see more of (the book's example is a person raising a concern before a commitment is finalized).

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Use when: dashboards are green but the leader is not seeing the ways of working the process was designed to produce (the book's opening case), or when meetings are mostly results reporting.

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Use it when...

Use when: a leader wants insight into how work is happening without monitoring (the chapter's central tension), and runs regular 1:1s.

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Use when: a leader sees a performance pattern and wants a conversation that builds the person's ability to self-correct.

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Use when (book): managing weekly coaching conversations with a coachee.

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Use when (book): you want to "visualize your coachee's thoughts, feelings, and experiences" and "identify areas where they may need support."

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Use when (book): after a presentation or other piece of work, to "encourage coachees to reflect on their performance"; and "after providing feedback" to create an action plan with "specific steps, resources needed, and a timeline."

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Use when (book): setting goals with a coachee "that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound," and aligning them "with broader organizational objectives."

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Use when (book): you want a "personalized development plan" tailored to the coachee's strengths, weaknesses, and career aspirations, with structure for "tracking progress and making necessary adjustments" and accountability for both coach and coachee.

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Use when (book): a coach needs a comprehensive view of a coachee's capabilities and areas for improvement before tailoring a coaching or development plan.

Use it when...

You want to listen more carefully in a coaching conversation.

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You need to review the coaching relationship and invite feedback on your coaching.

Use it when...

You need to give clearer feedback.

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You need a structured workbook for a human-led coaching engagement.

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You want to explore resilience and intrinsic motivation with a coachee.

Use it when...

Your coaching conversation involves change, design thinking or executive communication.

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Use when a client keeps adopting and abandoning productivity systems, or experiences their struggle as a discipline problem (the book's framing: the problem is often misalignment, not discipline).

Use it when...

Use when a client's or team's system works in calm periods and gets abandoned under load, or when temporary changes have become permanent.

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Use when a leader's energy, focus or presence is degrading under load, or when a leader treats recovery as something that happens only after demands are met (book's description of the problem).

Use it when...

Use at the start of work on leader self-regulation, and again later to see change (re-rating is an addition; the book does not say to repeat it).

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Use when: a performance process (reviews, feedback, development plans) documents performance without changing it.

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Use at the start of coaching to surface beliefs about effort, results and success, and when a client's team is "performing for the dashboard."

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Use to give a client a structured start, or to see how the book's tools relate to each other.

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A leader needs more visibility into what the team is doing without micromanaging.

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You are moving from personal rituals to team systems and scaling.

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Use before choosing or piloting any AI coaching tool, for yourself, a team or an organization.

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Use when you are unsure whether something is AI-appropriate or human-required.

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Use when designing how a person, team or organization will divide development work between AI and humans.

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Use when an individual wants to develop without waiting for a manager or program.

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Use when a manager wants to coach a team consistently under time pressure.

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Use whenever a coaching topic is on the edge between skill and something deeper, or when a system needs written escalation rules.

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Use when a person already knows what skill or behavior they want to build and needs repetition and feedback between human conversations.

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Use when starting a personal, team or organizational AI-plus-human coaching system, or when auditing one that exists.

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Use when an organization is deciding whether and how fast to move on AI-supported coaching, or when a person or leader wants to commit to specific next steps.

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You are preparing a coaching conversation that combines human judgment and AI support.

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You want AI support for analysis while people retain coaching decisions.

Use it when...

You need to review the quality of AI-supported coaching.

Use it when...

Identity questions or consequential decisions need to stay with people.

Use it when...

You are planning AI coaching at work after considering organizational readiness.