Book Review: The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching by Marion Franklin

In this review, I’ll walk you through Marion Franklin’s The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching, a book that has become quite influential in coaching circles. I’ll share a bit about the author, outline the structure and key content, and then evaluate the book based on readability, academic rigor, and practical usefulness.

About the Author

Marion Franklin is a Master Certified Coach (MCC) with the ICF and has been a coach since the late 1990s. She holds master's degrees in both business and education and is widely recognized for her contributions to coach development through practical tools and frameworks.

Book Overview

The book is divided into the following main parts:

1. Foundations of Laser-Focused Coaching

2. The Coaching Session: Beginning, Middle, End

3. Masterful Coaching and Challenges

4. Moving Forward

5. Sample Session

Franklin’s approach seems loosely rooted in cognitive behavioral and ontological coaching. Her central premise is that clients are often blocked by faulty thinking or unhelpful emotions, and that the coach’s role is to help uncover, challenge, and shift these patterns. For example, early in the book she outlines a three-step coaching process:

• Identify limiting thoughts

• Shift perspective

• Leverage strengths

She also presents a framework of common themes coaches can look for—like ambivalence, attachment to outcomes, or outdated beliefs—which again places the coach in the role of diagnosing what’s really going on beneath the surface.

While her language often suggests a search for a client’s “root cause,” this diverges from solution-focused and social constructionist approaches I personally use, where the focus lies more on desired outcomes than on analytical interpretation. Still, many of Franklin’s practical suggestions are very helpful.

Strengths and Practical Guidance

One of the book’s strongest points is its attention to coach presence. Franklin encourages coaches to drop formulas and instead fully attune to clients—through presence, silence, intuition, observation, and feedback. I appreciate her emphasis on being “friendly, not friends,” and her invitation to let go of ego.

There’s a nuanced but somewhat contradictory message around “not taking the client seriously.” At face value, that idea clashes with the principle of seeing clients as experts in their own lives. But interpreted generously, she may be inviting us not to take clients' initial framing literally, and instead support deeper exploration.

Throughout the book, Franklin shares useful distinctions—for example, between affirming and acknowledging, or cheerleading and empowering. She urges us to use the client’s language, avoid jargon, and create a psychologically safe space. Her guidance around crafting the first question after the client tells their story is particularly insightful.

She also introduces “looping”—asking clients to summarize what they’ve gotten so far—which I find helpful in my own practice. Her notes on question structure, including how to provide context to avoid sounding abrupt, are both practical and thoughtful.

Philosophical and Theoretical Reflections

Franklin’s framework relies heavily on the idea of discovering what lies “underneath” the client’s presenting concern. This contrasts with the social constructionist view that meaning is co-created in the moment, and that there's no singular "truth" to uncover.

She brings in Structural Alignment Theory, which assumes humans strive to align with truth, vision, purpose, and spirituality. While this might resonate with some, it implies a theoretical stance on human nature that not all coaches will share—particularly those of us who avoid fixed theories about clients.

Also noteworthy is her frequent mention of “faulty thinking” and “limiting beliefs”—terms rooted in a diagnostic mindset rather than a co-creative stance.

Evaluation

• Readability: ★★★★☆

The book is accessible, engaging, and full of real-life coaching examples. Short paragraphs and reflection questions make it easy to follow.

• Academic Rigor: ★★☆☆☆

The book does not clearly state its theoretical assumptions and contains some questionable claims (e.g., the statistic that 90% of people are motivated by pain over pleasure, which is cited without evidence). Some conceptual inconsistencies—like the “don’t believe the client” idea—could have used clarification.

• Practical Usefulness: ★★★★★

Despite philosophical differences, I found Franklin’s practical guidance excellent. If you’re preparing for an ICF performance evaluation, this book is a solid choice. Her tips align well with ICF standards and are helpful for new and experienced coaches alike.

Final Thoughts

The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching offers a wealth of actionable tools and strategies. If you're philosophically aligned with cognitive or ontological approaches—or simply looking for coaching techniques that “work”—you’ll get a lot out of it. Even from a social constructionist or solution-focused perspective, there’s value in Franklin’s deep respect for the coaching craft and motivation to help coaches be the best they can be.

My suggestion: Don’t buy into every theoretical assumption—but absolutely buy into the practice.

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