As we move unfathomably towards the festive season, we take a break from the cold and gloomy weather to welcome TestBash UK’s very own pink ray of sunshine, Clare Norman, for a discussion of the specific skills and traits that can help us to be better quality coaches

We talk about how a lack of testing resources can often be liberating for our roles, how listening is as valuable a skill as speaking, the differences between coaching and teaching, and the power of persuasion, in an episode which somehow remains coherent despite Neil’s tiredness and the recording software crashing twice.

Clare’s musical selections include a couple of big-hitting rock bands making their first-ever appearances on the podcast, the return of an old favourite, and some classical and world music choices too. And while Clare adds one book to our island selection, we also spend most of the episode name-checking lots of other influential books, talks and blogs in the coaching space.

Podcast Links

TestBash UK 2022: Clare Norman - Quality Coaching: Level 1

Aquafresh

Daily Record: Tesco website crashes as thousands lose spot in queue for Christmas delivery slots

Amazon: Kate Murphy - You’re Not Listening

Twitter: Vernon Richards (@TesterFromLeic)

Amazon: Forsgren, Humble & Kim - Accelerate

YouTube: Neha Datt - OKRs: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (AOTB22)

Slate: Elon Musk’s Delusional Fixation on Code at Twitter

Amazon: Edgar Schein - Humble Inquiry

Michael Bungay Stanier - The Coaching Habit

TestBash UK 2022: Vernon Richards & Stu Day - What is Quality Coaching?

Kim Morgan & Geoff Watts - The Coach’s Casebook

Mastodon

ReTestBash UK 2022 (1st December 2022)

Clare on Twitter: @ClareCatherine6

Regular Links:

Listen to and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud

Sign up to be a guest on the show

Testers' Island Discs playlist on Spotify

Testers' Island Discs reading list on Goodreads

Follow us on Twitter