Match: The Situational Coaching® Approach to Meeting Leaders Where They Are

5 Star Review

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Editorial Book Review:

By G. Matthews

In Match: The Situational Coaching® Approach to Meeting Leaders Where They Are, Suzie Bishop and Marshall Goldsmith challenge one of the most persistent assumptions in leadership development: that effective coaching follows a universal formula. Instead, they present a compelling argument that the true power of coaching lies not in mastering a single methodology, but in understanding when and how to adapt to the individual being coached.

Drawing on decades of experience and insights from leading coaching professionals, Bishop and Goldsmith introduce the Situational Coaching® Model, a practical framework designed to help coaches recognize opportunities, assess individual needs and tailor their approach to achieve meaningful results. Their central message is both straightforward and profound: Great coaching is not about applying the same technique to everyone. It is about making the right match between the person, the situation and the moment.

What distinguishes Match is its emphasis on adaptability as a core coaching competency. Rather than encouraging practitioners to rely on rigid systems, the authors advocate for a more responsive, intentional approach that evolves alongside the coachee's development. By connecting the principles of Situational Leadership® with the realities of modern coaching, they offer a perspective that is both grounded in established leadership theory and relevant to today's rapidly changing professional environment.

The book's greatest strength lies in its practical philosophy. It reframes coaching as a dynamic relationship in which awareness, flexibility and thoughtful judgment become essential tools for fostering growth. This approach has implications beyond professional coaching, offering valuable lessons for executives, managers, mentors and anyone responsible for developing the potential of others.

Insightful, timely and refreshingly focused on the individual, Match offers a valuable contribution to the evolving conversation about leadership and professional development. Bishop and Goldsmith remind readers that the measure of great coaching is not how faithfully a methodology is followed, but how effectively it helps another person grow.

About the Authors

Suzie Bishop

Suzie Bishop is Vice President of Product Development at The Center for Leadership Studies, where she has spent over a decade transforming how the Situational Leadership® Model is taught, experienced, and applied by leaders worldwide. She joined CLS in 2012 to help modernize the organization’s marketing and product offerings, and has since become one of its most visible and decorated leaders.

Suzie is the architect of the Situational Leadership® Essentials course—the next generation of CLS’s flagship training program—which she designed from the ground up to meet the needs of today’s modern learner through digital, cohort-based, and blended learning. The program has earned CLS consistent placement on Training Industry’s Top 20 Leadership Training Companies list from 2015 through 2026, as well as the 2026 Training Magazine Leadership Development award and Novie award.

Suzie was recognized as one of Elliott Masie’s prestigious ‘30 Under 30’ in the learning and development industry, and has received CLS’s internal Situational Leader Award three times—the organization’s highest leadership honor. In 2025, she was named a Silver Stevie Award winner for “Most Resilient Female Leader” and authored a top 10% LinkedIn article in Leader to Leader Journal. She is a Certified Stakeholder-Centered Coach through Marshall Goldsmith’s coaching methodology, a member of MG100, Goldsmith’s elite global coaching community and a Certified Professional in Training Management.

As co-author of this book alongside Sam Shriver, Suzie brings a fresh, practitioner’s lens to a model she has lived, taught, and built her career around—and a passion for bringing it to the next generation of leaders who are just beginning to discover what it can do.

Suzie is a graduate of North Carolina State University (B.S., Communications, 2012) and is based in Raleigh, NC, where she lives with her husband Brandan—a former NFL player—and their two children.

Marshall Goldsmith

Dr. Goldsmith is a new member of the Thinkers 50 Hall of Fame. He is the only two-time Thinkers 50 #1 Leadership Thinker in the World. He has been ranked as the World’s #1 Executive Coach and Top Ten Business Thinker for eight years. Marshall was chosen as the inaugural winner of the Lifetime Award for Leadership by the Harvard Institute of Coaching.

Dr. Goldsmith is the author or editor of 41 books, which have sold over 2.5 million copies, been translated into 32 languages and become listed bestsellers in 12 countries. Amazon.com recently recognized their ‘100 Best Leadership & Success Books’. His books, Triggers and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, were both recognized as being in the top 100 books ever written in their field. Marshall is one of only two authors with two books on the list. His recent book, How Women Rise, with lead author, Sally Helgesen, is a BookScan #1 book for Women.

Marshall’s other professional acknowledgments include: Global Gurus - the inaugural Corps D ’Elite Award for Lifetime Contribution in Leadership and Coaching, Harvard Business Review - World’s #1 Leadership Thinker, Institute for Management Studies - Lifetime Achievement Award for Leadership Education, American Management Association - 50 great thinkers and leaders who have influenced the field of management over the past 80 years and BusinessWeek - 50 great leaders in America.

Dr. Goldsmith served as a Professor of Management Practice at the Dartmouth Tuck School of Business. His Ph.D. is from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management - where he was the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. His MBA is from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business - where he was the Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year. He is one of a select few executive advisors who has worked with over 200 major CEOs and their management teams. He served on the Advisory Board of the Peter Drucker Foundation for ten years. He has been a volunteer teacher for US Army Generals, Navy Admirals, Girl Scout executives, and leaders of the International and American Red Cross – where he was a National Volunteer of the Year.