16 coaching questions to help your team to solve their own problems
As a leader or manager, we can easily fall into the trap of thinking that we need to have all the answers. You don't → and here's what to do instead
When I first became a manager, I thought it was my job to know what needed to be done, come up with all the answers and control how we achieved our goals.
That’s what all the big bosses and successful leaders do, right?
I actually once got some feedback from the entire leadership team (I’ll tell that story another time!) that was along the lines of… “you need to coach more and tell less.”
The first reason it’s important to not just tell all the time is because nobody wants to work with someone like that - and it doesn’t motivate most people.
The second reason is that you will become overwhelmed by all of the problems of that you are personally trying to solve.
The third is that you are holding your team back from developing themselves and utilising their own unique talents.
I could keep going but let's get into the detail 👇
This post covers:
What coaching is (and isn’t)
16 coaching questions to start using today
Recommended resources
TL;DR
🪴 Coaching seeks to unlock the full potential of team members
🤝 A coaching leadership approach prioritises one-on-one interactions
🎨 Ensure that the issue is clearly defined before moving on to solving it
📅 Utilise coaching questions to define a clear way forward
🤫 Silence is sometimes more effective than asking another question
What coaching is (and isn’t)
Daniel Goleman describes a coaching leadership approach as one that emphasises the personal development of team members through one-on-one interactions, feedback, and guidance and seeks to unlock the full potential of team members.
Coaching comes in many different forms from personal development to performance improvement to problem solving (the focus of this post). But at the root, coaching is always:
Focused on the individual and one-to-one interactions
Centred on questioning and the other person developing solutions
Designed around a specific need or situation
Coaching can often get mistaken for mentoring or counselling and is also distinct from the process of training. The table below outlines the key differences.
16 coaching questions to start using today
Here’s 16 coaching questions to help your team solve their own problems:
Is this your problem to solve?
A good place to start, and before you start working on a solve, is understanding whether the problem has the right owner.
What is the real issue?
In a similar vein to the previous question, it is important to understand what the real issue before trying to solve it or you’re wasting time on both sides.
Can you summarise the issue in a sentence?
This helps to understand if there is a good grasp on the issue or whether you need to do more on getting to what the problem is.
What does good look like when this issue is resolved?
It’s extremely difficult to work towards a solution if there isn’t a clear idea of the end goal.
What assumptions could you be making about this problem?
Exploring and noting any preconceived notions can lead to a more objective approach to solving the problem at hand.
What have you tried so far to solve the problem?
It’s helpful to have the full picture and understand the steps taken so far to avoid going down the wrong path or taking the conversation in a direction that hasn’t worked.
What has worked in the past when faced with a similar problem?
This question encourages reflection on what has worked or hasn’t worked in the past to help identify potential solutions. If they haven’t, a next step could be for them to explore if there is anyone else that they can reach out to that has.
What would happen if you did nothing?
This question provides a prompt to consider the potential consequences of not taking action and to encourage proactive decision-making. On the flip side, it can also help to size the issue and understand if it something that needs to be tackled now or that can be put on hold.
Who can you reach out to for advice or support?
If the solution needs more specialised skills, a good strategy would be to encourage your team member to seek advice and support from the most appropriate place.
If you say yes to this, what are you saying no to?
Before committing to something, this question helps the other person to think about how an action fits into wider priorities and where it needs to sit on their list.
Why?
Why sometimes gets a bad rep as a coaching question as it can come across as too direct or critical. In my experience, it can be the most effective question, but it does help to have a base level of trust that allows your team member to know that you’re coming from a constructive place.
And what else?
This is a great one to use when you know that there’s something not being said or you want to encourage a deeper dive. It is’s also more likely to get your team member to open up and provide more than a closed question like “is there anything else?”.
How will you measure success in resolving this issue?
This question helps to define clear, tangible criteria for success in order to track progress against and stay focused.
Do you need to involve anyone else in the solution?
Depending on the size of the problem, it’s likely that some sort of input will be required from others. This question helps your team member think of the knock-on impact to timescales and also shape their thinking about who to engage with
What are your next steps, and when will you take them?
Proving a commitment to next steps provides accountability and a clear path forward.
Nothing
Sometimes saying nothing is more effective than asking a question.
Recommended reading: Why silence is a leaders best friend
Which coaching questions have you tried? I’d love to hear in the comments 👇
Recommended resources
Podcast: Coaching as an Essential Leadership Skill by The Coaching and Mentoring Podcast
Article: Using coaching conversations in your leadership approach → and how to get results by The New Leaders Network
Book: The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier
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