Asking the right coaching questions is one of the most important coaching skills. Every coach who want to build his/her coaching skills should be sharpening his/her questioning skills. In other words: how to ask the right coaching questions at the right time…
GROW Coaching Model: overview coaching questions
I’ve explained the GROW questioning framework (The order of the coaching questions) and offered examples for each of the four steps of the GROW coaching model. In this post, I wanted to bring all the coaching questions together.
GROW Coaching Questions: step 1: Goal Setting
Here are 15 questions you can use during the Goal Setting phase – the first step of the GROW coaching process
1. What is the aim of this discussion?
2. What would need to happen for you to walk away feeling that this time was well spent?
3. If I could grant you a wish for this session, what would it be?
4. What would you like to happen that is not happening now, or what would you like not to happen that is happening now?
5. What outcome would you like from this session/discussion/interaction?
6. Can we do that in the time we have available?
7. What do you want to achieve long term?
8. What does success look like?
9. How much personal control or influence do you have over your goal?
10. What would be a milestone on the way?
11. When do you want to achieve it by?
12. Is that realistic?
13. Is that positive, challenging, attainable?
14. Will that be of real value to you?
15. How will you measure it?
GROW Coaching Questions: step 2: Reality
1. What is happening now? (what, where, when, who, how much, how often). Be precise if possible.
2.How do you know that this is accurate?
3. How have you verified, or would you verify, that that is so?
4. What other factors are relevant?
5. Who is involved (directly and indirectly)?
6. What is their perception?
7. When things are going badly on this issue, what happens to you?
8. What happens to the others directly involved?
9. What is the effect on others?
10. What have you done about this so far?
11. What results did that produce?
12. What is missing in the situation?
13. What do you have that you’re not using?
14. What is holding you back?
15. What is really going on (intuition)?
GROW Coaching Questions: step 3: Options
1. What could you do to change the situation?
2. Tell me what possibilities for action you see. Do not worry about whether they are realistic at this stage.
3. What approach/actions have you seen used, or used yourself, in similar circumstances?
4. What else could you do?
5. What if…? (time, power, money, etc.)
6. Who might be able to help?
7. Would you like another suggestion from me?
8. Which options do you like the most?
9. What are the benefits and costs of each?
10. Which options are of interest to you?
11. Would you like to choose an option to act on?
GROW Coaching Questions: step 4: Will
The last step of the coaching model is Will. Here are some example coaching questions to inspire you:
1. What option or options do you choose?
2. To what extent does this meet all your objectives?
3. What are your criteria and measurements for success?
4. When precisely are you going to start and finish each action step?
5. What could arise to hinder you in taking these steps?
6. What personal resistance do you have, if any, to taking these steps?
7. What will you do to eliminate these external and internal factors?
8. Who needs to know what your plans are?
9. What support do you need and from whom?
10. What will you do to obtain that support and when?
11. What could I do to support you?
12. What commitment on a 1-to-10 scale do you have to taking these agreed actions?
13. What prevents this from being a 10?
14. What could you do or alter to raise this commitment closer to 10?
15. Is there anything else you want to talk about now or are we finished?
Want more? Check out the free guide ‘101 coaching tips for great performance coaching‘
