Types of Coaching Questions
Coaching questions are an important tool for employee management. Here, we’ll describe various types of questions to ask and provide examples.
Open-ended questions
Open-ended questions allow for a more detailed response, encouraging each team member to share their thoughts and feelings. This provides their coach with better insight into their current reality.
- What are your thoughts on the situation?
- Can you tell me more about that?
- What are your goals for the next six months?
Closed-ended questions
Closed-ended questions are more specific and, often, require a simple yes or no answer. They are useful for gathering information and getting clear answers about how your employees feel.
- Did you complete the task on time?
- How many times has that problem occurred in the past month?
- Have you ever faced a similar problem?
- Do you feel confident about your abilities in your current position?
Probing questions
Probing questions are designed to get team members to think more deeply about a particular issue. They encourage reflection and can help the employee uncover the cause of a problem.
- Why do you think this happened?
- What would happen if you tried a different approach?
- How can you overcome this obstacle?
Reflective questions
Often, employees learn from their own experiences. Reflective questions are used to help people evaluate their own performance and progress and gain insights from those experiences. They encourage self-reflection and can also help the employee identify areas for improvement.
- What did you learn from this experience?
- How did you handle that situation?
- What could you have done differently?
Clarifying questions
Clarifying questions are used to ensure that the coach and employee understand each other. These questions help clear up any confusion or misunderstandings.
- Can you further explain what you mean?
- Can you give me an example?
- Do you mean X or Y?
Goal-setting questions
Goal-setting questions are designed to help the employee set clear goals. The questions can spark internal motivation, helping employees develop a plan to achieve their goals.
- What are your long-term career goals?
- What new skills would you like to develop?
- Where do you see yourself in 12 months?
Problem-solving questions
Problem-solving questions are used to help an employee identify and solve problems. They encourage employees to think critically and search for ways of solving challenges.
- What new challenges are preventing you from achieving your goals?
- What steps can you take to overcome those obstacles?
- What resources do you need to achieve your goals?
How to Make the Most of Effective Coaching Questions
Asking great coaching questions is only half of the equation. Coaches need to listen and process the answers. Here are some ways a good coach can quickly process answers to coaching questions.
Active listening
Active listening is one of the best coaching tools mentors can use. It involves paying close attention to what a person says and demonstrating that you are listening by asking specific follow-up questions or paraphrasing what they said. It's an approach you might use with a close friend. Active listening helps the coach better understand the employee's perspective, making them feel heard and understood.
Non-judgmental questioning
Non-judgmental questioning involves asking questions with no intention to reach a conclusion or to judge the employee's response. By doing this, coaches can create a safe space for employees to share their thoughts and feelings. This allows for building trust and promoting honest communication.
Empathetic questioning
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person from their point of view. Empathetic questioning involves asking questions that show empathy for an employee's situation. Again, there is no hint of judging or trying to uncover possible solutions. The questions are about building trust and rapport, which can help to create a more productive coaching relationship.
Powerful questioning
Powerful questioning challenges the employee to think critically and deeply about their situation. An effective coaching question can help the employee identify blind spots and assumptions, and they can help the coach to get to the root of issues.
Curiosity and humility
Curiosity and humility involve approaching coaching with a beginner's mindset, being open to new ideas and perspectives. Here, the coach is asking questions to learn from the employee. By demonstrating curiosity and humility, the coach can create a learning environment that encourages professional growth and development.
One More Question
Do you want to learn more about coaching employees? The experts at TriNet can help you with that and many other HR functions.
At TriNet, we provide HR solutions to help with your needs, giving you the tools to help you optimize and grow your business and so you can retain the best talent to keep you moving forward. We offer industry-specialized experience to help you take your business to the next level.
FAQs
Evaluative Questions help our clients understand themselves, their thought processes, values, knowledge, experiences and beliefs. So they literally help our clients evaluate and consider why they think a certain way, what their opinion is, and how this may have come to be.
What is the key to employee coaching? ›
Effective coaches inspire and listen. They build strong relationships of trust based on knowing their people and good communication skills. Coaches must be willing work alongside the employee, or take the blame if something was done poorly. You can give anyone a step-by-step guide on how to do something.
Can coaching be defined as unlocking a person's potential? ›
The following definition of 'Coaching' was put forward by Sir John Whitmore, widely acknowledged as the father of coaching for performance: "Coaching is unlocking people's potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them."
What are the 3 coaching questions? ›
What do you hope to achieve in our time together today? What would you like to take away from our conversation? What do you need to accomplish from our discussion?
What are the benefits of powerful questions in coaching? ›
Strategic or powerful or coaching questions aim to surprise clients or put them “off balance” in order to provoke the emergence of new perspectives on their problems, objectives, issues and ambitions.
Why coaching is so effective? ›
Coaches often prompt meaningful dialogues and provide feedback that is both actionable and personalized. This guidance and self-reflection help individuals set and achieve their goals, enriching their well-being and fulfillment.
What is a key purpose of coaching? ›
Coaching facilitates a deep level of personal growth and development. As individuals undertake the journey of coaching, they are challenged to step out of their comfort zones, try new things, and confront personal barriers. This process leads to greater personal effectiveness and the development of new skills.
What is the key to effective coaching? ›
In summary, effective coaching is about focusing on the coachee, building a trusting relationship through demonstrating attention to their needs, seeking to understand them rather than judge, listening to what they say, and encouraging them to come up with ideas on how to move forward.
What are the 3 important aspects of coaching? ›
Three Critical Elements of Coaching
- Element 1 – Prepare Your Questions. A coach needs to prepare the questions before a coaching session. ...
- Element 2 – Question with Respect. Coaching must be approached from a position as equals when meeting about the problem. ...
- Element 3 – Actively Listen to the Reply. ...
- In Conclusion.
No single decision is more important in determining how you coach than your priority for the three objectives – 1) to have a winning team; 2) to help young people have fun; 3) to help young people develop. Many coaches face a dilemma about their objectives when they coach.
Improves individual performance. Helps identify and develop high potential employees. Helps identify both organizational and individual strengths and development opportunities. Helps to motivate and empower individuals to excel.
What are the four core elements of coaching? ›
The four primary elements of coaching are your objectives, your approach, the values you apply, and your principles, all of which help formulate your strategic methodology and how you interact with every client you onboard.
What are the 3 C's of coaching? ›
Coaches embody numerous traits, which can be categorized into what we call the “3 C's” of exceptional coaches — curiosity, courage, and compassion.
What are the 4 C's of coaching? ›
The 4Cs in Coaching - Competence, Confidence, Connection and Character/Caring.
What are the 4 A's of coaching? ›
The 4 A's: Awareness. Acceptance. Action. Adherence.
Why are coaching conversations important? ›
Coaching conversations empower employees through encouragement and teaching. When managers coach, they reinforce strengths and explore challenges with the employee. Successful coaching guides employees toward success while promoting independent thinking and collaboration to overcome obstacles.
Why is it important to evaluate coaching? ›
Coaching, like any other professional development intervention, should be evaluated, because evaluation allows us a critical window into our professional practice. It also allows us to gain a degree of self-knowledge, and the opportunity to identify how personal interactions and coaching processes can be improved.
Why are questions potentially more powerful than giving advice? ›
People often have the answers to their problems. Most times, what they're looking for is a sounding board and a keen listener. But when you advise people, you don't expand their awareness. The advice trap makes it impossible for them to discover innovative solutions.
Why is coaching preparation important? ›
First and foremost, preparation maximises the effectiveness of the coaching process. It helps you define clear goals and expectations, ensuring that the coaching sessions are tailored to your specific needs.
