Module 6 Questioning Part 2

Aims/Objectives Discuss the use of probing questions to uncover opportunities for discovery Identify how to shift from superficial responses to uncovering opportunities through a questioning process Review the action cycle (beliefs, attitudes, and emotions) as it relates to the positioning of questions Discuss the use of option and obstacle questions to surface opportunities for the client Identify benefits of selecting outcome based questions versus problem solving questions to help client shift thinking about current circumstances

Learning Outcomes Effectively use probing questions to uncover opportunities for discovery Address superficial responses from clients through a questioning process Continue to integrate the action cycle (beliefs, attitudes, and emotions) discoveries into coaching practices Utilize option and obstacle questions to surface opportunities for the client Move from problem solving mode to outcome mode to help client shift thinking about current circumstances

Probing Questions

Probes Engage fully in conversation Achieve concreteness and clarity Complete the picture Create balanced view of challenges and opportunities Move clients forward Explore and clarify clients point of view Empathy Mix of statements

More Questions Where will you find opportunities to….. Who can you rely on to support you….. How will you know when your process is working? How will you feel when you have achieved it? What makes your confident this approach will work? What can you do to make this less painful/difficult? How could you add to or modify that idea? What made you decide to use that process?

Summarizing and Paraphrasing At the beginning of a session “Last time we met we talked about ______, how are you doing with that?” When a client is stuck “We have been discussing _______, what would it look like to move forward with it?” When you need to shift the conversation for a new perspective “What I am hearing your say is _____, how might you look at this situation from another point of view?”

Think About….. Your client tells you that he/she does not want to chunk down goals and only wants to stay focused on the 90 day outcome. Provide three probing questions you might ask to surface what the client is thinking. Give an example of a summarizing statement you might make at the beginning of a coaching call with a client. What about in the middle of a call when the client seems stuck. Then to end the call.

Self-Discovering Beliefs Attitude and Emotions

Action Cycle

Questions for Assessing Beliefs What gets you excited about ……. What is most important to you and why……. What are you seeing as barriers to the new behavior? What are concerns, issues, other perspectives you should consider? Who has provided information that your are factoring into this decision? What opportunities might be missed if you continue this thought? What do you say to yourself when you think about this situation? How could you see this as an opportunity for growth? Read the questions…

Questions for assessing attitudes If you were describe how you feel about change, what would you say? What is getting in your way of trying a new approach? Why would this change be important to you right now? What do wish would be different? Can you describe a past situation at work that led you to grow as a person? Can you tell me about a time when you were faced with a major obstacle (work or otherwise) and how you overcame it? How would you describe the perfect work environment for you? Drawing on your past experience, can you give me an example of a time when you wanted to give up, and chose not to? How do you react when asked to do something beyond your capabilities?

Questions for Assessing Emotions Name three-five emotions that you feel frequently. How will those emotional states impact what you are trying to do? What aspect of your goal do you find exciting? When you think about opportunity or fear emotional states, which one do you spend the most time in? When were you angry about a change and how did you resolve it? What will you do when the gremlins (fears) about change come up?

From Human Performance Institute

Emotional Effectiveness Strong communication skills Demonstrates warmth Strong listener Rarely judgmental Keeps others informed Strong team player Compassionate Stable Easily praises others Patient

Emotions that Optimize Health, Happiness and Performance Hope Gratitude Compassion Realistic optimism Challenge/sense of adventure

Think About….. Discuss how you will continue to coach when you surface beliefs that are not aligned with yours. Your client says “I don’t need to set goals, I can get everything done without them.” Reflect on the emotional state questions and discuss which ones you are entirely comfortable with and one you might need to work more with.

Going Deeper

Going Deeper Go deeper after first response… Exploring superficial responses Deeper dives Challenge beliefs, attitudes, and emotions in the adoption cycle Connection of values in questions Working on the Best Opportunities Let’s quickly review some areas we can question deeper…. (read right bulleted list) As you’ve learned, if you train yourself to stay curious - the deeper questions will come naturally in the conversation

IDK (I Don’t Know) We often hear a client say…. “I don’t know” What questions would you ask to turn around the “I don’t know” response?

Option Questions We tend to stop thinking creatively after one or two options. These questions surface additional options and help client get unstuck. Give me three-five options for how you could tackle this challenge. What else could you do? Anything else? What have you done in the past in similar situations? All of the options involve you doing this yourself. Who else could you engage to explore opportunities?

Obstacle Questions What do you need that you don’t have to reach this goal? If you had all the _______ to accomplish this, what would you do? What needs to change in order to make this goal achievable? How have you overcome situations like this in the past? What resources could you tap into to successfully resolve this situation? What do you need to stop, start or continue doing in order to achieve the goal? Are you using this situation to learn or are you beating yourself up over it? How can you turn this around to have better results next time? What rules or expectations do you have for yourself that are getting in the way?

Think About….. How will you determine if a client is avoiding responding or a slow thinker? How are you planning on going deeper when your client seems to be giving you superficial responses (or answers they think you want to hear)? Your client appears stuck. Use a couple of the obstacle or option questions to help move the coaching along.

Positive Problem Solving

Positive Problem Solving What is the problem? How long has this been a problem? What is the worst thing about this problem? How often does it occur? Who is to blame? What has stopped you so far from solving this problem? What are the major hurdles or obstacles that you face in order to solve this problem? What is the outcome you want? How will you know you have achieved the outcome? What potential solutions can you think of that give you the desired outcome? In order to achieve the outcome, what resources do you need? What resources do you have? How will you obtain the additional resources? Where have you succeeded before in a similar situation?

Think About….. How do the questions in problem solving mode versus outcome mode sound different to you? What challenges might you encounter as a coach when engaging in problem solving mode versus opportunity mode?

Working On The Best Opportunity

Questions for Working on the Best Opportunity What opportunity should the client focus on? Which issue, if faced, would make a substantial difference in the client’s life? Which opportunity has the greatest payoff value? Which issue does the client have both the will and courage to work on? Which opportunity, if developed, will help the client deal with critical issues arising in his/her life? What is the most advantageous place for the client to start? If the client needs to start slowly, where is the best place to begin? If the client needs a boost or quick win, which opportunity should he/she focus on?

Future Oriented Probes What would this opportunity/issue look like if you were managing it better? What changes in your present work styles would make sense? What can you do differently with the people in your life? What patterns of behavior would lead to greater success? Move forward ______, what patterns of behaviors could the client eliminate to lead to success? What accomplishments would the client have that he/she doesn’t have now? What would this opportunity look like if the client developed it?

Think About….. What biases do you have about what the “right” thing is for the client? How comfortable are you with staying in a questioning process until clients are able to identify for himself/herself the best opportunity for them?