Essential Coaching Questions

The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change The Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier

The Kickstarter Question

"What's on your mind?"

• Avoids 'default diagnosis'
• Observer is in the position of a partner
• Associate identifies what they think is important

"What should we focus on today?"

The AWE Question

"And what else?"

• Avoids jumping in with an immediate solution
• Gives the Associate chance to explore
• Staying curious!

"Is there anything else?"

The Focus Question

“What is the real challenge here for you?”

• Focus on the real problem (not the first)
• Multiple issues ("If you have to pick one ... ")
• Generalisations ("I sense the overall challenge ... ")
• 'Coaching the ghost' (another person or situation)

“And what else?"

1-2-3 Compbination

• "What's on your mind?"
• "And what else?"
• “What is the real challenge here for you?”

Riding Faults

Anything an Associate does that you would not do, when riding to an Advanced Standard!

Identifying a fault does not fix it!

The F.I.S.H. Technique

F - Facts

Ask the Associate to list the facts objectively.

• "What speed were we doing ... ?"
• "Who had right of way ... ?"

"When we approached the roundabout we were ..."

I - Implications

Ask the Associate to consider the implications of what happened.

• "What could have happened if ... ?"

S - Solution

Lead the Associate to discovering a solution to the fault

• "What could we have done differently ... ?"
• "What other options did we have ... ?"
• "That's great. And what else ... ?"

H - Help

The Lazy Question

"How can I help?"

• Direct and clear request
• Avoids jumping in

The F.I.S.H. Technique

F - Facts

I - Implications

S - Solutions

H - Help

Scenarios

• following in the overtaking position when the overtake is not available
• too close to stationary vehicles in heavy traffic
• filtering too quickly
• missing head checks when there are following vehicles
• keeping to the right of centre when approaching a blind crest

The Debrief

The Learning Question

“What was the most useful for you?”

• Create space for the Associate to retreive
• Refelection is a form of practice
• Pre-supposes that the session was useful!
• The Associate identifies 'the big thing'

"What have you learned since our last ride?"

3Ws

• "What went well?"
• "Not so well?"
• "What might we do differently ... ?"

What was the most useful for you?