determine when problem solving techniques are appropriate within coaching activities

Ayisha Amatullah

• December 23, 2023

Solution-Focused Approach: Coaching, Therapy, Interventions

The standard approach to problem-solving insists there is a cause and effect between problems and solutions. However, the Solutions-Focused approach skips over the continuous delving and search for what causes problems and goes straight for the solution. It focuses on solutions, not problems, strengths, not weaknesses, and on what’s going well rather than what’s gone wrong.

With this in mind, let’s delve into the practical execution of the Solution-Focused approach, exploring the specific questions, interventions, and techniques that can facilitate positive change.

In This Post

• 1 What is the Solution-Focused?
• 2 What is Solution-Focused Therapy?
• 3 What is Solution-Focused Coaching?
• 4 What is the Solution-Focused Approach?
• 5 Key Concepts of the Solution-Focused Approach
• 6 Solution-Focused Questions and Interventions
• 7 Solution-Focused Questions Using the OSKAR Coaching Model
• 8 Solution-Focused Example Coaching Session

What is the Solution-Focused?

Solution-focused is a present and future-forward approach to helping individuals reach a goal or solve a problem without focusing on the problem.

What is Solution-Focused Therapy?

Solution-focused therapy is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on finding solutions in the present and exploring hope for the future. It aims to achieve quicker resolution of problems. This therapy style assumes that the client knows what to do to improve their own life. With appropriate questioning, they are capable of finding the best solutions.

What is Solution-Focused Coaching?

Solution-focused coaching, on the other hand, is a forward-looking, goal-oriented approach to personal or professional development. It utilizes similar principles to solution-focused therapy. However, the key difference is that it is used in non-clinical contexts like life or business coaching.

What is the Solution-Focused Approach?

Solution-focused is a proven and practical approach to positive change within people, relationships, and organizations. It goes against the standard method of solving problems by focusing solely on the solution.

Problems are often looked at as challenges. And when we think of challenges, we often believe that they are challenging to overcome. The solution-focused points out the solutions, skills, strengths, and resources in people, which motivates them to accomplish their goals.

Solution-focused is an evidence-based approach that stems from solution-focused therapy. Solution-focused therapy was founded in the late 1970s by sociologists Steve de Shazerv and Insoo Kim Berg in collaboration with their colleagues at the Milwaukee Brief Family Therapy Center.

Solution-Focused Coaching

Solution-focused then moved on to be used as a coaching tool in organizations for workplace problems and to deal with executives, teams, and people.

In recent years, it has been used in life coaching. Ayisha Amatullah, the founder of Universal Coach Institute, was one of the first to use and teach solution-focused life coaching and developed a solution-focused life coaching model.

Solution-focused focuses on the following:

• The solution, not the problem  – focusing on the problem does not lead to a solution; focusing on the solution leads to a solution. Albert Einstein said,  ‘No problem can be solved by the same consciousness that created it.
• Strengths, not weaknesses  – reaching a goal or resolving a problem is easier when you work with what you are already good at instead of going backward and trying to enhance what you are not good at.
• What’s going right, not what’s going wrong – Identify what’s going right and do more of it. Focusing on what’s going wrong can be stressful and make the situation look like there is no solution in sight. However, identifying what’s going right gives the individual hope that everything is not all bad.

The more the positives are discussed, the easier the situation appears and the more motivated the individual will be to move forward.

When should you use the solution-focused approach in coaching?

Solution-focused can be used in many types of situations. However, the best times to use the solution-focused approach in coaching are when an individual:

• needs to find a solution to a problem
• needs an immediate solution
• family or couples conflict
• workplace challenges
• goal setting

Benefits of using the solution-focused approach in coaching

• Individuals will feel empowered  because the conversation will be about everything they can do.
• It cuts the complaining  – From the start of the conversation, the coach asks the individual questions that move them forward.
• It builds self-esteem  – In solution-focused, the coach focuses on all the positives and what the individual already has going for them to help solve the problem. This builds self-esteem and confidence to solve the problem.
• It creates awareness in individuals  – Using the future perfect technique makes the individual aware of what they truly want, and the scaling makes them aware of how much of the future perfect they already have going for themselves.
• It gives the client hope from the very beginning.  Since we don’t focus on the problem, it gives the client hope from the start.

Key Concepts of the Solution-Focused Approach

Important concepts the coach and individual should live by when arriving at solutions include:

• Don’t fix what isn’t broken  – if the individual is already doing something that works or something that helps move them toward the solution, it’s best to just leave it alone and not make any changes to it that could potentially break it.
• Find what works and do more of it  – In addition to not making changes, they should do more of it to increase the chances of results.
• Stop doing what doesn’t work and do something else – If the individual discovers that their actions do not work, stop. Do not focus efforts on problems, weaknesses, or things that do not produce a result.

Solution-Focused Questions and Interventions

In the solution-focused approach to coaching, questions are asked to shift the client’s attention away from the stressful problem towards the solution. Instead of asking questions that emphasize the problems, difficulties, and causes, the coach asks questions that explore the individual’s goals, exceptions that have led to success in the past, questions about times when the problem was less severe, the ideal outcome, and questions about existing resources.

Problem-Focused Question: 

Can you tell me about the problem?

Solution-Focused Questions : 

What do you want to change?

Counter Finding

In the solution-focused conversation, the coach or the helper looks for anything that counts, called “counters.” Counters are the resources that are already present and are likely helpful in helping individuals find solutions.

Counters include:

• Examples of the solution happening already – Sometimes, the solution is right in front of our face, and we don’t even realize it.
• Evidence of parts of the solution happening.
• Strengths, skills, and resources that will help to create the solution
• Cooperation from others involved

The goal is to collect as many counters as possible to help search for what works.

Examples of Counter Finding Questions:

Past Success Questions

•  Have you had a problem similar to this before? How did you handle that problem?

Coping Questions

• With all that has been happening in your life lately, I’m wondering how you are managing to cope with all this?
• How did you keep it from getting worse?
• What have you found that helps manage this situation?
• What keeps you going under these difficult circumstances?

Reframing Questions

When we want to solve a problem, we often indulge in problem-talk. We complain and talk badly about the problem. In solution-focused, we use reframing questions to get the individual to look at the situation differently and engage them in problem-free talk

• What was it like before the problem existed?
• What is the positive in this experience?
• What else could this situation mean?
• What did you learn from this?
• What other ways could you look at this?

Future Perfect

The “future perfect” is a technique used to help the individual describe how they would like the situation to be. On the surface, it may appear that the goal of the “future perfect” is to create hope through visualization. However, the future perfect technique has a deeper purpose. A trained professional will listen to the individual’s “future perfect” and be able to find counters, exceptions, possible solutions, and even a possible action plan.

The most popular solution-focused future perfect intervention is the Miracle Question . The Miracle Question is a method of questioning used to aid an individual in envisioning how the future will be different when the problem is no longer present.

Miracle Question

“Suppose tonight you go to bed and go to sleep as usual. And during the night, a miracle happens. And the problem vanishes. And the issues that concern you are resolved, but you’re still asleep. Therefore, you don’t know that the miracle has happened. When you wake up tomorrow, what will be the first things that will tell you that the miracle has happened? How will you know that the transformation has occurred?”

Recommended Reading: The Miracle Question with Examples, Worksheets, Exercises, & Demo Video

Scaling invites an individual to measure and track their progress and experience. Scaling in Solution-Focused is used to identify what the client already has working for them in reference to the future perfect.

• What have you done so far to get to that number?
• What would it take to get to the next number on the scale?
• What would it take to get a 10?

Exception Questions

When an individual has a problem, that problem is not present all the time. Most problems are only happening occasionally. There are times when the problem is not happening at all or is happening to a lesser degree. Helping an individual to notice these times can help reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed by the problem and help identify things they or others are already doing to solve the problem.

The goal is for the client to repeat what has worked in the past and help them gain confidence in making improvements for the future.

Example Exception Questions:

• Was there a time when this problem was not a problem or when it presented itself with less severity? What was it like at that time? What were you doing at that time?
• When does the future perfect happen? Even a little bit? What do you suppose you did to make that happen?
• Can you think of any other times in the past or in recent weeks that you didn’t have the problem? What would you say you are doing differently during those times?
• What resources, strengths, and skills did you use during those times?

Affirming is about providing positive feedback on what the coach or helping professional heard. The professional will reflect and repeat back the counters, possible solutions, exceptions, strengths, and attributes the individual has revealed during the session to help the individual decide where to start to move toward the solution.

Check out Solution-Focused Techniques for Therapy and Coaching

Solution-Focused Questions Using the OSKAR Coaching Model

OSKAR is a well-known solution-focused coaching model . It was created by Mark McKergow and Paul Z. Jackson and published in their book: The Solutions Focus: Making Coaching and Change SIMPLE .

[Full Disclosure: As an affiliate, I receive a commission if you purchase this book on Amazon once you click the link] 

OSKAR stands for Outcome, Scaling, Know-How, Affirm, and Review.

• What is the objective of this coaching?
• What do you want to achieve today?
• What do you want to achieve in the long term?
• How will you know this coaching has been of use to you?
• On a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 representing the worst it has ever been and 10 the preferred future, where would you put the situation today?
• On a scale of 1 – 10, where 1 represents x and 10 represents y, where are you in relation to this goal.
• You are at n now; what did you do to get this far?
• How would you know you had got to n+1?

Know-How & Resources

• What helps you perform at n on the scale rather than 0?
• When does the outcome already happen for you – even a little bit?
• What did you do to make that happen? How did you do that?
• What skills/knowledge/attributes do you currently have that will help you?
• When have you done this/something similar before?
• What would others say is working for you?
• What did you do differently?

Affirm & Action

• What’s already going well?
• What’s particularly impressive so far – about the strengths and resources employed?
• What is the next small step?
• What would you like to do personally, straight away?
• You are at n now; what would it take to get you to n+1?

Review: What’s better?

• What did you do that made the change happen?
• What effects have the changes had?
• What do you think will change next?
• What is better?

Solution-Focused Example Coaching Session

If you want to learn how to use the miracle question in coaching, check out the Life and Solution-Focused Coach Training program .

101 Solution-Focused Questions for Therapy and Coaching

The Miracle Question w/ Examples, Worksheets, Demo Video & Exercises

14 Solution-Focused Techniques for Therapy and Coaching

20 Coaching Models that Get Results

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15 Effective Coaching Techniques & Tools Every Coach Should Know

Coaching techniques, methods, and tools, if used the right way, can change the direction of clients’ lives and help them achieve continuous personal development, self-improvement , prosperity, and sustainable success.

Effective coaching goes beyond the ability to ask the right questions in the proper order. Great coaches are experts in guiding their clients through the process of change. They enhance and enable their clients to reach their full potential, overcome roadblocks and help them to accomplish sustainable success.

What are the essentials of effective coaching?

Effective coaching goes beyond asking questions or using various techniques, tools, and methods. It involves actively listening and empathizing, providing guidance, and offering constructive feedback to clients. A good coach creates a safe and supportive environment, helps clients set meaningful goals , and assists in developing strategies to overcome roadblocks or challenges. They empower clients to unlock their true potential , foster personal growth and development , and achieve sustainable results.

Here are 15 of the most effective coaching techniques, methods, and tools to improve your client’s performance and enhance your coaching skills .

1) coaching tool – the 5-minute pre-session check-in.

Let your clients complete a short questionnaire before each coaching session. This helps you and your clients recognize their progress and success since the last session. You’ll discover if there were roadblocks and what they’ve been struggling with. It shows you what bothers them most and what they want to focus on during their next session.

This technique helps your clients to mentally prepare for the upcoming meeting and makes your session prep super effective. There will be no surprises, and you can easily adjust the session to your client’s needs. (See the complete tool, including all questions in CleverMemo ). This is also a perfect group and team coaching technique, as you can use the answers as a starting point for the next meeting.

2) Use the SMART goal-setting technique in your coaching

SMART goal setting stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Based.

This technique brings a clear structure to goals. Each goal or milestone comes with clear and verifiable elements instead of vague resolutions.

The broad goal „I want to grow my business“ will be described in much more detailed and action-oriented steps by the client. The SMART goal could be: I will win five new clients for my coaching business within this month by asking for referrals, creating two helpful blog articles, and social media networking. This will allow me to increase my revenue and grow a thriving coaching practice. ( Click here to find a goal toolkit with 7 goal setting exercises )

This article about goal setting in coaching contains a study that will definitely surprise you ( Check it out ).

3) Effective coaching technique – Let clients write down and share the gold nuggets after each session

Encourage your clients to share their gold nuggets from each session with you. It gives them a clear picture of how much value (ROI) they got from your coaching. It’s easy to help them get going with just a few simple questions like: „What was the most valuable takeaway from this session?“.

This coaching technique helps you to find out the client’s „Aha“ moments and to avoid misunderstandings. If all these notes are organized in a shared stream accessible to you and the client, you can reread and recap these nuggets later in the process. ( Here’s a coaching record template )

4) Ask open-ended questions

Open-ended questions allow your clients to include more information, including feelings, attitudes, and understanding of the subject. This allows the coach to better access the clients’ true thoughts and feelings on the topic. This article shows you 6 types of (mostly) open-ended questions and over 70 example questions for coaching and counseling. Click here to give it a read

5) Coaching technique – Use the power of writing and journaling

Writing down plans and goals is the first step toward making them a reality. It commits your clients to take action. Especially when they are shared and recorded with someone else (like with you – their coach). Writing is perfect to slow down the process, help clients recognize their progress, and express feelings or thoughts. Milestones become visible, and an  inner dialogue  gets initiated.

Writing enhances your client’s power of observation and focuses during a change or development process. Regular writing has also been linked to improved mood and reduced stress levels. A study with two groups has shown that people who write down  goals  and make a weekly progress report/ journal  achieved their goals at a rate of 76%. At the same time, the group participants who didn’t write anything down completed their goals at a rate of only 36%. Writing is an effective technique to help clients achieve sustainable results in coaching.

6) Being fully present and focused = Successful Coaching

Take two minutes for yourself and breathe calmly before each session. Once your meeting has started, avoid distractions and give your clients undivided attention. Show your genuine interest and that you care. This may sound self-evident, but it is essential to building trust and a meaningful coaching relationship.

7) Tools for Coaching: Follow-Up with the client – Use ongoing Feedback for invaluable information

Check-in with regular  questionnaires  where clients share their progress, experiences, success, or challenges they might be facing. This ongoing feedback as a follow-up between sessions is a perfect way to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the coaching. It shows your clients that you really care about their progress and gives them the feeling they’re not alone with their challenges.

You gain invaluable information that you can use to react to your client’s situation and prepare and adjust the next steps. This coaching technique helps your clients to stay accountable and keep what they said they would do on top of their minds.  CleverMemo  has two proven tools you can share with just one click: The weekly and monthly progress reports.

8) One of the best techniques for coaching and mentoring – The coaching journal of progress

A regular progress and reflection journal helps your clients develop self-awareness. A coaching journal is similar to the ongoing feedback described before. Clients can write down their emotions, experiences, observations, challenges, successes, thoughts, and feelings.

They don’t have to wait until the subsequent sessions, which might be in a week or two, but they can share what’s on their mind right when it happens.

A shared journal gives your clients the feeling that you’re always there for them and „listening“ without needing your presence. They can write whenever they feel like it – at night, in the morning, during the day, at the train station on the way to their workplace, or while waiting at the doctor’s. ( Here are some proven templates )

A  coaching journal  allows them to focus on themselves without time pressure or distractions. Once written down, they can always reread and recap prior entries later in their process.

Once these thoughts are shared, you’ll gain invaluable information that will take your coaching and mentoring to the next level. When they write their journal entries using coaching software , they always have it at hand via laptop or smartphone.

9) The Wheel of Life – The famous tool and technique for coaching

The Wheel of Life is one of the most common tools and techniques for coaching. When we are focused on a specific task or project, it is easy to forget about the rest of our lives and lose our balance. It is sometimes challenging to give the necessary attention to the other areas of our life.

The  Balanced Wheel of Life Assessment  helps to make clients aware of this situation and subsequently ensure that the other areas of their life are not neglected.

The Wheel of Life is a great tool to identify which areas and domains of our client’s life might be out of balance. Usually, the Wheel of Life consists of 6-8 categories or areas crucial for a happy life.

When using the tool, you will find out how satisfied the clients are in each area and how much time they spend on it. In addition, the clients identify those parts of their life that need to be adjusted to live a happier, more satisfied, and more successful life.

Here is everything you need to know about  successfully using the Wheel of Life, including a template .

10) Effective Coaching technique – Homework assignment to strengthen accountability

No matter if you call it homework, worksheet, questionnaire, or action item. They all support the work you’ve been doing within a coaching session. They help clients reflect, act, and achieve necessary milestones toward their more significant goals. Homework helps to see if and how the plans from each session are being applied. It allows clients to keep the focus on their projects, ideas, and goals.

Your clients get a guideline to apply the learnings from your coaching in real life. Clients take responsibility for their development, actions, and success during the coaching process and life in general. Assigned with a  due date and automatic reminders  for a friendly nudge on their shoulder, they strengthen your client’s accountability. This makes  homework  such a powerful technique, not only in business or life coaching.

11) Coaching models and techniques – The GROW Coaching Model

The  GROW model  is a simple method for goal setting and problem-solving in coaching. It includes for stages:

G for Goal: The goal is what the client wants to accomplish. It should be defined as clearly as possible. You could combine it with the SMART method described earlier.

R for Reality: That’s the status quo, where our client is right now. The client describes her current situation and how far she is from her goal.

O for Obstacles and Options: What are the obstacles (roadblocks) keep your client from achieving the goal? Once these obstacles are identified, you can find ways to overcome them – the options.

W for Way Forward: Once identified, the options must be converted into action steps for your client to accomplish her goal.

12) Shared To-Do list

Our clients commit to various action steps and plans during our sessions. Once they write down and share these to-dos with you, they put them into existence. They become like a contract between you and the client, strengthening their accountability.

Another benefit is that both of you know what is getting done and what isn’t at any moment during the process. You immediately see where they procrastinate or struggle and when your support is needed. The shared to-do list helped to set priorities, achieve milestones faster and keep track of the small wins during a coaching process.

Tip:  CleverMemo  has a ready-to-use „Shared to-do list“ and various other tools.

13) Positive coaching techniques – „I accomplished my goal!“

It shouldn’t be just a vague description but a whole day from start to finish. How would she feel after waking up? What would she do? How would she think? This technique will encourage the client to use her positive imagination and visualize what she truly desires. Afterward, you can work together to get the actual steps to that „miracle“ where the goal is achieved.

14) Use every session to become a better coach – Improve your skills

Every single session offers you the chance to become a better coach and improve your  coaching skills . Take five minutes immediately after your client leaves and write down some thoughts. You can track the reactions to questions of a client. Think about methods and techniques you have used in the session and how they worked.

Reflect upon the overall success of the session. Is there something you would do differently if you could „replay“ the session? Add comments, plans, notes, and ideas for the next session.

“When you stop trying to improve, you’ve stopped being good.” Philip Rosenthal

We added a quick session review tool in  CleverMemo . Save it as a private note in the client’s stream so you can reread it before the next session.

15) Use the power of coaching software

Coaching software is a platform that supports you and your clients during the whole coaching process. It automatically organizes your client communication and lets you quickly implement all the coaching techniques and tools mentioned in this article.

CleverMemo is made to support and engage clients between sessions and help them to get the most out of their coaching with you. It ensures long-lasting and sustainable success and saves you time with daily tasks like session prep, worksheet assignments, and documentation.  Start your free trial here to find out if it fits your coaching perfectly.

There are countless exercises,  tools , and techniques to support effective coaching, and the ideas above are in no way a complete list. You should try and see how they fit your coaching style. What’s your favorite technique? Let me know in the comments, and share this article with your network if you think others could benefit from it.

Do you want more Coaching Tools, Techniques, Worksheets, And Methods?

Check out this toolkit with over 300 ready-to-use resources :.

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About the author: marcel schuy.

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Effective problem solving is all about using the right process and following a plan tailored to the issue at hand. Recognizing your team or organization has an issue isn’t enough to come up with effective problem solving strategies. 

To truly understand a problem and develop appropriate solutions, you will want to follow a solid process, follow the necessary problem solving steps, and bring all of your problem solving skills to the table.  

We’ll first guide you through the seven step problem solving process you and your team can use to effectively solve complex business challenges. We’ll also look at what problem solving strategies you can employ with your team when looking for a way to approach the process. We’ll then discuss the problem solving skills you need to be more effective at solving problems, complete with an activity from the SessionLab library you can use to develop that skill in your team.

Let’s get to it! 

What is a problem solving process?

• What are the problem solving steps I need to follow?

Problem solving strategies

What skills do i need to be an effective problem solver, how can i improve my problem solving skills.

Solving problems is like baking a cake. You can go straight into the kitchen without a recipe or the right ingredients and do your best, but the end result is unlikely to be very tasty!

Using a process to bake a cake allows you to use the best ingredients without waste, collect the right tools, account for allergies, decide whether it is a birthday or wedding cake, and then bake efficiently and on time. The result is a better cake that is fit for purpose, tastes better and has created less mess in the kitchen. Also, it should have chocolate sprinkles. Having a step by step process to solve organizational problems allows you to go through each stage methodically and ensure you are trying to solve the right problems and select the most appropriate, effective solutions.

What are the problem solving steps I need to follow? 

All problem solving processes go through a number of steps in order to move from identifying a problem to resolving it.

Depending on your problem solving model and who you ask, there can be anything between four and nine problem solving steps you should follow in order to find the right solution. Whatever framework you and your group use, there are some key items that should be addressed in order to have an effective process.

We’ve looked at problem solving processes from sources such as the American Society for Quality and their four step approach , and Mediate ‘s six step process. By reflecting on those and our own problem solving processes, we’ve come up with a sequence of seven problem solving steps we feel best covers everything you need in order to effectively solve problems.

1. Problem identification 

The first stage of any problem solving process is to identify the problem or problems you might want to solve. Effective problem solving strategies always begin by allowing a group scope to articulate what they believe the problem to be and then coming to some consensus over which problem they approach first. Problem solving activities used at this stage often have a focus on creating frank, open discussion so that potential problems can be brought to the surface.

2. Problem analysis 

Though this step is not a million miles from problem identification, problem analysis deserves to be considered separately. It can often be an overlooked part of the process and is instrumental when it comes to developing effective solutions.

The process of problem analysis means ensuring that the problem you are seeking to solve is the right problem . As part of this stage, you may look deeper and try to find the root cause of a specific problem at a team or organizational level.

Remember that problem solving strategies should not only be focused on putting out fires in the short term but developing long term solutions that deal with the root cause of organizational challenges. 

Whatever your approach, analyzing a problem is crucial in being able to select an appropriate solution and the problem solving skills deployed in this stage are beneficial for the rest of the process and ensuring the solutions you create are fit for purpose.

3. Solution generation

Once your group has nailed down the particulars of the problem you wish to solve, you want to encourage a free flow of ideas connecting to solving that problem. This can take the form of problem solving games that encourage creative thinking or problem solving activities designed to produce working prototypes of possible solutions. 

The key to ensuring the success of this stage of the problem solving process is to encourage quick, creative thinking and create an open space where all ideas are considered. The best solutions can come from unlikely places and by using problem solving techniques that celebrate invention, you might come up with solution gold. 

4. Solution development

No solution is likely to be perfect right out of the gate. It’s important to discuss and develop the solutions your group has come up with over the course of following the previous problem solving steps in order to arrive at the best possible solution. Problem solving games used in this stage involve lots of critical thinking, measuring potential effort and impact, and looking at possible solutions analytically. 

During this stage, you will often ask your team to iterate and improve upon your frontrunning solutions and develop them further. Remember that problem solving strategies always benefit from a multitude of voices and opinions, and not to let ego get involved when it comes to choosing which solutions to develop and take further.

Finding the best solution is the goal of all problem solving workshops and here is the place to ensure that your solution is well thought out, sufficiently robust and fit for purpose. 

5. Decision making 

Nearly there! Once your group has reached consensus and selected a solution that applies to the problem at hand you have some decisions to make. You will want to work on allocating ownership of the project, figure out who will do what, how the success of the solution will be measured and decide the next course of action.

The decision making stage is a part of the problem solving process that can get missed or taken as for granted. Fail to properly allocate roles and plan out how a solution will actually be implemented and it less likely to be successful in solving the problem.

Have clear accountabilities, actions, timeframes, and follow-ups. Make these decisions and set clear next-steps in the problem solving workshop so that everyone is aligned and you can move forward effectively as a group. 

Ensuring that you plan for the roll-out of a solution is one of the most important problem solving steps. Without adequate planning or oversight, it can prove impossible to measure success or iterate further if the problem was not solved. 

6. Solution implementation 

This is what we were waiting for! All problem solving strategies have the end goal of implementing a solution and solving a problem in mind. 

Remember that in order for any solution to be successful, you need to help your group through all of the previous problem solving steps thoughtfully. Only then can you ensure that you are solving the right problem but also that you have developed the correct solution and can then successfully implement and measure the impact of that solution.

Project management and communication skills are key here – your solution may need to adjust when out in the wild or you might discover new challenges along the way.

7. Solution evaluation 

So you and your team developed a great solution to a problem and have a gut feeling its been solved. Work done, right? Wrong. All problem solving strategies benefit from evaluation, consideration, and feedback. You might find that the solution does not work for everyone, might create new problems, or is potentially so successful that you will want to roll it out to larger teams or as part of other initiatives. 

None of that is possible without taking the time to evaluate the success of the solution you developed in your problem solving model and adjust if necessary.

Remember that the problem solving process is often iterative and it can be common to not solve complex issues on the first try. Even when this is the case, you and your team will have generated learning that will be important for future problem solving workshops or in other parts of the organization. 

It’s worth underlining how important record keeping is throughout the problem solving process. If a solution didn’t work, you need to have the data and records to see why that was the case. If you go back to the drawing board, notes from the previous workshop can help save time. Data and insight is invaluable at every stage of the problem solving process and this one is no different.

Problem solving workshops made easy

Problem solving strategies are methods of approaching and facilitating the process of problem-solving with a set of techniques , actions, and processes. Different strategies are more effective if you are trying to solve broad problems such as achieving higher growth versus more focused problems like, how do we improve our customer onboarding process?

Broadly, the problem solving steps outlined above should be included in any problem solving strategy though choosing where to focus your time and what approaches should be taken is where they begin to differ. You might find that some strategies ask for the problem identification to be done prior to the session or that everything happens in the course of a one day workshop.

The key similarity is that all good problem solving strategies are structured and designed. Four hours of open discussion is never going to be as productive as a four-hour workshop designed to lead a group through a problem solving process.

Good problem solving strategies are tailored to the team, organization and problem you will be attempting to solve. Here are some example problem solving strategies you can learn from or use to get started.

Use a workshop to lead a team through a group process

Often, the first step to solving problems or organizational challenges is bringing a group together effectively. Most teams have the tools, knowledge, and expertise necessary to solve their challenges – they just need some guidance in how to use leverage those skills and a structure and format that allows people to focus their energies.

Facilitated workshops are one of the most effective ways of solving problems of any scale. By designing and planning your workshop carefully, you can tailor the approach and scope to best fit the needs of your team and organization. 

Problem solving workshop

• Creating a bespoke, tailored process
• Tackling problems of any size
• Building in-house workshop ability and encouraging their use

Workshops are an effective strategy for solving problems. By using tried and test facilitation techniques and methods, you can design and deliver a workshop that is perfectly suited to the unique variables of your organization. You may only have the capacity for a half-day workshop and so need a problem solving process to match. 

By using our session planner tool and importing methods from our library of 700+ facilitation techniques, you can create the right problem solving workshop for your team. It might be that you want to encourage creative thinking or look at things from a new angle to unblock your groups approach to problem solving. By tailoring your workshop design to the purpose, you can help ensure great results.

One of the main benefits of a workshop is the structured approach to problem solving. Not only does this mean that the workshop itself will be successful, but many of the methods and techniques will help your team improve their working processes outside of the workshop. 

We believe that workshops are one of the best tools you can use to improve the way your team works together. Start with a problem solving workshop and then see what team building, culture or design workshops can do for your organization!

Run a design sprint

Great for: 

• aligning large, multi-discipline teams
• quickly designing and testing solutions
• tackling large, complex organizational challenges and breaking them down into smaller tasks

By using design thinking principles and methods, a design sprint is a great way of identifying, prioritizing and prototyping solutions to long term challenges that can help solve major organizational problems with quick action and measurable results.

Some familiarity with design thinking is useful, though not integral, and this strategy can really help a team align if there is some discussion around which problems should be approached first. 

The stage-based structure of the design sprint is also very useful for teams new to design thinking.  The inspiration phase, where you look to competitors that have solved your problem, and the rapid prototyping and testing phases are great for introducing new concepts that will benefit a team in all their future work. 

It can be common for teams to look inward for solutions and so looking to the market for solutions you can iterate on can be very productive. Instilling an agile prototyping and testing mindset can also be great when helping teams move forwards – generating and testing solutions quickly can help save time in the long run and is also pretty exciting!

Break problems down into smaller issues

Organizational challenges and problems are often complicated and large scale in nature. Sometimes, trying to resolve such an issue in one swoop is simply unachievable or overwhelming. Try breaking down such problems into smaller issues that you can work on step by step. You may not be able to solve the problem of churning customers off the bat, but you can work with your team to identify smaller effort but high impact elements and work on those first.

This problem solving strategy can help a team generate momentum, prioritize and get some easy wins. It’s also a great strategy to employ with teams who are just beginning to learn how to approach the problem solving process. If you want some insight into a way to employ this strategy, we recommend looking at our design sprint template below!

Use guiding frameworks or try new methodologies

Some problems are best solved by introducing a major shift in perspective or by using new methodologies that encourage your team to think differently.

Props and tools such as Methodkit , which uses a card-based toolkit for facilitation, or Lego Serious Play can be great ways to engage your team and find an inclusive, democratic problem solving strategy. Remember that play and creativity are great tools for achieving change and whatever the challenge, engaging your participants can be very effective where other strategies may have failed.

LEGO Serious Play

• Improving core problem solving skills
• Thinking outside of the box
• Encouraging creative solutions

LEGO Serious Play is a problem solving methodology designed to get participants thinking differently by using 3D models and kinesthetic learning styles. By physically building LEGO models based on questions and exercises, participants are encouraged to think outside of the box and create their own responses. 

Collaborate LEGO Serious Play exercises are also used to encourage communication and build problem solving skills in a group. By using this problem solving process, you can often help different kinds of learners and personality types contribute and unblock organizational problems with creative thinking. 

Problem solving strategies like LEGO Serious Play are super effective at helping a team solve more skills-based problems such as communication between teams or a lack of creative thinking. Some problems are not suited to LEGO Serious Play and require a different problem solving strategy.

Card Decks and Method Kits

• New facilitators or non-facilitators 
• Approaching difficult subjects with a simple, creative framework
• Engaging those with varied learning styles

Card decks and method kids are great tools for those new to facilitation or for whom facilitation is not the primary role. Card decks such as the emotional culture deck can be used for complete workshops and in many cases, can be used right out of the box. Methodkit has a variety of kits designed for scenarios ranging from personal development through to personas and global challenges so you can find the right deck for your particular needs.

Having an easy to use framework that encourages creativity or a new approach can take some of the friction or planning difficulties out of the workshop process and energize a team in any setting. Simplicity is the key with these methods. By ensuring everyone on your team can get involved and engage with the process as quickly as possible can really contribute to the success of your problem solving strategy.

Source external advice

Looking to peers, experts and external facilitators can be a great way of approaching the problem solving process. Your team may not have the necessary expertise, insights of experience to tackle some issues, or you might simply benefit from a fresh perspective. Some problems may require bringing together an entire team, and coaching managers or team members individually might be the right approach. Remember that not all problems are best resolved in the same manner.

If you’re a solo entrepreneur, peer groups, coaches and mentors can also be invaluable at not only solving specific business problems, but in providing a support network for resolving future challenges. One great approach is to join a Mastermind Group and link up with like-minded individuals and all grow together. Remember that however you approach the sourcing of external advice, do so thoughtfully, respectfully and honestly. Reciprocate where you can and prepare to be surprised by just how kind and helpful your peers can be!

Mastermind Group

• Solo entrepreneurs or small teams with low capacity
• Peer learning and gaining outside expertise
• Getting multiple external points of view quickly

Problem solving in large organizations with lots of skilled team members is one thing, but how about if you work for yourself or in a very small team without the capacity to get the most from a design sprint or LEGO Serious Play session? 

A mastermind group – sometimes known as a peer advisory board – is where a group of people come together to support one another in their own goals, challenges, and businesses. Each participant comes to the group with their own purpose and the other members of the group will help them create solutions, brainstorm ideas, and support one another. 

Mastermind groups are very effective in creating an energized, supportive atmosphere that can deliver meaningful results. Learning from peers from outside of your organization or industry can really help unlock new ways of thinking and drive growth. Access to the experience and skills of your peers can be invaluable in helping fill the gaps in your own ability, particularly in young companies.

A mastermind group is a great solution for solo entrepreneurs, small teams, or for organizations that feel that external expertise or fresh perspectives will be beneficial for them. It is worth noting that Mastermind groups are often only as good as the participants and what they can bring to the group. Participants need to be committed, engaged and understand how to work in this context. 

Coaching and mentoring

• Focused learning and development
• Filling skills gaps
• Working on a range of challenges over time

Receiving advice from a business coach or building a mentor/mentee relationship can be an effective way of resolving certain challenges. The one-to-one format of most coaching and mentor relationships can really help solve the challenges those individuals are having and benefit the organization as a result.

A great mentor can be invaluable when it comes to spotting potential problems before they arise and coming to understand a mentee very well has a host of other business benefits. You might run an internal mentorship program to help develop your team’s problem solving skills and strategies or as part of a large learning and development program. External coaches can also be an important part of your problem solving strategy, filling skills gaps for your management team or helping with specific business issues. 

Now we’ve explored the problem solving process and the steps you will want to go through in order to have an effective session, let’s look at the skills you and your team need to be more effective problem solvers.

Problem solving skills are highly sought after, whatever industry or team you work in. Organizations are keen to employ people who are able to approach problems thoughtfully and find strong, realistic solutions. Whether you are a facilitator , a team leader or a developer, being an effective problem solver is a skill you’ll want to develop.

Problem solving skills form a whole suite of techniques and approaches that an individual uses to not only identify problems but to discuss them productively before then developing appropriate solutions.

Here are some of the most important problem solving skills everyone from executives to junior staff members should learn. We’ve also included an activity or exercise from the SessionLab library that can help you and your team develop that skill. 

If you’re running a workshop or training session to try and improve problem solving skills in your team, try using these methods to supercharge your process!

Active listening

Active listening is one of the most important skills anyone who works with people can possess. In short, active listening is a technique used to not only better understand what is being said by an individual, but also to be more aware of the underlying message the speaker is trying to convey. When it comes to problem solving, active listening is integral for understanding the position of every participant and to clarify the challenges, ideas and solutions they bring to the table.

Some active listening skills include:

• Paying complete attention to the speaker.
• Removing distractions.
• Avoid interruption.
• Taking the time to fully understand before preparing a rebuttal.
• Responding respectfully and appropriately.
• Demonstrate attentiveness and positivity with an open posture, making eye contact with the speaker, smiling and nodding if appropriate. Show that you are listening and encourage them to continue.
• Be aware of and respectful of feelings. Judge the situation and respond appropriately. You can disagree without being disrespectful.   
• Observe body language. 
• Paraphrase what was said in your own words, either mentally or verbally.
• Remain neutral. 
• Reflect and take a moment before responding.
• Ask deeper questions based on what is said and clarify points where necessary.   

Active Listening   #hyperisland   #skills   #active listening   #remote-friendly   This activity supports participants to reflect on a question and generate their own solutions using simple principles of active listening and peer coaching. It’s an excellent introduction to active listening but can also be used with groups that are already familiar with it. Participants work in groups of three and take turns being: “the subject”, the listener, and the observer.

Analytical skills

All problem solving models require strong analytical skills, particularly during the beginning of the process and when it comes to analyzing how solutions have performed.

Analytical skills are primarily focused on performing an effective analysis by collecting, studying and parsing data related to a problem or opportunity. 

It often involves spotting patterns, being able to see things from different perspectives and using observable facts and data to make suggestions or produce insight. 

Analytical skills are also important at every stage of the problem solving process and by having these skills, you can ensure that any ideas or solutions you create or backed up analytically and have been sufficiently thought out.

Nine Whys   #innovation   #issue analysis   #liberating structures   With breathtaking simplicity, you can rapidly clarify for individuals and a group what is essentially important in their work. You can quickly reveal when a compelling purpose is missing in a gathering and avoid moving forward without clarity. When a group discovers an unambiguous shared purpose, more freedom and more responsibility are unleashed. You have laid the foundation for spreading and scaling innovations with fidelity.

Collaboration

Trying to solve problems on your own is difficult. Being able to collaborate effectively, with a free exchange of ideas, to delegate and be a productive member of a team is hugely important to all problem solving strategies.

Remember that whatever your role, collaboration is integral, and in a problem solving process, you are all working together to find the best solution for everyone. 

Marshmallow challenge with debriefing   #teamwork   #team   #leadership   #collaboration   In eighteen minutes, teams must build the tallest free-standing structure out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. The marshmallow needs to be on top. The Marshmallow Challenge was developed by Tom Wujec, who has done the activity with hundreds of groups around the world. Visit the Marshmallow Challenge website for more information. This version has an extra debriefing question added with sample questions focusing on roles within the team.

Communication  

Being an effective communicator means being empathetic, clear and succinct, asking the right questions, and demonstrating active listening skills throughout any discussion or meeting. 

In a problem solving setting, you need to communicate well in order to progress through each stage of the process effectively. As a team leader, it may also fall to you to facilitate communication between parties who may not see eye to eye. Effective communication also means helping others to express themselves and be heard in a group.

Bus Trip   #feedback   #communication   #appreciation   #closing   #thiagi   #team   This is one of my favourite feedback games. I use Bus Trip at the end of a training session or a meeting, and I use it all the time. The game creates a massive amount of energy with lots of smiles, laughs, and sometimes even a teardrop or two.

Creative problem solving skills can be some of the best tools in your arsenal. Thinking creatively, being able to generate lots of ideas and come up with out of the box solutions is useful at every step of the process. 

The kinds of problems you will likely discuss in a problem solving workshop are often difficult to solve, and by approaching things in a fresh, creative manner, you can often create more innovative solutions.

Having practical creative skills is also a boon when it comes to problem solving. If you can help create quality design sketches and prototypes in record time, it can help bring a team to alignment more quickly or provide a base for further iteration.

The paper clip method   #sharing   #creativity   #warm up   #idea generation   #brainstorming   The power of brainstorming. A training for project leaders, creativity training, and to catalyse getting new solutions.

Critical thinking

Critical thinking is one of the fundamental problem solving skills you’ll want to develop when working on developing solutions. Critical thinking is the ability to analyze, rationalize and evaluate while being aware of personal bias, outlying factors and remaining open-minded.

Defining and analyzing problems without deploying critical thinking skills can mean you and your team go down the wrong path. Developing solutions to complex issues requires critical thinking too – ensuring your team considers all possibilities and rationally evaluating them. 

Agreement-Certainty Matrix   #issue analysis   #liberating structures   #problem solving   You can help individuals or groups avoid the frequent mistake of trying to solve a problem with methods that are not adapted to the nature of their challenge. The combination of two questions makes it possible to easily sort challenges into four categories: simple, complicated, complex , and chaotic .  A problem is simple when it can be solved reliably with practices that are easy to duplicate.  It is complicated when experts are required to devise a sophisticated solution that will yield the desired results predictably.  A problem is complex when there are several valid ways to proceed but outcomes are not predictable in detail.  Chaotic is when the context is too turbulent to identify a path forward.  A loose analogy may be used to describe these differences: simple is like following a recipe, complicated like sending a rocket to the moon, complex like raising a child, and chaotic is like the game “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.”  The Liberating Structures Matching Matrix in Chapter 5 can be used as the first step to clarify the nature of a challenge and avoid the mismatches between problems and solutions that are frequently at the root of chronic, recurring problems.

Data analysis 

Though it shares lots of space with general analytical skills, data analysis skills are something you want to cultivate in their own right in order to be an effective problem solver.

Being good at data analysis doesn’t just mean being able to find insights from data, but also selecting the appropriate data for a given issue, interpreting it effectively and knowing how to model and present that data. Depending on the problem at hand, it might also include a working knowledge of specific data analysis tools and procedures. 

Having a solid grasp of data analysis techniques is useful if you’re leading a problem solving workshop but if you’re not an expert, don’t worry. Bring people into the group who has this skill set and help your team be more effective as a result.

Decision making

All problems need a solution and all solutions require that someone make the decision to implement them. Without strong decision making skills, teams can become bogged down in discussion and less effective as a result. 

Making decisions is a key part of the problem solving process. It’s important to remember that decision making is not restricted to the leadership team. Every staff member makes decisions every day and developing these skills ensures that your team is able to solve problems at any scale. Remember that making decisions does not mean leaping to the first solution but weighing up the options and coming to an informed, well thought out solution to any given problem that works for the whole team.

Lightning Decision Jam (LDJ)   #action   #decision making   #problem solving   #issue analysis   #innovation   #design   #remote-friendly   The problem with anything that requires creative thinking is that it’s easy to get lost—lose focus and fall into the trap of having useless, open-ended, unstructured discussions. Here’s the most effective solution I’ve found: Replace all open, unstructured discussion with a clear process. What to use this exercise for: Anything which requires a group of people to make decisions, solve problems or discuss challenges. It’s always good to frame an LDJ session with a broad topic, here are some examples: The conversion flow of our checkout Our internal design process How we organise events Keeping up with our competition Improving sales flow

Dependability

Most complex organizational problems require multiple people to be involved in delivering the solution. Ensuring that the team and organization can depend on you to take the necessary actions and communicate where necessary is key to ensuring problems are solved effectively.

Being dependable also means working to deadlines and to brief. It is often a matter of creating trust in a team so that everyone can depend on one another to complete the agreed actions in the agreed time frame so that the team can move forward together. Being undependable can create problems of friction and can limit the effectiveness of your solutions so be sure to bear this in mind throughout a project. 

Team Purpose & Culture   #team   #hyperisland   #culture   #remote-friendly   This is an essential process designed to help teams define their purpose (why they exist) and their culture (how they work together to achieve that purpose). Defining these two things will help any team to be more focused and aligned. With support of tangible examples from other companies, the team members work as individuals and a group to codify the way they work together. The goal is a visual manifestation of both the purpose and culture that can be put up in the team’s work space.

Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is an important skill for any successful team member, whether communicating internally or with clients or users. In the problem solving process, emotional intelligence means being attuned to how people are feeling and thinking, communicating effectively and being self-aware of what you bring to a room. 

There are often differences of opinion when working through problem solving processes, and it can be easy to let things become impassioned or combative. Developing your emotional intelligence means being empathetic to your colleagues and managing your own emotions throughout the problem and solution process. Be kind, be thoughtful and put your points across care and attention. 

Being emotionally intelligent is a skill for life and by deploying it at work, you can not only work efficiently but empathetically. Check out the emotional culture workshop template for more!

Facilitation

As we’ve clarified in our facilitation skills post, facilitation is the art of leading people through processes towards agreed-upon objectives in a manner that encourages participation, ownership, and creativity by all those involved. While facilitation is a set of interrelated skills in itself, the broad definition of facilitation can be invaluable when it comes to problem solving. Leading a team through a problem solving process is made more effective if you improve and utilize facilitation skills – whether you’re a manager, team leader or external stakeholder.

The Six Thinking Hats   #creative thinking   #meeting facilitation   #problem solving   #issue resolution   #idea generation   #conflict resolution   The Six Thinking Hats are used by individuals and groups to separate out conflicting styles of thinking. They enable and encourage a group of people to think constructively together in exploring and implementing change, rather than using argument to fight over who is right and who is wrong.

Flexibility 

Being flexible is a vital skill when it comes to problem solving. This does not mean immediately bowing to pressure or changing your opinion quickly: instead, being flexible is all about seeing things from new perspectives, receiving new information and factoring it into your thought process.

Flexibility is also important when it comes to rolling out solutions. It might be that other organizational projects have greater priority or require the same resources as your chosen solution. Being flexible means understanding needs and challenges across the team and being open to shifting or arranging your own schedule as necessary. Again, this does not mean immediately making way for other projects. It’s about articulating your own needs, understanding the needs of others and being able to come to a meaningful compromise.

The Creativity Dice   #creativity   #problem solving   #thiagi   #issue analysis   Too much linear thinking is hazardous to creative problem solving. To be creative, you should approach the problem (or the opportunity) from different points of view. You should leave a thought hanging in mid-air and move to another. This skipping around prevents premature closure and lets your brain incubate one line of thought while you consciously pursue another.

Working in any group can lead to unconscious elements of groupthink or situations in which you may not wish to be entirely honest. Disagreeing with the opinions of the executive team or wishing to save the feelings of a coworker can be tricky to navigate, but being honest is absolutely vital when to comes to developing effective solutions and ensuring your voice is heard. 

Remember that being honest does not mean being brutally candid. You can deliver your honest feedback and opinions thoughtfully and without creating friction by using other skills such as emotional intelligence. 

Explore your Values   #hyperisland   #skills   #values   #remote-friendly   Your Values is an exercise for participants to explore what their most important values are. It’s done in an intuitive and rapid way to encourage participants to follow their intuitive feeling rather than over-thinking and finding the “correct” values. It is a good exercise to use to initiate reflection and dialogue around personal values.

Initiative 

The problem solving process is multi-faceted and requires different approaches at certain points of the process. Taking initiative to bring problems to the attention of the team, collect data or lead the solution creating process is always valuable. You might even roadtest your own small scale solutions or brainstorm before a session. Taking initiative is particularly effective if you have good deal of knowledge in that area or have ownership of a particular project and want to get things kickstarted.

That said, be sure to remember to honor the process and work in service of the team. If you are asked to own one part of the problem solving process and you don’t complete that task because your initiative leads you to work on something else, that’s not an effective method of solving business challenges.

15% Solutions   #action   #liberating structures   #remote-friendly   You can reveal the actions, however small, that everyone can do immediately. At a minimum, these will create momentum, and that may make a BIG difference.  15% Solutions show that there is no reason to wait around, feel powerless, or fearful. They help people pick it up a level. They get individuals and the group to focus on what is within their discretion instead of what they cannot change.  With a very simple question, you can flip the conversation to what can be done and find solutions to big problems that are often distributed widely in places not known in advance. Shifting a few grains of sand may trigger a landslide and change the whole landscape.

Impartiality

A particularly useful problem solving skill for product owners or managers is the ability to remain impartial throughout much of the process. In practice, this means treating all points of view and ideas brought forward in a meeting equally and ensuring that your own areas of interest or ownership are not favored over others. 

There may be a stage in the process where a decision maker has to weigh the cost and ROI of possible solutions against the company roadmap though even then, ensuring that the decision made is based on merit and not personal opinion. 

Empathy map   #frame insights   #create   #design   #issue analysis   An empathy map is a tool to help a design team to empathize with the people they are designing for. You can make an empathy map for a group of people or for a persona. To be used after doing personas when more insights are needed.

Being a good leader means getting a team aligned, energized and focused around a common goal. In the problem solving process, strong leadership helps ensure that the process is efficient, that any conflicts are resolved and that a team is managed in the direction of success.

It’s common for managers or executives to assume this role in a problem solving workshop, though it’s important that the leader maintains impartiality and does not bulldoze the group in a particular direction. Remember that good leadership means working in service of the purpose and team and ensuring the workshop is a safe space for employees of any level to contribute. Take a look at our leadership games and activities post for more exercises and methods to help improve leadership in your organization.

Leadership Pizza   #leadership   #team   #remote-friendly   This leadership development activity offers a self-assessment framework for people to first identify what skills, attributes and attitudes they find important for effective leadership, and then assess their own development and initiate goal setting.

In the context of problem solving, mediation is important in keeping a team engaged, happy and free of conflict. When leading or facilitating a problem solving workshop, you are likely to run into differences of opinion. Depending on the nature of the problem, certain issues may be brought up that are emotive in nature. 

Being an effective mediator means helping those people on either side of such a divide are heard, listen to one another and encouraged to find common ground and a resolution. Mediating skills are useful for leaders and managers in many situations and the problem solving process is no different.

Conflict Responses   #hyperisland   #team   #issue resolution   A workshop for a team to reflect on past conflicts, and use them to generate guidelines for effective conflict handling. The workshop uses the Thomas-Killman model of conflict responses to frame a reflective discussion. Use it to open up a discussion around conflict with a team.

Planning 

Solving organizational problems is much more effective when following a process or problem solving model. Planning skills are vital in order to structure, deliver and follow-through on a problem solving workshop and ensure your solutions are intelligently deployed.

Planning skills include the ability to organize tasks and a team, plan and design the process and take into account any potential challenges. Taking the time to plan carefully can save time and frustration later in the process and is valuable for ensuring a team is positioned for success.

3 Action Steps   #hyperisland   #action   #remote-friendly   This is a small-scale strategic planning session that helps groups and individuals to take action toward a desired change. It is often used at the end of a workshop or programme. The group discusses and agrees on a vision, then creates some action steps that will lead them towards that vision. The scope of the challenge is also defined, through discussion of the helpful and harmful factors influencing the group.

Prioritization

As organisations grow, the scale and variation of problems they face multiplies. Your team or is likely to face numerous challenges in different areas and so having the skills to analyze and prioritize becomes very important, particularly for those in leadership roles.

A thorough problem solving process is likely to deliver multiple solutions and you may have several different problems you wish to solve simultaneously. Prioritization is the ability to measure the importance, value, and effectiveness of those possible solutions and choose which to enact and in what order. The process of prioritization is integral in ensuring the biggest challenges are addressed with the most impactful solutions.

Impact and Effort Matrix   #gamestorming   #decision making   #action   #remote-friendly   In this decision-making exercise, possible actions are mapped based on two factors: effort required to implement and potential impact. Categorizing ideas along these lines is a useful technique in decision making, as it obliges contributors to balance and evaluate suggested actions before committing to them.

Project management

Some problem solving skills are utilized in a workshop or ideation phases, while others come in useful when it comes to decision making. Overseeing an entire problem solving process and ensuring its success requires strong project management skills. 

While project management incorporates many of the other skills listed here, it is important to note the distinction of considering all of the factors of a project and managing them successfully. Being able to negotiate with stakeholders, manage tasks, time and people, consider costs and ROI, and tie everything together is massively helpful when going through the problem solving process. 

Record keeping

Working out meaningful solutions to organizational challenges is only one part of the process.  Thoughtfully documenting and keeping records of each problem solving step for future consultation is important in ensuring efficiency and meaningful change. 

For example, some problems may be lower priority than others but can be revisited in the future. If the team has ideated on solutions and found some are not up to the task, record those so you can rule them out and avoiding repeating work. Keeping records of the process also helps you improve and refine your problem solving model next time around!

Personal Kanban   #gamestorming   #action   #agile   #project planning   Personal Kanban is a tool for organizing your work to be more efficient and productive. It is based on agile methods and principles.

Research skills

Conducting research to support both the identification of problems and the development of appropriate solutions is important for an effective process. Knowing where to go to collect research, how to conduct research efficiently, and identifying pieces of research are relevant are all things a good researcher can do well. 

In larger groups, not everyone has to demonstrate this ability in order for a problem solving workshop to be effective. That said, having people with research skills involved in the process, particularly if they have existing area knowledge, can help ensure the solutions that are developed with data that supports their intention. Remember that being able to deliver the results of research efficiently and in a way the team can easily understand is also important. The best data in the world is only as effective as how it is delivered and interpreted.

Customer experience map   #ideation   #concepts   #research   #design   #issue analysis   #remote-friendly   Customer experience mapping is a method of documenting and visualizing the experience a customer has as they use the product or service. It also maps out their responses to their experiences. To be used when there is a solution (even in a conceptual stage) that can be analyzed.

Risk management

Managing risk is an often overlooked part of the problem solving process. Solutions are often developed with the intention of reducing exposure to risk or solving issues that create risk but sometimes, great solutions are more experimental in nature and as such, deploying them needs to be carefully considered. 

Managing risk means acknowledging that there may be risks associated with more out of the box solutions or trying new things, but that this must be measured against the possible benefits and other organizational factors. 

Be informed, get the right data and stakeholders in the room and you can appropriately factor risk into your decision making process. 

Decisions, Decisions…   #communication   #decision making   #thiagi   #action   #issue analysis   When it comes to decision-making, why are some of us more prone to take risks while others are risk-averse? One explanation might be the way the decision and options were presented.  This exercise, based on Kahneman and Tversky’s classic study , illustrates how the framing effect influences our judgement and our ability to make decisions . The participants are divided into two groups. Both groups are presented with the same problem and two alternative programs for solving them. The two programs both have the same consequences but are presented differently. The debriefing discussion examines how the framing of the program impacted the participant’s decision.

Team-building 

No single person is as good at problem solving as a team. Building an effective team and helping them come together around a common purpose is one of the most important problem solving skills, doubly so for leaders. By bringing a team together and helping them work efficiently, you pave the way for team ownership of a problem and the development of effective solutions. 

In a problem solving workshop, it can be tempting to jump right into the deep end, though taking the time to break the ice, energize the team and align them with a game or exercise will pay off over the course of the day.

Remember that you will likely go through the problem solving process multiple times over an organization’s lifespan and building a strong team culture will make future problem solving more effective. It’s also great to work with people you know, trust and have fun with. Working on team building in and out of the problem solving process is a hallmark of successful teams that can work together to solve business problems.

9 Dimensions Team Building Activity   #ice breaker   #teambuilding   #team   #remote-friendly   9 Dimensions is a powerful activity designed to build relationships and trust among team members. There are 2 variations of this icebreaker. The first version is for teams who want to get to know each other better. The second version is for teams who want to explore how they are working together as a team.

Time management 

The problem solving process is designed to lead a team from identifying a problem through to delivering a solution and evaluating its effectiveness. Without effective time management skills or timeboxing of tasks, it can be easy for a team to get bogged down or be inefficient.

By using a problem solving model and carefully designing your workshop, you can allocate time efficiently and trust that the process will deliver the results you need in a good timeframe.

Time management also comes into play when it comes to rolling out solutions, particularly those that are experimental in nature. Having a clear timeframe for implementing and evaluating solutions is vital for ensuring their success and being able to pivot if necessary.

Improving your skills at problem solving is often a career-long pursuit though there are methods you can use to make the learning process more efficient and to supercharge your problem solving skillset.

Remember that the skills you need to be a great problem solver have a large overlap with those skills you need to be effective in any role. Investing time and effort to develop your active listening or critical thinking skills is valuable in any context. Here are 7 ways to improve your problem solving skills.

Share best practices

Remember that your team is an excellent source of skills, wisdom, and techniques and that you should all take advantage of one another where possible. Best practices that one team has for solving problems, conducting research or making decisions should be shared across the organization. If you have in-house staff that have done active listening training or are data analysis pros, have them lead a training session. 

Your team is one of your best resources. Create space and internal processes for the sharing of skills so that you can all grow together. 

Ask for help and attend training

Once you’ve figured out you have a skills gap, the next step is to take action to fill that skills gap. That might be by asking your superior for training or coaching, or liaising with team members with that skill set. You might even attend specialized training for certain skills – active listening or critical thinking, for example, are business-critical skills that are regularly offered as part of a training scheme.

Whatever method you choose, remember that taking action of some description is necessary for growth. Whether that means practicing, getting help, attending training or doing some background reading, taking active steps to improve your skills is the way to go.

Learn a process 

Problem solving can be complicated, particularly when attempting to solve large problems for the first time. Using a problem solving process helps give structure to your problem solving efforts and focus on creating outcomes, rather than worrying about the format. 

Tools such as the seven-step problem solving process above are effective because not only do they feature steps that will help a team solve problems, they also develop skills along the way. Each step asks for people to engage with the process using different skills and in doing so, helps the team learn and grow together. Group processes of varying complexity and purpose can also be found in the SessionLab library of facilitation techniques . Using a tried and tested process and really help ease the learning curve for both those leading such a process, as well as those undergoing the purpose.

Effective teams make decisions about where they should and shouldn’t expend additional effort. By using a problem solving process, you can focus on the things that matter, rather than stumbling towards a solution haphazardly. 

Create a feedback loop

Some skills gaps are more obvious than others. It’s possible that your perception of your active listening skills differs from those of your colleagues. 

It’s valuable to create a system where team members can provide feedback in an ordered and friendly manner so they can all learn from one another. Only by identifying areas of improvement can you then work to improve them. 

Remember that feedback systems require oversight and consideration so that they don’t turn into a place to complain about colleagues. Design the system intelligently so that you encourage the creation of learning opportunities, rather than encouraging people to list their pet peeves.

While practice might not make perfect, it does make the problem solving process easier. If you are having trouble with critical thinking, don’t shy away from doing it. Get involved where you can and stretch those muscles as regularly as possible. 

Problem solving skills come more naturally to some than to others and that’s okay. Take opportunities to get involved and see where you can practice your skills in situations outside of a workshop context. Try collaborating in other circumstances at work or conduct data analysis on your own projects. You can often develop those skills you need for problem solving simply by doing them. Get involved!

Use expert exercises and methods

Learn from the best. Our library of 700+ facilitation techniques is full of activities and methods that help develop the skills you need to be an effective problem solver. Check out our templates to see how to approach problem solving and other organizational challenges in a structured and intelligent manner.

There is no single approach to improving problem solving skills, but by using the techniques employed by others you can learn from their example and develop processes that have seen proven results. 

Try new ways of thinking and change your mindset

Using tried and tested exercises that you know well can help deliver results, but you do run the risk of missing out on the learning opportunities offered by new approaches. As with the problem solving process, changing your mindset can remove blockages and be used to develop your problem solving skills.

Most teams have members with mixed skill sets and specialties. Mix people from different teams and share skills and different points of view. Teach your customer support team how to use design thinking methods or help your developers with conflict resolution techniques. Try switching perspectives with facilitation techniques like Flip It! or by using new problem solving methodologies or models. Give design thinking, liberating structures or lego serious play a try if you want to try a new approach. You will find that framing problems in new ways and using existing skills in new contexts can be hugely useful for personal development and improving your skillset. It’s also a lot of fun to try new things. Give it a go!

Encountering business challenges and needing to find appropriate solutions is not unique to your organization. Lots of very smart people have developed methods, theories and approaches to help develop problem solving skills and create effective solutions. Learn from them!

Books like The Art of Thinking Clearly , Think Smarter, or Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow are great places to start, though it’s also worth looking at blogs related to organizations facing similar problems to yours, or browsing for success stories. Seeing how Dropbox massively increased growth and working backward can help you see the skills or approach you might be lacking to solve that same problem. Learning from others by reading their stories or approaches can be time-consuming but ultimately rewarding.

A tired, distracted mind is not in the best position to learn new skills. It can be tempted to burn the candle at both ends and develop problem solving skills outside of work. Absolutely use your time effectively and take opportunities for self-improvement, though remember that rest is hugely important and that without letting your brain rest, you cannot be at your most effective. 

Creating distance between yourself and the problem you might be facing can also be useful. By letting an idea sit, you can find that a better one presents itself or you can develop it further. Take regular breaks when working and create a space for downtime. Remember that working smarter is preferable to working harder and that self-care is important for any effective learning or improvement process.

Want to design better group processes?

Over to you

Now we’ve explored some of the key problem solving skills and the problem solving steps necessary for an effective process, you’re ready to begin developing more effective solutions and leading problem solving workshops.

Need more inspiration? Check out our post on problem solving activities you can use when guiding a group towards a great solution in your next workshop or meeting. Have questions? Did you have a great problem solving technique you use with your team? Get in touch in the comments below. We’d love to chat!

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The PRACTICE Model of Coaching

Finding the best solution to a problem.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

The only solutions that are ever worth anything are the solutions that people find themselves. – Satyajit Ray, film maker.

If someone asked you for the best way to drive from point A to point B, you wouldn't advise him just to get in his car and start driving. He'd probably end up lost!

The same is true when you're coaching team members. You need to work with them to find the best route from problem to solution, dividing what they need to do along the way into easy, manageable steps. The PRACTICE model of coaching helps you do this.

About the Model

Psychologist Stephen Palmer first published his PRACTICE model in 2008. It's based on an earlier, seven-step coaching approach developed by Barbara Wasik in 1984.

PRACTICE is a simple framework that you can use to help people identify their problems and decide on the best solutions. The acronym stands for the seven steps in the process:

• Identify the P roblem.
• Develop R ealistic and relevant goals.
• Generate A lternative solutions.
• C onsider the consequences.
• T arget the most feasible solution.
• I mplement your C hosen solution.

Based on the terms from " PRACTICE: A Model Suitable for Coaching, Counseling, Psychotherapy and Stress Management ," by Stephen Palmer. Published in The Coaching Psychologist, Vol. 3, No. 2, August 2007.

The main advantage of this model over similar ones is that it focuses on finding a solution, rather than dwelling on the problem. Indeed, Professor Palmer has suggested changing the "P" in PRACTICE to "presenting issues," to take the emphasis away from problems even further. This is because understanding a problem doesn't necessarily help you reach to a solution, and can delay you in resolving the issue.

PRACTICE is very similar to the GROW coaching model. However, it is best applied to finding solutions to specific problems, whereas GROW is better used for team members' overall personal development.

The GROW model also places more emphasis on people's problems (which it calls your "current reality") and doesn't include a step-by-step plan for monitoring coachees' progress, or for making necessary adjustments along the way.

How to Use the Tool

Here's a step-by-step guide to using the PRACTICE model when you're coaching team members.

1. Identify the Problem

First, help your coachee accurately define her problem. Does she have trouble meeting deadlines? Does she freeze in interviews?

To clarify the issue for her, ask questions such as:

• What needs to change?
• Are there examples of when the problem is not an issue? For example, if it's to do with time management, does it manifest itself in all areas of her life, or only at work?
• How will she know if the situation has improved?
• On a scale of one to 10, how far has she come toward solving the problem already?

Palmer says it's important not to get too bogged down in "problem talk," but to reframe issues so that team members focus on finding solutions instead.

For example, if your coachee says she is too nervous to ask her boss if she can take the lead on a new project, it may be better if she rephrases the issue as, "I haven't yet found the most comfortable way to discuss my enthusiasm to head up the new project with senior management."

2. Develop Realistic and Relevant Goals

Next, you need to develop your team member's goals. You must make sure that he is being honest with himself and that he can visualize what he thinks he can achieve. For example, we all want a big raise, but this is probably unrealistic if the economy is declining and your organization is laying people off!

Palmer highlights the benefits of using the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time Bound) model when drawing up your coachee's list of objectives. If we go back to the previous example, suggest that a more realistic goal might be to book 10 minutes with his boss for an informal discussion.

3. Generate Alternative Solutions

Now, get your team member to think about all the possible ways she can solve her problem. Ask her to come up with as many ideas as possible, and write them down.

Put simply: what are her options? Encourage her to ask colleagues, friends, family, and confidantes for help in generating ideas. There are also many brainstorming tools, such as Reverse Brainstorming , which can make this process easier. (Remember, at this point it is important that she focuses on generating ideas, not on evaluating them.)

4. Consider the Consequences

Now is the time for your coachee to evaluate his ideas and consider their likely outcomes. All of his suggestions will have their advantages and disadvantages. By thinking about the consequences of each, he will be in a better position to choose one.

Palmer advises that you go through each potential solution with your team member, and use a usefulness scale, where 0 is "not useful at all" and 10 is "extremely useful," to rate each one. If you need a framework for evaluating and assessing possible consequences, try the Futures Wheel tool, which helps you explore the consequences of different courses of action.

5. Target the Most Feasible Solution

Use the 0 to 10 rating scale to help your team member select her best ideas, and to pick the best courses of action. Then, choose back-up plans in case the first one doesn't work out.

For example, does she have a promotion interview coming up that she is worried about because she falters in these situations? She might have decided that the best solution is to role play the interview with friends, but she's having trouble rounding them up at the last minute. You could advise her to research interview questions and draft model answers instead – solution two.

Ask questions such as:

• What could happen if each possible solution is implemented?
• How appropriate are the solutions you've chosen?

Again, apply the usefulness rating scale to each solution, where 0 is "not useful at all" and 10 is "extremely useful."

6. Implement Your Chosen Solution

The next step is for your coachee to create an appropriate action plan. Encourage him to write down how he is going to implement his ideas in a structured, logical way.

Palmer advises breaking down each solution into manageable steps, and perhaps putting a realistic timeframe in place for each section. This is because tasks can seem less daunting when you are clear about how long each one will take.

It is important to remind your coachee to be confident in his chosen solutions. All of the hard work of brainstorming and evaluating is done, so encourage him to banish any doubts! If it's feasible, he could do a trial run, to iron out any teething problems and build his confidence.

7. Evaluate

Finally, get your team member to analyze how her solution worked. This is an important part of the learning process. If she didn't do as well as she'd hoped, she needs to know why. If she succeeded, she could do the same again if the problem ever resurfaced.

Palmer again advises using a scale of 0 to 10 to rate the success of her solutions.

The PRACTICE model of coaching is collaborative in nature. It is particularly useful within a business setting where leaders work with team members to identify their unique strengths, so that they can use them to overcome challenges.

It is less effective when problems are outside the team member's control. For example, if one person is draining the rest of your team's energy and focus, a disciplinary intervention and a coaching session with the relevant individual might be the solution.

PRACTICE is a seven-point solution-focused framework for helping your team members find solutions to issues, without dwelling too much on the issues themselves.

The stages of PRACTICE are:

• Identify the problem.
• Develop realistic, relevant goals.
• Generate alternative solutions.
• Consider the consequences.
• Target the most feasible solution.
• Implement your chosen solution.

Palmer, S. (2007) "PRACTICE: A model suitable for coaching, counseling, psychotherapy and stress management," The Coaching Psychologist , Vol.3, No. 2, August 2007. [online] (Available here .) [Accessed 14 November 2014.]

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How to Coach Problem Solving

The key to training employees to be better problem solvers is to transform managers into coaches. The transformation is difficult but will revolutionize your organization.

Coaching problem solving is the greatest leverage point you have to drive effective problem solving. If you want to coach problem solving, then you need to build coaches. Far too few lean transformation road maps involve an explicit plan for doing so. They focus on training and try to train up a critical mass of their organization on problem solving. But what happens when someone finishes their training? They try to apply what they learned, they struggle, they may fail, and finally, they give up. Why? Because, especially in the early stages of our individual learning, we need coaches who help us close the gap between knowledge and capability, between understanding something and being able to use it. I have advised several companies to pump the brakes, slow down their training and focus more on building coaching capacity, because otherwise, people would have become frustrated.

What is the target condition for an organization with coaches? Every employee should be no more than one degree removed from a coach. In other words, every employee should be able to access a coach where and when they need it. That means coaches must be plentiful, available and connected. If an employee on the evening shift of a multishift operation has a problem they are engaged in solving, then what happens if all the coaches are on the day shift? Most likely, they never get the coaching they need because neither the problem nor the learning can wait.

Evaluate your coaching capacity by observing, or even surveying, with this question: Do you have access to a problem-solving coach where and when you need it? I do not recommend putting a lot of energy into trying to calculate a number, because it is often a moving target. As the learning increases, so does the demand for coaches, but then as the capability grows in the critical mass of the organization, the demand will drop, at least until you raise expectations again or the conditions get more complex for other reasons (a merger, a strategic pivot or an economic crisis, as examples).

The Manager as Coach

There is one guaranteed way to ensure every employee is no more than one degree removed from a coach: make coaching the priority for every manager. One-on-one meetings become coaching sessions. Staff meetings can become shared-learning coaching sessions. The strongest lean organizations I have observed make this one of the core elements of their infrastructure.

Several supporting factors must also change to enable this goal.

1. Managers must make choices situation by situation about when they are a manager first and when they are a coach first. This is a trade-off between short-term performance and long-term capability for future performance. If the incentive system, both formal and cultural, is more focused on short-term performance than building long-term capability, then the manager-as-coach scheme will fail. As one former Toyota manager told me, "I cannot get promoted until my employees are capable of doing my job. My number-one priority is developing my team." The best signal you can send is in promotions, as this manager indicated. Not only will it be clear who "gets ahead" in the organization, but those managers, once promoted, will place value on this for their decisions.

2. You need to build mechanisms and processes that enable this relationship. For example, look at your employee evaluation system. Is coaching built in or is its primary purpose to document and reward outcome-based performance? It can do both, but you can build the backbone of your system primarily for only one or the other.

3. You need to think about how many team members a manager can coach without diluting and sacrificing quality. Organizations that are focused on coaching often have a smaller span of control for each manager, but because they gain more from those employees as a result of the coaching, the payout is still positive. However, do not put the extra managers in place before you've built the capability.

Otherwise, you will have more managers committed to the old expectations and who build up greater resistance to becoming coaches. Instead, start shifting managers into being capable coaches, and they will gradually force the right ratio because they start to shape their environment to be optimal for coaching. I know one executive who makes an effort to keep their calendar very clear and open so they are available to their team for coaching or other needs. This is the kind of ownership of their coaching that managers should aspire to.

Here is the hard part: building that capability and culture, with that many managers, is difficult and takes time. It is a long-term decision to pursue this route. Not only do you face a real risk of managers diminishing what was working in order to shift to coaching, but they may not be good at it. They must learn, through practice, on their way to success. This means failures along the way. You must be accepting of those failures and perhaps supplement the organization with other crutches to prop it up during the transition.

I cannot think of many investments with a higher and more sustainable long-term payout than building an organization where every manager is a coach. However, I also cannot think of many investments that require more effort, persistence and patience.

Jamie Flinchbaugh is an entrepreneur, senior executive, consultant and board member. He is the author of People Solve Problems: The Power of Every Person, Every Day, Every Problem and The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean: Lessons from the Road.

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28 Coaching Techniques Confident Coaches Use

The most powerful coaches know the value in developing the intuitive, fluid art of using different techniques based on what will be most effective for their desired goal.

In this article, we will touch on some of the most effective techniques used in various styles and formats of coaching, including tips for goal setting, motivation, and life coaching.

Before you read on, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free . These science-based exercises explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology, including strengths, values, and self-compassion, and will give you the tools to enhance the wellbeing of your clients, students, or employees.

This Article Contains:

5 effective coaching techniques, techniques for executive and workplace coaching, for managers and leaders, for job coaching, 3 motivational techniques, 3 group coaching techniques, 3 life coaching techniques, techniques for goal setting, a look at cbt and behavioral coaching techniques, a take-home message.

No matter what type of coaching – be it personal or professional – there are specific foundational techniques based mainly around communication and motivation, which all coaches should have in their toolkit.

This article will contain techniques and approaches to various forms of coaching; this first set is more general and can be used in any coaching context.

Below we have hand-selected some of our favorite, proven techniques that you can start implementing with your clients today. This is by no means a definitive list of coaching techniques.

1. Pre-session check-in and questionnaire

This might include something they wanted to tackle during the last session but did not get around to.

This is also an excellent time to have clients list their most significant wins and any clarity they have gained since their last session, helping both the coach and the coachee to recognize where progress has been made.

Equally important, the pre-session check-in should provide space for the client to state what they’ve been struggling with and any roadblocks they’ve been facing.

To gather this information efficiently, coaches are increasingly drawing on digital technologies.

For instance, using a blended care platform such as Quenza (pictured here), coaches can design a simple, standardized questionnaire to send to coachees at the beginning of the coaching relationship.

Using the tool, coaches may also design the check-in surveys mentioned above that allow clients to flag what they’d like to discuss in their next session. These can then be automatically sent to clients’ smartphones according to a pre-programmed schedule (e.g., 24 hours before their next session).

This is just one example of how coaches might use a blended care platform like Quenza as a powerful, automated information-gathering tool across a range of coaching contexts.

2. Centering, breathing, or relaxation exercises

Taking time to get centered and grounded at the start of a coaching session can help bring both the coach and the client into a present and focused state of mind by establishing positive energy before delving into the material of the session.

Science shows that slow, deep breathing stimulates a part of the parasympathetic nervous system called the vagus nerve, which promotes calmness and relaxation (André, 2019). You might be most comfortable using a script to walk your clients through a centering exercise, or you may choose to guide them through one on the spot intuitively.

In addition to using this technique at the start of your meeting, you may also consider pausing for a quick centering exercise during a session, perhaps before tackling a challenging subject, for a break between topics, or to interrupt unhelpful thoughts patterns when the coachee is speaking from a place of fear.

3. Open-ended questioning

Asking open-ended or “guiding” questions is an effective way to assess a client’s wants, needs, and desires, and it is one of the cornerstones of great coaching. Questioning encourages self-reflection and invites the coachee to find the answers they’re seeking within themselves.

As a coach, it’s essential to stay curious and fully present with your line of questioning to select the right question at the right time. Also, remember to allow enough time between asking a question and receiving an answer.

Commonly referred to as the “ Socratic method ,” this method of questioning named after the early Greek philosopher Socrates is built on the idea that asking guiding questions can unlock underlying beliefs and spark a new level of awareness. We continue to utilize this method today to induce clarity and transformation with our coaching clients.

For in-depth examples of open-ended questions, refer to this article on the 100 Most Powerful Life Coaching Questions .

4. Follow-up for feedback

One of the simplest and most productive techniques a coach can use is ongoing follow-up in between sessions. Follow-up allows the coach to evaluate the effectiveness of the coaching, shows the client that the coach cares about their progress and wellbeing, and also aids in accountability.

Follow-up can come in the form of email, questionnaire, text message, or any other means of communication, and is most helpful if it is consistent. For example, you can regularly follow up with your coachee directly after the session, 24 hours after the session, midway to the next session, etc.

This simple technique of asking for feedback provides invaluable information that aids the coach in preparing for the next steps. Be sure to make it clear to the coachee that there will be no judgment and that honest feedback is in their best interest; it will allow them to get the most out of the coaching experience.

Don’t be afraid to probe deeply, either. Getting useful feedback can be the fastest route to growth and improved performance.

5. Accountability

Accountability is the glue that ties commitment to the result.

Bob Proctor

Accountability helps us to reach our goals, whether it be in the office or at the gym. A study conducted by the American Society of Training and Development found that establishing a goal and planning how you will accomplish that goal results in a success rate of 50%.

With the added variable of committing to someone else to follow through on that goal, it brought the success rate up to 65%. Finally, the participants in the study who planned how they would achieve the goal, made a commitment to someone that they would achieve it, and then set an accountability appointment with that same person reached the target 95% of the time.

In the above example, accountability nearly doubled the odds of participants successfully achieving their goals. There’s no denying the advantage that accountability can increase the odds of achieving a particular goal. As such, it is part of a coach’s job to discover the best way to hold each client accountable.

It’s also the coach’s job to recognize what obstacles might be preventing a client from being held accountable and determine appropriate actions to overcome them.

When implementing the accountability technique, it’s important to be specific, consistent, and make the process as simple as possible. The coach and coachee should work together to create a plan of action with meaningful guidelines and an understanding of how progress will be tracked and how accountability will play out in the relationship.

One of the differences with this type of coaching is that it is usually paid for by the executive’s organization and should, therefore, be conducted within the context of the organization’s goals and objectives.

Executive and workplace coaching can have a profound impact not only on the coachee but on the entire organization. Below we’ll outline a few techniques you can start implementing with your clients today.

Become aware of the larger organizational objective

Executive coaching is driven by specific goals agreed upon by all members of the coaching partnership: the coach, the executive, and the executive’s organization.

For this reason, the goal of developing a single leader should always be pursued within the broader objective of organizational success. At the outset of the coaching relationship, the coach needs to identify these objectives as well as the leader’s own development goals and ensure there are no conflicts.

The coach should maintain continual awareness of the impact of the coaching process on everyone in the system and vice versa, encouraging the executive to see themselves as interdependent with other people and processes in the organization.

Bring awareness to unconscious biases

Unconscious biases are the mental shortcuts that we learn over our lifetime to help us navigate the world. Unfortunately, these biases can have substantial implications when it comes to decision making in leadership.

From recruitment to performance evaluations and promotions, an executive’s tendency to discriminate against a group or type of person may not be intentional. Still, it can severely limit the strategic potential that can flow from a diverse workforce.

To help executives combat unconscious bias, coaches can use bias discovery tools and implicit association tests to uncover ingrained stereotypes and prejudices that may be hindering a client’s leadership performance.

Once biases have been identified, the coach can support the client in reframing and rewiring these biases so that they can operate from a place of higher consciousness.

Define leadership purpose

In the same way that having a sense of purpose in life is important for one’s wellbeing, it can also have a profound effect on one’s professional life. Harvard Business Review asserts that purpose is the key to accelerating executive growth; the processes of articulating one’s leadership purpose and finding the courage to live it are the most important developmental tasks you can undertake as a leader (Craig & Snook, 2014).

Coaching executive clients through writing a personal leadership statement will help them to be more congruent and aligned with their core values and principles. Focusing on the future, determining how and where they want to lead others helps mitigate the risk of getting caught up in the pressures of the present moment and immediate deadlines.

To help clients dig into their purpose, download our three Meaning & Valued Living Exercises Pack here.

Effective leaders actively take an interest in their employees and help them learn to harness their skills to become more successful.

Approaching management with this type of coaching mindset as opposed to a directive, “ I’m the boss” approach can improve employee motivation, performance, and satisfaction levels.

Below are five essential techniques and coaching skills that managers and leaders can start practicing today.

Employee recognition

Leadership requires a balance of criticism and praise. If your conversations with employees are always focused on what’s not working and what they have to improve, it can be very demotivating.

Employees who receive regular recognition show increased productivity and engagement among their colleagues. They also have higher retention rates and get higher loyalty and satisfaction scores from customers (Rath & Clifton, 2004).

There are many creative ways to show employees that you appreciate them. However, a Deloitte study on employee recognition found that three-quarters of people are satisfied with a simple “ thank you ” for their everyday efforts (Vickberg, Langsett, & Christfort, 2019).

Recognition aids in validating your workforce and helping them connect with a sense of meaning and belonging. It’s a simple technique that results in a friendlier, happier, and more productive environment that will attract and retain the best talent.

Build the relationship

One of the best ways to be able to lead someone better is to truly know them. You can start building a relationship with your employees by asking questions to determine their interests, dreams, strengths and weaknesses, and core values.

This can help you gain insight into what keeps them motivated and focused, and how they make their decisions. Ask for the employee’s view of a particular situation. Do they see the same problem or opportunity that you do? Begin to try to understand their perspective.

Establish genuine trust

Without trust, your employees may not feel confident to share their real thoughts and concerns, and they may not readily accept the feedback you offer them. Establishing genuine trust with them is an essential aspect of improving leadership efforts.

Trust can be built by fostering transparency and creating a nonjudgmental environment, perhaps by having an open-door policy. During discussions, express genuine interest in what they have to say and demonstrate that you are actively listening by giving an accurate summary of what your employee has told you.

Make an effort to show your employees care, consideration, and interest.

Create clear objectives and goals

When a manager and their employees are on the same page in terms of expectations, everyone wins. It’s important for leaders to communicate their vision to employees and explain their role in making it happen.

Goals and objectives convert the overall vision into clearcut, measurable targets, providing employees with direction, helping them stay motivated, and establishing standards of performance.

When employees understand exactly what needs to be done to succeed, it’s much easier for them to contribute.

To lead your team to success, one of the best things you can do is learn to understand what truly motivates them. After all, improving motivation at work boosts productivity and workplace morale, and reduces turnover. Since there is no single motivation theory that explains all aspects of human motivation, this can be a daunting task for leaders and managers of any organization.

There are many approaches to employee motivation, and we’ve tackled the subject on the blog many times. Though there is no one-size-fits-all method, leaders will have more success when they approach motivation from the employee’s perspective.

We have an excellent resource on our blog for motivation tools, worksheets, and activities for you to work through. We’ll also take a more in-depth look at motivation techniques later on in this article.

As a job coach, you’re likely to draw upon a wide range of skills, including advising, mentoring, and consulting .

You may use some type of psychometric tool to help clients get additional insight into their career preferences or how their personality impacts their career choices. Below we discuss some of the techniques used to assist clients in setting and achieving career goals.

Skills assessment and psychometric profiling tools

Psychometric profiling is a standard and scientific method used to measure individuals’ mental capabilities and behavioral styles, highlighting the dominant general character traits .

Skills assessments can help a job coach identify their clients’ hidden attributes and can be a valuable tool in determining the suitability of a specific career or role.

Such profiling tools are constructed to generate an objective and unbiased report on an individual’s personality, motivations, and interests. They are said to be utilized by over 75% of the Times ’ top 100 companies in the UK and by 80% of the Fortune 500 companies in the USA (Allen, 2020).

You can find examples of and content about popular psychometric profiling tools in the following blog posts:

• 7 Most Accurate Character Strengths Assessments and Tests
• Big Five Personality Traits: The OCEAN Model Explained
• 10 Best TED Talks on VIA Character Strengths and Virtues
• Your Ultimate Life Coaching Tools Library

The “perfect day” exercise

The perfect day exercise is a foundational life coaching technique that is intended to provide clarity about what the coachee wants out of life. For those seeking more clarity in terms of their career path, this exercise can be used to determine what one values and prioritizes in their work life.

This technique has been used for years, not only by career counselors and coaches, but recruiters and large organizations as well. Facebook’s recruitment team is likely to ask the following question to candidates in the interview process: “ On your very best day at work – the day you come home and think you have the best job in the world – what did you do that day? ” (Feloni, 2016).

When using this technique with your clients, ask them to reflect on what they do when they lose track of time at work, which is another way to gauge what they inherently enjoy and are likely good at. Encourage them to be specific and authentic.

Role-playing

As a job coach, you’ll know that the interview process can be one of the most nerve-wracking aspects of a client’s job search. This is where role-playing becomes an effective coaching technique.

To give your clients the chance to practice their interview skills in real life, try setting up a mock interview with questions that will likely be asked by a potential employer. The role-playing technique can also be used for on-the-job scenarios that your client may be having difficulty with. The coach may take on the role of customer, manager, or anyone else in the organization.

Motivation is the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. Understanding motivation is a vital part of any coaching endeavor – a life coach helping a client get motivated to lose weight or an executive coach assisting a leader in staying motivated toward a business objective.

There is ongoing debate concerning whether motivation is primarily the result of internal needs or external goals, as well as the degree to which motivational processes are innate versus learned. The science of motivation is a field of study on its own. In any case, it’s essential to have at least some knowledge of different motivating factors that can be utilized in different situations.

Below we have chosen three of our go-to motivational techniques.

1. Create the right environment

Whatever their priority or goal, make sure the coachee is setting up their environment for success.

If your client wants to go for a jog every morning as soon as they wake up, have them leave their running shoes right beside the bed. That way, as soon as they wake up, they will see the shoes and be motivated to take action.

If your client wants to stop eating junk food, have them remove any temptations from the kitchen.

If your client is trying to write a book, make sure they have a workspace conducive to writing. And so forth. Encourage them to surround themselves with positive people who will support their goal and limit exposure to people who will deter or distract them from their goal.

2. Set goals that are reasonable and achievable

A concept researched and developed by bestselling author James Clear (2016) , says that human beings love challenges, but only if they are within the optimal zone of difficulty.

Coined “ The Goldilocks Rule ,” Clear asserts that tasks that are significantly below our current abilities are boring, while tasks that are considerably beyond our current capabilities are discouraging. But tasks that are right on the border of success and failure are incredibly motivating to our human brains (Clear, 2016).

Simply put, a consistent finding in motivation science is that one of the best ways to stay motivated is to work on tasks of “ just manageable difficulty .” Working with clients to set goals that are reasonable and achievable, then measuring progress and repeating the process, is an effective motivational technique you can start implementing today.

3. Work with momentum

Getting started, even in very small ways, is a form of active inspiration that naturally produces momentum. Often, most of the resistance to a task comes at the beginning, but once started, the progress occurs more readily.

One of the keys to getting motivated is just to make one small change in behavior that can help create the momentum and motivation needed for the bigger changes.

While motivation is about feeling, momentum is about action. A client’s desire and willingness to do something can indeed wane with time. When motivation is lacking, ask your clients, “ what is one small action you can work on right now, toward your goal? ” Once they pick back up (or get started) with that once simple task, it is likely to be followed by progress and momentum.

You can find more content pertaining to motivation in the following blog posts:

• Self-Determination Theory of Motivation: Why Intrinsic Motivation Matters
• The Science of Improving Motivation at Work
• Self-Motivation Explained + 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself
• 17 Motivation Tools, Worksheets and Activities for You and Your Clients
• How to Motivate Someone, Including Yourself
• What Is Motivation? A Psychologist Explains

It involves individual members who have their own goals, although members may be in a similar phase or timeframe in their life or business. Sessions can take place in person, over the phone, or via online video conferencing.

As it is merely an extension of the coaching process, you should lead with core competencies such as goal setting, accountability, and communication, while deepening your understanding of key group issues.

Here are some specific group coaching techniques to help form the foundation of your group coaching program.

1. Create shared expectations

Creating shared expectations is important with this format of coaching because it’s possible that you’ll find people with drastically different personalities and thought processes in one group. In your first group session, it is recommended to establish firm guidelines about punctuality, confidentiality, feedback, and general expectations.

From the beginning, you will also want to identify themes and goals that will act as a common ground for bringing together such a diverse group of people.

2. Peer coaching & accountability

A vital part of the coaching process is having clients identify the actions they would like to be accountable for, session to session. In a group setting, it’s a bit more difficult for the coach to maintain that accountability with each individual, week over week.

By assigning everyone to a buddy or facilitating peer coaching within the group, it ensures a built-in accountability mechanism for all participants. Furthermore, when peers of equal status support each other’s journey and goals, it provides an opportunity for both parties to develop their leadership skills.

3. Utilize social networking groups

Utilizing social media platforms to connect group members in between sessions can be a great way to keep participants motivated and inspired. Create an online forum where the group can ask questions, share ideas, give feedback, and best of all, be accountable to one another.

Facebook and WhatsApp groups work well for this sort of thing.

It still remains the coach’s ethical responsibility to maintain the privacy of clients. Connecting on social networks should be optional for clients and based on their comfort level.

While professional coaching is more geared toward performance, life coaching is generally focused on personal development, wellbeing, and quality of life.

As a coaching professional, you will know that there’s not a generic checklist to be used with all clients. Skilled life coaches can switch between different techniques based on what will be most effective for their client’s desired goal.

The following are just a few essential techniques that can be utilized in conjunction with any of the methods previously mentioned.

1. Journaling

The benefits of journaling (or “expressive writing”) have been increasingly documented in recent years. Stress reduction, increased creativity, and improved clarity are just a few of the mental and emotional benefits of regular journaling.

Simply writing down our thoughts and feelings allows us to process and understand them better. It helps to prioritize problems and fears and identify negative thought patterns and behaviors to be able to recognize triggers.

When our clients experience a “negative” life event, such as losing a job, becoming ill, or getting divorced, it can impact all aspects of their lives. Writing can help them to focus and organize such traumatic experiences.

In addition to being a vital tool in times of stress, journaling can also encourage clients to move toward their goals or dreams. Furthermore, what comes up through the journaling process can provide valuable insights and ideas for the coach to use to probe and push the client further.

Be sure to check out this valuable resource on writing therapy to enhance your personal growth.

2. Mindfulness techniques

Mindfulness is when we purposefully notice what’s happening in this very moment, within and outside of ourselves, and without judgment.

Though meditation is the most powerful way to practice mindfulness, there are many other mindfulness techniques and exercises you can start using with your clients today.

The proven benefits of incorporating mindfulness into our daily lives include improved sleep quality, a better immune system and memory, as well as increased positive emotions and reduced negative emotions and stress. It may be as good as antidepressants at preventing a relapse of depression (Kuyken et al., 2015).

As a therapeutic approach, mindfulness can be used to help solve an array of issues and accomplish many kinds of objectives. If the coachee’s goal is to lose weight, mindful eating trains them to stop eating when they are full and to realize when they’re eating out of boredom versus eating because they’re hungry.

If your client is working on a relationship issue, mindfulness will help them look beyond their automatic judgment and behavior to see, for example, where they may be reacting in haste or not listening to the other person.

Using mindfulness as a coaching technique is as simple as teaching your clients what it means to be mindful and how to implement it in everyday life and use it as a guiding principle.

To meet the rising demand for mindfulness practitioner training, PositivePsychology.com cofounder Dr. Hugo Alberts has created ‘ Mindfulness X , an eight-session training package based on scientific research and complete with worksheets and exercises for your clients to use (with white-label rights to use your own branding). If you’re a practitioner who wants to infuse your coaching, therapy, or teaching with mindfulness, we highly suggest this training package.

Be sure to have a look at our extensive range of mindfulness articles .

3. Active listening

The International Coach Federation (2019) lists active listening as one of the core competencies of coaching and defines it as the:

Ability to focus completely on what the client is saying and is not saying, to understand the meaning of what is said in the context of the client’s desires, and to support client self-expression.

The art of active listening in coaching and leadership is essential for engaging and connecting with those we are coaching in a way that enables them to reach their own conclusions and desired goals.

It goes hand-in-hand with open-ended questioning; we fully listen to the client’s answer and then use their own language to reinforce/repeat back what they are saying. This is what is called “level two” listening. Listening at level two includes noticing the tone of voice and body language, and listening for the sole purpose of gathering information for the benefit of someone else other than yourself.

Whether it be a business pursuit or a personal development journey, goal setting is a vital component of any effort to improve.

Achieving goals often has a lot to do with establishing new habits, and it’s not uncommon for people to get overwhelmed and frustrated by this process, focusing too much on making substantial changes rather than on small changes in the here and now.

To avoid these and other common pitfalls, coaches can use some of the following goal-setting techniques to improve the likelihood of their clients achieving their goals.

Goals with intention

While goals are future focused by nature, intentions are rooted in the present moment. The future – full of unknowns – can induce anxiety, whereas the present keeps us grounded.

This is why focusing on the process and small daily intentions can help us avoid getting overwhelmed by ambitious long-term goals. Committing to being intentional about your goals allows you to focus on how you want to be in the moment, irrespective of how close or far you are from reaching the goal at hand.

With this technique, work with your client to create a balance between their desired outcome and their intentions, based on their values and what matters most to them. Goal setting then naturally follows.

Immediate rewards

For many of us pursuing goals, it can be hard to stay consistent when we don’t see immediate results from our behavior change. We’re more likely to stay on track if we make a point of noticing our accomplishments along the way.

A series of research studies were conducted by the University of Chicago to predict adherence to New Year’s resolutions (Woolley & Fishbach, 2017). Woolley & Fishbach (2017) found that while delayed rewards may provide motivation for the pursuit of long-term goals, immediate rewards were more strongly linked with actual persistence in a long-term goal.

Work with your client to identify specific milestones or activities that they can celebrate throughout the process, as well as rewards that excite and motivate them. Rewards can pertain to entertainment, food, self-care, shopping, travel, nature, or anything else that the coachee deems enjoyable.

Work with the science of habits

Accomplishing goals usually involves the creation of new behaviors or habits or the modification of existing ones. According to Stanford professor B. J. Fogg, there is a simple three-step pattern that every habit follows (Clear, 2013).

The 3 Rs of habit change have been proven time and time again by behavioral psychology researchers:

• Reminder (the trigger that initiates the behavior)
• Routine (the behavior itself; the action you take)
• Reward (the benefit you gain from doing the behavior)

According to Duhigg (2014), the key to changing bad habits is to swap out the middle R: routine. Use a current trigger (reminder) and replace the behavior or action that you usually take with the healthier/more positive habit that you’re trying to form. The same applies to adopting a new habit. Select a current trigger and add on a new, specific action to this existing behavior or cue.

For a more in-depth look at goal setting, including exercises, worksheets, and templates, have a look at following blog posts:

• How to Set and Achieve Life Goals the Right Way
• The Science & Psychology of Goal Setting 101
• Goal Setting in Counseling and Therapy
• The Importance, Benefits, and Value of Goal Setting
• 47 Goal-Setting Exercises, Tools, & Games

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on exploring relationships among a person’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Therapists work with patients to bring to light unhealthy patterns of thinking and how they may be resulting in self-defeating behaviors and beliefs.

Given its excellent track record for helping patients with depression, anxiety, and other disorders, techniques from CBT are now being used for the general population to help individuals challenge debilitating beliefs and enhance motivation, self-worth, and problem-solving abilities.

Cognitive Behavioral Coaching (CBC) is a fusion of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Rational Emotive Therapy , solution-focused approaches, Goal-Setting Theory , and Social Cognitive Theory (Palmer, 2008). Drawing on these evidence-based psychological models, behavioral coaching is a promising form of coaching.

Both CBT and CBC are collaborative and goal oriented, but Cognitive Behavioral Coaching focuses only on the present as a way to change the future. In contrast, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy also delves into the past and explores pathology to understand the client’s presenting problems.

With CBC, the coach and client work together to identify what is at the root of the client’s difficulty, what might be stopping them from reaching their full potential, and what action is needed to take charge of the situation.

You can find more content pertaining to CBT in the following blog posts:

• CBT’s Cognitive Restructuring (CR) for Tackling Cognitive Distortions
• Cognitive Distortions: When Your Brain Lies to You
• What Is Positive CBT? A Look at Positive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• 25 CBT Techniques and Worksheets for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

You can also download PositivePsychology.com’s three Positive CBT Exercises (PDF) to use with your clients, employees, or students.

So far, cognitive behavioral coaching is still seen as a new and emerging field, with good outcomes in small studies, but it is not well-researched or widely used yet (Lungu et al., 2021).

Within the field of coaching, there are multiple possibilities for specialization. Still, regardless of a coach’s particular niche, most of us share specific techniques for building trust, goal setting, solving problems, and challenging limiting beliefs. The more you practice and the more knowledge you gain about coaching, the better you’ll be at applying the right techniques at the right time.

We hope that you’ve found value in these selected techniques and will use them where you feel it will bring the most benefit to your clients. If you have comments or questions that you’d like to share, please do so in the comments section below.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free .

• Allen, V. (2020, February 12). The top 7 psychometric tools for improving productivity in teams. WorkStyle . Retrieved from https://www.workstyle.io/best-psychometric-tools-teams
• André, C. (2019, January 15). Proper breathing brings better health. Scientific American. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/proper-breathing-brings-better-health/
• Clear, J. (2013). Transform your habits (2nd ed.). Retrieved from https://jamesclear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/habits-v2.pdf
• Clear, J. (2016, July 19). The Goldilocks rule: How to stay motivated in life and business. Entrepreneur. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/279109
• Craig, N., & Snook, S. A. (2014). From purpose to impact. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2014/05/from-purpose-to-impact
• Duhigg, C. (2014). The power of habit: Why we do what we do in life and business . Random House Trade Paperbacks.
• Feloni, R. (2016, February 24). Facebook’s most-asked interview question is tough to answer but a brilliant way to find the perfect fit. Business Insider. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com.au/facebooks-favorite-job-interview-question-2016-2?r=US&IR=T
• International Coach Federation. (2019). ICF core competencies. Retrieved from https://coachingfederation.org/core-competencies
• Kuyken, W., Hayes, R., Barrett, B., Byng, R., Dalgleish, T., Kessler, D., … Byford, S. (2015). Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy compared with maintenance antidepressant treatment in the prevention of depressive relapse or recurrence (PREVENT): A randomised controlled trial.  The Lancet ,  386 (9988), 63–73.
• Lungu, A., Boone, M. S., Chen, S. Y., Chen, C. E. & Walser, R. D. (2021). Effectiveness of a Cognitive Behavioral Coaching Program Delivered via Video in Real World Settings. T elemedicine and e-Health, 27(1), 47-54.
• Palmer, S. (2008). The PRACTICE model of coaching: towards a solution-focused approach. Coaching Psychology International , 1 (1), 4–8.
• Rath, T., & Clifton, D. O. (2004). How full is your bucket? Gallup Press.
• Vickberg, S., Langsett, M., & Christfort, K. (2019, June). The practical magic of ‘thank you’: How your people want to be recognized, for what, and by whom.  Deloitte Greenhouse.
• Woolley, K., & Fishbach, A. (2017). Immediate rewards predict adherence to long-term goals.  Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin ,  43 (2), 151–162.

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What our readers think.

Hi Michelle, I must say you have covered all the required tips for coaching techniques. As I am a mindset coach, so I have to offer personal development and life coaching tips and have to arrange a seminar, guides for my fellow followers. I remember those initial days of my coaching journey, I was always getting nervous before any meetups. Then I used to practice exercise, meditation for higher self-awakening. I have also tried almost all the things that you have mentioned, and that’s why I said this article is amazing.

Very helpful to all coaches. Keep the good work up. Regards.

Hi Michelle, Great materials. I like your advice what might be a good approach when dealing with an executive who is stubborn and rigid in his leadership style. He does not take ownership in his behaviors and see his supervisor and peers responsible for the problems facing him. Even though when he has been given the 360 degree feedback, he is still reluctant to change. It has become a challenge to me whether he is coachable. Regards Robin

Congratulations for your article.I t will helped me to focus on several matters that were not so clear to me

Best Regards

Carlos (Lisbon,Portugal)

Great tips and guidance – thanks! Need to use some of these techniques to coach a severely perfectionist teenager. Any tips on coaching teenage students? There doesn’t seem to be much out there for coaching this age group.

Hi Katherine, Glad you found the article useful. You make a great point that there aren’t many resources to help with coaching teenagers, which seems like a shame. I’m going to pass this on to our writing team, and perhaps we’ll prepare a dedicated post on the topic. – Nicole | Community Manager

Great, great efforts. I took advantage of these great technologies Many thanks and gratitude to you

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Unlocking Collective Potential: Effective Team Coaching Techniques

The power of team coaching.

Team coaching is a powerful approach to developing high-performing teams and maximizing their potential. By focusing on the collective dynamics and interactions within a team, a team coach helps individuals work together more effectively and achieve shared goals. In this section, we will explore what team coaching is, the benefits it brings, and the important role of a team coach.

What is Team Coaching?

Team coaching  is a collaborative process that involves working with a team to enhance their performance, productivity, and overall effectiveness. It is a structured approach that combines elements of coaching, facilitation, and training to support the team in achieving their desired outcomes. The team coach acts as a guide, helping team members gain insights, build new skills, and address challenges through a collective learning journey.

Team coaching typically involves regular sessions where the coach engages the team in various activities, discussions, and exercises. These sessions may focus on a range of areas such as improving communication, strengthening relationships, enhancing decision-making, and fostering a positive team culture. By addressing both the individual and collective aspects of the team, team coaching helps to create a cohesive and high-performing group.

For a more in-depth understanding of team coaching, you can refer to our article on  team coaching definition .

The Benefits of Team Coaching

Team coaching offers numerous benefits that contribute to the growth and success of teams. Some of the key advantages include:

• Enhanced collaboration and cooperation : Team coaching fosters a sense of unity and collaboration among team members, enabling them to work together more effectively towards common goals.
• Improved communication : Through team coaching, team members learn to communicate openly and honestly, leading to better understanding, reduced conflicts, and increased trust.
• Increased productivity and performance : By identifying areas for improvement and implementing strategies to overcome challenges, team coaching helps teams enhance their performance and achieve better results.
• Enhanced problem-solving skills : Team coaching equips teams with effective problem-solving tools and techniques , enabling them to tackle complex issues and find innovative solutions.
• Strengthened team dynamics : Team coaching helps build strong relationships within the team, fostering a positive team culture and creating a supportive environment for growth.
• Greater job satisfaction and engagement : When teams feel supported and valued through coaching, they experience higher levels of job satisfaction and are more engaged in their work.

To explore more benefits and understand how team coaching can transform teams, visit our article on  team coaching .

The Role of a Team Coach

A team coach plays a crucial role in guiding and supporting teams throughout their coaching journey. The team coach acts as a facilitator, mentor, and guide, using their expertise to help the team reach their full potential. Key responsibilities of a team coach include:

• Creating a safe and trusting environment : A team coach establishes a safe space where team members can openly share their thoughts, concerns, and ideas without fear of judgment.
• Facilitating effective communication : The coach helps team members improve their communication skills, encouraging active listening, constructive feedback, and open dialogue.
• Setting clear goals and expectations : The team coach collaborates with the team to define clear objectives and expectations, ensuring that everyone is aligned and working towards a common purpose.
• Providing guidance and support : The coach offers guidance, support, and feedback to individual team members and the team as a whole, helping them overcome challenges and grow professionally.
• Promoting self-awareness and development : A team coach helps team members gain self-awareness, identify their strengths and areas for growth, and develop the skills needed to thrive both individually and as a team.
• Facilitating learning and growth : The coach designs and facilitates activities, exercises, and discussions that promote continuous learning, reflection, and growth within the team.

To discover more about the skills and techniques used by team coaches, explore our article on  team coaching skills .

In summary, team coaching is a powerful approach that helps teams unlock their full potential. By focusing on the collective dynamics, effective communication, and individual development, team coaching enables teams to overcome challenges, achieve their goals, and thrive in today’s dynamic work environments.

Effective Team Coaching Techniques

To maximize the potential of a team, effective coaching techniques are essential. By employing these techniques, team coaches can nurture a collaborative and high-performing environment. Three key techniques for effective team coaching include  establishing trust and psychological safety ,  setting clear goals and expectations , and  facilitating effective communication .

Establishing Trust and Psychological Safety

Trust and psychological safety are the foundations of any successful team. Team coaches play a vital role in creating an environment where team members feel safe to voice their opinions and take risks. To establish trust and psychological safety:

• Encourage open and honest communication by actively listening to team members and providing a supportive and non-judgmental space for sharing ideas.
• Foster a culture of inclusivity and respect, where diversity of thought and perspectives are valued.
• Build personal connections among team members by organizing team-building activities and creating opportunities for social interaction.

By cultivating trust and psychological safety, team coaches enable team members to feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and ideas, leading to enhanced collaboration and creativity within the team.

Setting Clear Goals and Expectations

Clear goals and expectations provide teams with direction and purpose. Team coaches must work with the team to define and communicate specific goals and expectations. This can be achieved by:

• Collaboratively setting realistic and measurable goals that align with the team’s overall objectives.
• Clearly articulating the roles and responsibilities of each team member to ensure everyone understands their contribution to the team’s success.
• Regularly reviewing and revisiting goals and expectations to ensure they remain relevant and achievable.

By setting clear goals and expectations, team coaches provide a roadmap for the team’s progress and enable team members to work towards a common vision.

Facilitating Effective Communication

Effective communication is vital for team cohesion and productivity. Team coaches can facilitate effective communication by:

• Encouraging active listening and creating space for all team members to contribute their ideas and perspectives.
• Promoting open and constructive dialogue, where differing opinions are respected and conflicts are addressed in a healthy manner.
• Implementing effective communication channels, such as regular team meetings, virtual collaboration tools, and feedback sessions.

By fostering effective communication, team coaches enable team members to share information, build relationships, and resolve conflicts, leading to improved collaboration and a stronger team dynamic.

Employing these techniques in team coaching sessions can significantly enhance team performance and satisfaction. By establishing trust and psychological safety, setting clear goals and expectations, and facilitating effective communication, team coaches can empower teams to reach their full potential. For additional resources and exercises on team coaching, check out our article on  team coaching exercises .

Building Strong Team Dynamics

To create a high-performing team, it is essential to focus on building strong team dynamics. This involves enhancing collaboration and cooperation, fostering a positive team culture, and effectively managing conflict and resolving issues.

Enhancing Collaboration and Cooperation

Collaboration and cooperation are the cornerstones of effective team dynamics. Team coaches play a crucial role in facilitating these aspects by encouraging open communication, promoting shared decision-making, and fostering a sense of collective responsibility.

To enhance collaboration, team coaches can implement strategies such as establishing clear team goals, encouraging active participation from all team members, and promoting a sense of trust and psychological safety. By creating an environment where individuals feel comfortable sharing their ideas and perspectives, team coaches can foster a collaborative culture that leads to improved teamwork and productivity.

Fostering a Positive Team Culture

A positive team culture is vital for creating an environment where team members can thrive and perform at their best. Team coaches can foster a positive team culture by promoting values such as respect, empathy, and appreciation. Encouraging team members to celebrate successes, providing constructive feedback, and recognizing individual and team achievements are effective ways to nurture a positive team culture.

Additionally, team coaches can promote a culture of continuous learning and growth by encouraging team members to develop new skills, share knowledge, and embrace a growth mindset. This helps create a dynamic and adaptable team that is open to change and innovation.

Managing Conflict and Resolving Issues

Conflict is inevitable within any team, but effective team coaches can help manage conflict and resolve issues in a constructive manner. By promoting open communication and active listening, team coaches create an environment where conflicts can be addressed openly and without judgment.

Team coaches can teach conflict resolution techniques such as negotiation, mediation, and problem-solving. They can also assist teams in developing conflict resolution protocols that outline clear steps for resolving conflicts and ensure that everyone’s voice is heard.

To address conflicts effectively, team coaches should encourage team members to focus on finding mutually beneficial solutions rather than getting caught up in personal grievances. By helping teams navigate conflicts and resolve issues in a healthy and constructive way, team coaches contribute to the development of strong team dynamics.

Building strong team dynamics requires ongoing effort and commitment from both team members and team coaches. By enhancing collaboration and cooperation, fostering a positive team culture, and effectively managing conflict, team coaches can create an environment that cultivates teamwork, productivity, and success.

Individual and Team Development

In team coaching, fostering the development of both individuals and the team as a whole is key to achieving success. By focusing on individual strengths, weaknesses, and providing continuous learning opportunities, team coaches can enhance the overall effectiveness of the team. Let’s explore some important techniques for individual and team development.

Identifying Individual Strengths and Weaknesses

To maximize the potential of each team member, it is crucial to identify their individual strengths and weaknesses. This can be done through various assessments, such as personality tests or skills assessments. By understanding the unique capabilities and areas for improvement of each team member, a team coach can tailor their coaching approach and assignments accordingly. This not only helps individuals develop their strengths but also encourages collaboration within the team by leveraging the diverse skill sets of team members.

Providing Feedback and Performance Coaching

Feedback is an essential component of individual and team development. A team coach should provide constructive feedback to team members, highlighting their accomplishments and areas for improvement. This feedback should be specific, actionable, and delivered in a supportive manner to encourage growth and development. Additionally, performance coaching can help team members set goals, develop action plans, and monitor progress. Regular check-ins and coaching sessions can help individuals stay on track and continually improve their performance.

Encouraging Continuous Learning and Growth

In a dynamic work environment, continuous learning and growth are essential for both individuals and teams. A team coach should foster a culture of continuous learning by encouraging team members to seek out new knowledge, develop new skills, and stay up-to-date with industry trends. This can be achieved through various means, such as providing access to relevant resources, organizing training sessions, or promoting knowledge-sharing within the team. By instilling a growth mindset, team coaches empower individuals to take ownership of their own development and contribute to the growth of the team as a whole.

To promote continuous learning and growth, team coaches can also encourage team members to engage in self-reflection activities, such as journaling or group discussions. These activities provide opportunities for individuals to reflect on their experiences, identify areas for improvement, and share insights with their teammates. Check out our article on  team coaching exercises  for practical activities that promote individual and team development.

By focusing on individual strengths, weaknesses, providing constructive feedback, and encouraging continuous learning and growth, team coaches can create an environment that supports the development of both individuals and the team as a whole. These techniques empower individuals to reach their full potential, contribute effectively to the team, and achieve collective success.

Tools and Techniques for Team Coaching

To effectively coach teams, a variety of  tools and techniques  can be employed. These tools and techniques help team coaches facilitate learning, promote collaboration, and enhance team dynamics. Here are three commonly used tools and techniques in team coaching:

Assessments and Feedback Instruments

Assessments and feedback instruments are valuable tools in team coaching. These tools provide a structured approach to assess team dynamics, individual strengths, and areas for improvement. By using assessments and feedback instruments, team coaches can gather valuable insights to guide their coaching interventions.

Some common assessments used in team coaching include personality assessments, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and team assessments, such as the Team Diagnostic Survey. These assessments provide a framework for understanding individual and team preferences, communication styles, and strengths.

Feedback instruments, such as 360-degree feedback assessments, can also be used to gather feedback from team members and stakeholders. This feedback helps team coaches identify areas where the team excels and areas that require development. By leveraging assessments and feedback instruments, team coaches can tailor their coaching approach to meet the specific needs of the team.

Role-Play and Simulation Exercises

Role-play and simulation exercises are effective techniques for team coaching. These exercises provide team members with the opportunity to practice and refine their skills in a safe and controlled environment. By simulating real-life situations, team coaches can help team members develop their problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills.

In role-play exercises, team members assume different roles and act out scenarios that reflect the challenges they may encounter in their work. This allows team members to explore different perspectives and develop empathy for one another. Role-play exercises can also be used to enhance conflict resolution skills and improve decision-making processes within the team.

Simulation exercises take role-play to the next level by recreating complex situations that teams might encounter. For example, teams can participate in business simulations or crisis management exercises. These simulations provide a realistic experience that challenges the team’s ability to work together and make effective decisions.

Group Reflection and Discussion Activities

Group reflection and discussion activities play a crucial role in team coaching. These activities provide a forum for team members to reflect on their experiences, share insights, and learn from one another. Through open and honest discussions, teams can gain a deeper understanding of their dynamics, strengths, and areas for improvement.

Group reflection activities can take various forms, such as structured discussions, team retrospectives, or group coaching sessions. These activities encourage team members to actively engage, express their thoughts, and contribute to the collective learning process. By fostering a culture of open communication and psychological safety, team coaches can facilitate meaningful discussions and promote self-awareness among team members.

In addition to group reflection, individual reflection is also encouraged. Team coaches may assign journaling exercises or individual reflection prompts to team members. These activities allow individuals to process their thoughts independently before sharing them with the team.

By utilizing assessments and feedback instruments, role-play and simulation exercises, and group reflection and discussion activities, team coaches can create a dynamic and engaging coaching environment. These tools and techniques support the development of effective team dynamics, enhance collaboration, and promote continuous learning and growth within the team.

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Breaking Down the Life Coaching Problem Solving Model

It is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail. – Abraham Maslow

This article is part of a series of five articles that walk you through various questioning methods and models typically used for life coaching purposes. However, these questions can also be used for self-coaching purposes to help you gather more insights about your life, problems, and circumstances.

Here is a list of all articles included in this series:

• The GROW Model
• The Life Coaching Wheel
• The Life Coaching Funnel
• The Problem Solving Model
• The Decision Making Model

Helping Your Client Solve a Problem

As a life coach, one of our main objectives is to help guide a client from Point A to Point B in the most optimal way possible.  Furthermore, it’s all about helping them become more resourceful in every situation, thereby assisting them to make more effective decisions about their life, problems, and circumstances.

Typically, a client will hire a life coach because they are feeling dissatisfied with an aspect of their life. They either feel as though they are not living up to their full potential, or are struggling to overcome some kind of problem or emotional roadblock.

For the purpose of this article, let’s take a look at problem-solving and how you as a life coach can help your client work through a problem in an effective and optimal way using a series of steps and questions.

The process that we will discuss here is known as the Life Coaching Problem Solving Model. You can use this model whenever a client faces a problem. This model will help you to take your client through a series of steps and questions that will provide them with tremendous clarity about the problem they are dealing with. Moreover, it will allow them to work through this problem in the most optimal way possible.

Along this journey, you will, of course, be their guide. You will guide them through each step and therefore need to be flexible in your approach. The list of steps and questions that follow are there to guide you as a life coach through this model, however, it’s also important to adapt your approach depending on the answers that your client gives you at each stage of this process.

With all this in mind, you can of course skip steps and refrain from asking certain questions. This is perfectly fine. No matter how you choose to use this model it’s important that in the end your client feels empowered to take positive action toward resolving their problem. If there is any hesitancy then you simply need to go back and try to be a little more thorough in your approach. Only in this way will you help lay down the foundations for successful problem-solving .

Begin by Probing for Answers

Your first objective when working through the Life Coaching Problem Solving Model is to simply probe for answers.

Your client comes to you with a problem or challenge that they are struggling to work through. Your task is to ask them some key questions that help provide the both of you some clarity about the nature of the problem. To do this you will need to ask them several probing questions that:

• Explore the problem.
• Explore how they feel and perceive this problem.
• Explore the path they would like to take moving forward.

Let’s now take a look at the questions you might want to ask here that help you address the above-mentioned areas.

Question the Problem

Within this first set of questions, your objective is to get an understanding of the nature of the problem. Ask your client the following questions:

What would you like to talk about today? What kind of problem are you facing? What happened exactly? Who is involved? What led up to this problem? What part did you play in the formation of this problem? What are the real issues here that you would like to deal with? Have you been in this position before? Where do you feel that responsibility lies? Hypothetically, what do you gain from all this?

The final question puts a little spin on the problem. It gets your client thinking about the nature of this problem and how it could potentially work to their advantage. It’s, of course, possible that your client might be in a very negative state-of-mind and therefore finding value within their problem may be difficult at this time. However, don’t let that stop you from asking this question. Solutions will only be found when your client is able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Question Your Client’s Emotional State

Your next task is to question your client’s emotional state. In other words, get a sense for how they feel about this problem. Ask the following questions:

How do you feel about all this? What specific emotions has this problem stirred up? What is it that you fear will happen? Are you feeling any internal pressure or turmoil about this? What internal pressures or turmoil are you experiencing right now?

Understanding how your client feels about the problem helps you get a better sense of their emotional state-of-mind.  Furthermore, it provides you insights into how resourceful your client might be in this situation and how ready and able they are to work through this problem successfully.

Question Your Client’s Objective

Your next task is to get a sense of what exactly your client would like to achieve. In other words, what would they ideally like to see happen to resolve this problem? Ask the following set of questions:

Where do you see all this going? Ideally, what would you like to see happen here? What specifically would you like to change or improve? What is currently holding you back from bringing this to fruition?

We will discuss obstacles in detail a little later along this process. However, it is worth bringing to mind what might potentially be holding your client back from making their desired changes. Make a note of the specific roadblocks they mention here and bring them up a little later along this process.

Question Your Client’s Perspective

It’s now time to start making a gradual shift in how your client perceives this problem. This is important because they will only come up with adequate solutions when they are in a more receptive and resourceful state-of-mind that is open to the possibilities that lie ahead.

The following set of questions allow you to begin helping your client make this shift in a gradual and progressive way. Ask your client:

How would others potentially perceive this problem? Who specifically in your life would see this problem as being of value? Why do you feel that they would perceive things in this way? How could you choose to respond to this problem differently? How could you choose to experience this problem differently? How can you make peace with parts of this problem that you might not be able to change or work through? What opportunities could potentially result from all this? What can you learn and how can you potentially grow from this experience? What specifically might this experience be teaching you? Where is the gift? How could getting through this problem become a defining moment in your life?

These last set of questions should now put your client into a more optimal state-of-mind. What this essentially means is that your client should now feel more resourceful and capable of working through this problem.

Identifying Potential Obstacles

The above questions have no doubt laid down a solid foundation, however, no matter how great your client may feel, this all typically falls apart the moment they face an unexpected obstacle that completely derails their efforts.

In order to avoid this kind of scenario, it’s important to now progressively work through some internal and external obstacles they may face along their journey that could potentially thwart their progress.

Highlighting these obstacles is of course important because it will allow your client to prepare for them in both a physical and mental capacity. As a result, they will be more capable and more resourceful when facing these potential roadblocks in the future.

Internal Obstacles

Internal obstacles are mental and emotional roadblocks that prevent us from moving forward. These obstacles can, of course, be difficult to overcome, however, they are typically within our control, which makes it a great place for starting the questioning process. Ask your client:

How are you thinking about this problem? What’s the worst-case scenario that you can imagine will happen? What’s the fear that lies behind all this? Where do you feel most pressure or strain when it comes to this problem? What’s your critical voice telling you? What limiting beliefs do you feel are holding you back at this moment? What specific emotions are causing you some concern? What past memories of mistakes and failure has this problem triggered?

Asking these questions will highlight several internal roadblocks that your client might need to work through. This is where you may potentially want to work through limiting beliefs , unresourceful emotions , unhelpful thoughts , fears , and past memories of mistakes and failure that might be holding your client back.

How much attention you give to each area depends on where you feel your client is at. Potentially you may need to divert away from the Life Coaching Problem Solving Model in order to work through, for instance, some limiting beliefs or unhelpful thoughts that your client is struggling with. Only once these mental roadblocks have been removed, will your client be free to move forward toward solving this problem.

External Obstacles

External obstacles are things that aren’t always within our own personal control. For instance, we might not have enough time , money , support , skills, experience, knowledge or other resources . Yes, all these things can, of course, be classified under the category of “ poor excuses “. It is, however, important to address these areas, and then potentially try and reframe how your client perceives these limitations.

The goal at this stage is to empower your client. It’s to get them thinking about possibilities rather than roadblocks. It’s about helping them to become more resourceful so that they can successfully handle the problem at hand.

With this in mind, ask your client the following set of questions:

What specifically makes this problem difficult to overcome? What specifically is stopping you right now from moving forward? What do you need that you don’t believe you currently have on hand to help you get through this? What must you potentially account for moving forward? What inevitable changes might you need to make? What setbacks could you potentially face? What form do these roadblocks take? For instance is it people, specific things or situations? Which of these variables are under your direct control? Which of these variables are not quite within your control? How do you endeavor to handle yourself in these situations?

Having identified all the potential roadblocks that might prevent your client from moving forward, it’s now time to explore potential options and then to draw out an action plan for overcoming this problem.

Explore Potential Options Moving Forward

One of the main reasons your client has possibly struggled to overcome their problem is because of a lack of options. They simply don’t quite know what to do. But of course, this doesn’t mean that they are not capable of successfully moving through this. They are simply lacking the necessary perspective that would help them work through this problem in an optimal way.

Your objective at this stage of the Life Coaching Problem Solving Model is to help empower your client to find suitable options for moving through this problem. To do this you first need to clarify the goal that they would like to achieve. Ask them:

What would you like to achieve in this situation? What is your life like having achieved this goal? What is your life like when this is no longer a problem? What’s your typical day like in this situation? What’s specifically different? What’s potentially better?

What you’re trying to do here is to get your client excited about an ideal future that they envision where they no longer need to deal with this problem.

With this ideal future in mind, you can then potentially work backward from this optimal experience all the way back to the solution and the implementation of the idea. This is known as the process of Reverse Engineering where you are working from an end goal and moving backward step-by-step until you reach the present moment. It’s certainly a helpful process, but it might not be enough.

What your client needs is to feel empowered. And to feel empowered you must address the following areas:

• Build their self-belief .
• Strengthen their self-confidence .
• Shift their understanding of themselves in relation to their problem.
• Help them become more resourceful .
• Transform their attitude and perspective.
• Transform their expectations about the situation.

Here are several questions that will potentially help address the above-mentioned areas.

What would it be helpful to believe about this? What would it be helpful to believe about yourself? About the situation? About your ability to work through this successfully? What would it be helpful to expect of yourself when handling this problem? What past experiences could potentially serve you in this situation? How could you change yourself to potentially change your situation and overcome this problem? What exactly would you need to change? If you could do this all over again, what could you have done differently in that instance? What if you had an unlimited amount of time? How would you tackle this problem? If money was no longer an issue, what could you potentially do about this? What if you had unlimited ability and resources to handle this successfully? What would you do? What if you involved others? What would happen? How could you potentially solve this problem? Who specifically could potentially help you out with this? What other resources might be of value in this situation to help you solve this problem? What if all the obstacles you faced suddenly vanished? How would that change things? What would you now think and do? Imagine for a moment that you knew exactly what you were doing here to solve this problem. What five creative options could you come up with?

Progressively working through these questions in this way will typically help your client feel more empowered, resourceful and capable. Moreover, they should also manage to come up with several options for working through their problem. And that’s precisely what you’re looking for. You’re trying to encourage them to come up with their own answers and solutions.

The key here is that your client must take ownership of their problem and of the solutions they bring to mind. They must take responsibility for not only their predicament but also for successfully working through their predicament. You are only there as a guide and supporter. Moreover, you are there as an accountability partner. And this becomes vital as we move into the final stage of the Life Coaching Problem Solving Model.

Taking Proactive Action to Solve the Problem

The final stage of the Life Coaching Problem Solving Model requires getting your client fully committed and onboard toward taking proactive action in the direction of their goal.

Within the previous stage, they outlined several options that they could potentially take moving forward. It’s time now to review these options in order to determine which specific option to pursue. Ask your client the following questions:

Which of these options do you want to pursue? Are there any obstacles that you might need to address at this time? Do you need to check with anyone before doing this? What’s your first step moving forward? How will you know you’re on target? How specifically will you evaluate your progress?

As you work through these questions it’s vital that you are certain that your client is clear and knows exactly what they will be doing. Moreover, they need to understand and commit to doing things on schedule. And this is of course where you can help them outline an appropriate plan of action that will help them to achieve their goal .

There will, of course, be uncertainty along this journey. With uncertainty comes self-doubt and a plethora of emotions that might prevent your client from moving forward. As such, it’s helpful to spend a little bit of time questioning these uncertainties in the following way:

What if things don’t go to plan or as you had expected? Will you still commit to following through with your plan of action? How will you potentially adapt your approach? Could anything potentially hold you back? Given this, what would you like to change in order to get through this? What specifically will you now commit to doing when uncertainties arise?

In the end there must be three elements in place before you end your session and give your client the green light to move forward with their plan of action. These things are Commitment , Belief and a Clear Deadline .

At the conclusion of the session there must be no doubt in your client’s mind that they can stand by the following statements:

• “I fully commit to doing this…”
• “I believe that I can do this…”
• “I’ve set a date for completion and am ready to take action…”

As a life coach, it’s then up to you to hold them accountable and make sure they stay on track working toward their goal. It will of course often be a journey of ups and downs, but that’s simply a part of the process. Your client must learn to dig deep within themselves and become more resourceful when adversity strikes . You will, of course, be there to guide and support them along the way, helping them find an optimal path moving forward.

Time to Assimilate these Concepts

GET THIS MAP

Did you gain value from this article? Is it important that you know and understand this topic?   Would you like to optimize how you think about this topic? Would you like a method for applying these ideas to your life?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I’m confident you will gain tremendous value from using the accompanying IQ Matrix for coaching or self-coaching purposes. This mind map provides you with a quick visual overview of the article you just read. The branches, interlinking ideas, and images model how the brain thinks and processes information. It’s kind of like implanting a thought into your brain – an upgrade of sorts that optimizes how you think about these concepts and ideas. 🙂

Recommended IQ Matrix Bundles

If you’re intrigued by the idea of using mind maps for self-improvement then I would like to invite you to become an IQ Matrix Member.

If you’re new to mind mapping or just want to check things out, then register for the Free 12 Month Membership Program . There you will gain access to over 90 mind maps, visual tools, and resources valued at over $500. 

If, on the other hand, you want access to an ever-growing library of 100s of visual tools and resources, then check out our Premium Membership Packages . These packages provide you with the ultimate visual reference library for all your personal development needs.

Gain More Knowledge…

Here are some additional links and resources that will help you learn more about this topic:

• 5 Steps for Solving Problems with Your Problem Solving @ Inc.
• 5 Whys: Getting to the Root of the Problem Quickly @ MindTools
• 8D Problem Solving Process: Solving Major Problems in a Disciplined Way @ MindTools
• How to Solve a Problem @ WikiHow
• How to Solve a Problem: 6 Quick and Powerful Tips @ Positivity Blog
• Hurson’s Productive Thinking Model: Solving Problems Creatively  @ MindTools
• The 4 Most Effective Ways Leaders Solve Problems @ Forbes
• The 10 Step Process for Solving Any Problem @ Brian Tracy International
• The Six Step Problem Solving Model (pdf) @ Yale
• The Straw Man Concept for Solving Problems @ MindTools
• Who, What and How? A Simple Problem Solving Model @ Inc.

About The Author

Adam Sicinski

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CMI Unit 5017 Coaching Practice and Theory

About this course.

The Coaching Practice and Theory course enables managers and leaders to develop and maintain supportive professional relationships when coaching. You’ll also learn how to use a range of practical coaching  tools, techniques and interventions as a coach within an organisational context to achieve goals and improve outcomes.

Learning outcomes

• Understand the tools and techniques used in coaching practice
• Understand the need to develop relationships to support coaching practice
• Understand guidelines and protocols for intervention and the need to develop coaching interventions to meet organisational requirements

Course content

1.1 Explain what is meant by the coaching cycle

1.2 Evaluate the use of reflection, self-awareness, dialogue, questioning and listening techniques within coaching activities to achieve behavioural and organisational change

1.3 Explain the impact of personalities on the selection of the tools and techniques adopted with individuals

1.4 Determine when problem-solving techniques are appropriate within coaching activities

1.5 Explain the differing techniques needed when coaching different groups and individuals

2.1 Analyse what is needed for successful coaching relationships

2.2 Identify how to build the commitment of the individuals to establish a partnership for effective coaching

2.3 Establish goals and agree action plans with individuals

2.4 Evaluate individuals’ engagement with the programme through the coaching process

3.1 Discuss guidelines and protocols for interventions based on accepted coaching theory and practice

3.2 Develop coaching interventions against identified organisational objectives

3.3 Evaluate the effectiveness of the coaching interventions in achieving organisational objectives

Key Features

Learn at your own pace, choose when to start and finish the course

Time-efficient learning that fits around your other commitments

Apply the learning directly to your current or future work setting

Build credibility with your current and future employers

Course Summary

Guided Learning

Course / Unit Credit Value

Qualification 1

Qualification 1 Credit Value

Qualification 2

Qualification 2 Credit Value

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Private: cmi level 5 diploma in professional consulting 6 units.

Study six units to achieve the CMI Level 5 Diploma in Professional Consulting qualification. Click through to the product page to choose your preferred units from the list.

£ 1865.00

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CMI Unit 5016 Coaching and Mentoring Skills for Managers

CMI Unit 5018 Mentoring Practice and Theory

CMI Unit 5031 The Role and Responsibilities of a Consultant

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5 Steps for Creative Problem Solving

The old adage, “think outside the box” is well known and somewhat overused, but the theory behind it is sound. Not every problem has a straight forward solution just like every road isn’t flat and straight. Sometimes it takes insight, creativity and sheer determination to get the solution necessary to solve a difficult problem.

Here are some steps to help with creative problem solving:

• Identify the problem or goal and clearly define the parameters. The purpose of this is to completely understand what the issues are; it isn’t always exactly as it seems and breaking it down can help challenge the original interpretation to best identify strategies moving forward.
• Review any steps already taken to deal with the issue and what the results were. Research solutions others might have also used and their outcomes. This may help with processing the right information to find a solution.
• Simplify with challenging questions to find solutions and then generate creative ideas for solving them. For instance, if the issue is making more money, a challenging question would be “How might I go about making more money?”
• Realistically evaluate these ideas. It may be worthwhile to take a break between steps 3 and 4 to let things set in. Additional ideas may come to mind in the meantime or focusing on other things in life could provide a necessary break to help with better concentration upon returning.
• Make an action plan and pursue it. Base the plan, or plans, on the ideas that work for the goal. Creative ideas may mean taking risks and this can sometimes dissolve some of the motivation, but a simple action plan can help alleviate this concern with straight forward steps that one can focus on. Follow these steps but be prepared to adapt them as situations change. Don’t be afraid to come back and re-write if the situation changes – nothing is set in stone.

Creative problem solving is a thought process and not necessarily just a series of “Aha!” moments. The ultimate goal is to move through the problem to the solution as efficiently as possible. The steps above will help to form processes for not only current situations but future ones as well. It may also lead to automatic creative solutions based on previous experiences using these steps. Never underestimate the abilities of the mind to find solutions to all of life’s problems, even if they are “outside the box”.

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I got so much more from the 5/5/5 Coaching Skills Training Program than expected. I thought it would be more theoretical about the basics of coaching, but we delved right into the depth of the most important skills and used them together in a practical way. I gained so much confidence in a short period of time through role playing and receiving feedback from my peers. This was a very inspiring course that has given me new life skills.

- Robin Raff, Founder/Chief Strategist at Boomer Business & Beyond, Inc. on 5/5/5 Coaching Skills Training Program™

If you are challenged by working with coaching clients seeking to connect with their inner game, Personal Groundwork just might be the key. Regardless of your coaching focus - business, leadership, executive, life - this course puts you face-to-face with the trickiest client topics especially around energy, personal commitment, relationships and values all with the intent to release each to her/his greatest, highest vision.

- Kelly Johnson PCC, Keystone Leadership Development on Personal Groundwork for Coaching Program™

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PROBLEM SOLVING THROUGH COACHING

• I realised that I wanted to shift from where I was to a better place.  For me this was where life felt chaotic to where my emotions where appropriate. 
• I recognise what I needed to do to get there - this was different thoughts, feelings and actions for each of the problems I was experiencing
• I wanted clarity on what was happening and what choices I had to change things and I also wanted focus by putting the situation into perspective
• I recognised my own resources (my wisdom, my ability to overcome difficult times, my experience, my skills etc) and additional resources available  (people I could share thoughts and feelings with, people to fix my car)
• Focus on what has worked well in the past
• I remembered to explore options available (there are generally many ways to do things)
• I took ACTION and then reviewed that action - asking myself - did it work?  Does it need adapting?  Is something new required?

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Simply effective? The differential effects of solution-focused and problem-focused coaching questions in a self-coaching writing exercise

1 Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

2 Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus MC-Sophia Children’s Hospital, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Jessie Koen

3 Department of Sustainable Productivity and Employability, Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research, Leiden, Netherlands

Annelies E. M. van Vianen

Tim theeboom.

4 School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Bianca Beersma

5 Department of Organization Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Anne P. J. de Pagter

6 Department of Pediatrics, Willem-Alexander Children’s Hospital, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands

Matthijs de Hoog

Associated data.

Given restrictions from the ethics review board and considering that sensitive personal data are handled, it is not possible to make the data freely available. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, LS, [email protected] , upon request.

Coaching is a systematic and goal-oriented one-on-one intervention by a coach aimed to guide clients in their professional and personal development. Previous research on coaching has demonstrated effects on a number of positive outcomes, including well-being and performance, yet little is known about the processes that underlie these outcomes, such as the type of questions coaches use. Here, we focus on three different types of coaching questions, and aim to uncover their immediate and sustained effects for affect, self-efficacy, and goal-directed outcomes, using a between-subjects experiment. One hundred and eighty-three medical residents and PhD students from various medical centers and healthcare organizations in the Netherlands were recruited to participate in a self-coaching writing exercise, where they followed written instructions rather than interacting with a real coach. All participants were randomly allocated to one of three conditions: either one of two solution-focused coaching conditions (i.e., the success or miracle condition) or a problem-focused coaching condition. Self-report questionnaires were used to measure key outcomes of coaching, that is positive and negative affect, self-efficacy, goal orientation, action planning (i.e., quantity and quality) and goal attainment. Two follow-up measurements assessed if the effects of the self-coaching exercise led to problem-solving actions within an initial follow-up period of 14 days and a subsequent follow-up period of 10 days. Findings showed that participants experienced more positive affect, less negative affect, and higher approach goal orientation after the solution-focused coaching exercise compared to the problem-focused coaching exercise. In all conditions, goal attainment increased as a consequence of the self-coaching intervention. We discuss the implications of our findings for the science and practice of contemporary coaching.

Introduction

Problem talk creates problems, solution talk creates solutions – Steve de Shazer (Berg and Szabo, 2005).

In the past two decades, the field of psychology has largely shifted its focus from (curing) mental illness to (promoting) well-being. With that shift, a new field of research and practice has emerged, that of positive psychology. The field of positive psychology is, in essence, the study of positive human functioning or happiness as defined by the presence of positive emotions, engagement and meaning ( Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000 ). Instead of fixing what is broken, applied positive psychology highlights what is working well in people’s lives, and uncovers and amplifies people’s individual strengths, hopes, and positive virtues. The theory of positive psychology, through its strength-based approach to human functioning, is the basis of coaching research and practice ( Kauffman, 2006 ).

With a growing attention to individual well-being and thriving, professional coaching has become a popular intervention at both the workplace and the private domain. Coaching can be defined as “a result-oriented, systematic process in which the coach facilitates the enhancement of life experience and goal attainment in the personal and/or professional lives of normal, non-clinical clients” ( Grant, 2003 , p. 254). Given the continuous need of employees to adapt to the changing nature of work and organizations –which can be demanding and a risk factor for well-being and health ( George and Jones, 2001 ; van den Heuvel et al., 2013 ; Johnston, 2018 )– employees increasingly seek the support of a coach to help them deal with the many challenges that working life can present. With this uptake, coaching as a profession also continues to keep growing: The International Coach Federation, the most recognized governing body for coaches around the world, counts more than 40,000 members in 151 countries in 2021 ( International Coach Federation, 2021 ), but this is a very conservative estimate of the number of people actually working as coaches. Research on the effects of coaching supports its popularity: studies have repeatedly demonstrated the positive effects of coaching on both well-being (e.g., reducing stress and burnout) and performance outcomes (e.g., goal attainment; Theeboom et al., 2014 ; Jones et al., 2016 ; McGonagle et al., 2020 ; Solms et al., 2021 ).

Although research on coaching has accelerated in the past years, there is still a lot that we do not know. First, relatively little is known about the coaching techniques and psychological mechanisms underlying positive coaching outcomes. Here, we aim to uncover these mechanisms by focusing on the effects of three different questioning techniques that coaches can use ( Bozer and Jones, 2018 ; Fontes and Dello Russo, 2021 ; Jones et al., 2021 ). We employ a self-coaching intervention rather than a real-life coaching intervention to examine the effects of each questioning technique and isolate it from relational factors that might otherwise impact the outcomes of coaching. That is, in real-life coaching, coaches tend to use a blend of different questioning techniques, and relational factors such as similarity attraction (i.e., similarity between coach and client may increase liking for one another) may play a role in their effectiveness. Employing an experimental design with a self-coaching exercise allows us to eliminate such confounding, relational factors and uncover the unique effects of each coaching question on coaching outcomes and their underlying psychological mechanisms. Nevertheless, we note that self-coaching is different from real-life coaching where a professional coach guides the coachee in a systematic, and goal-oriented fashion to goal-attainment and personal change. Second, the majority of experimental studies have focused on the immediate effects of coaching questions ( Theeboom et al., 2014 ). Given that coaching is a temporary investment, it is important to investigate if coaching questions can foster goal-directed change (e.g., action planning) beyond such immediate effects. Here, we examine both the immediate effects of questioning techniques and their effects during a brief follow-up period. Third and finally, existing experimental research on the effectiveness of coaching –the method that supports drawing causal conclusions– has exclusively been conducted among undergraduates (e.g., Grant, 2012 ; Theeboom et al., 2016 ; Grant and O’Connor, 2018 ). This is unfortunate, given that the majority of coaching takes place within an organizational context. It is thus crucial to conduct experimental research among working individuals and in a context in which coaching normally takes place. Because we use an experimental design in which we test different self-coaching techniques among medical professionals, this study combines the advantage of experimental control with higher ecological validity, allowing stronger generalization of findings to real-life coaching of medical professionals.

Problem-focused and solution-focused coaching

Questions are an integral part of any coaching conversation ( Grant and O’Connor, 2010 ). Here, we distinguish between questioning techniques that have their roots in problem-focused coaching and questioning techniques that have their roots in solution-focused coaching . Problem-focused coaching approaches originate from more traditional, generally psychotherapy-inspired schools that tend to focus their questioning on the client’s problem. Although positive psychology provides a solid theoretical and practical backbone to the science and practice of coaching ( Kauffman, 2006 ; Seligman, 2007 ), numerous coaching practitioners are rooted in the therapeutic model which concentrates on repairing damage rather than boosting strengths ( Kauffman and Scoular, 2004 ; Kauffman, 2006 ). Consequently, these coaches tend to use questioning techniques that are aimed to understand (and eliminate) the client’s problem (i.e., problem-focused questioning techniques 1 ). These questions can for instance be focused on the origin of a problem: “How long has this been a problem? How did it start?” ( Grant, 2003 , p. 26). By analyzing the root cause of a problem and how it manifests in dysfunctional patterns and behavior, coach and client work toward a global understanding of the origin of the problem and its consequences ( Lee, 2010 ). In contrast, coaches with a deep rootedness in strength-based approaches tend to focus on nurturing clients’ positive skills and qualities. Consequently, and in line with the premises of positive psychology they tend to use questioning techniques that activate existing resources and prioritize solution building over problem solving (i.e., solution-focused questioning techniques; O’Connell et al., 2013 ). These questions can for instance be focused on exploring previous solutions (“Can you think of a time when you managed a similar problem well? What did you do?”) or exceptions to the problem (“Has there been a time where this problem was not present?”).

Stemming from Solution-Focused Brief Therapy ( De Shazer, 1988 ), solution-focused coaching represents a paradigm shift focusing on what is already working well in a client’s life ( O’Connell et al., 2013 ) rather than focusing predominantly on the problem and its origin. In practice, the problem that has brought the client to coaching in the first place will almost always be the starting point of any coach conversation and as such, problem-focused approaches play an important role especially at the beginning of the coaching process. While problem-focused coaching addresses solutions relatively late in the process, in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy and coaching, solutions are developed relatively quickly by focusing on strategies and behavior that has been proven helpful instead of focusing on a client’s dysfunctional behavior ( De Shazer, 1988 ). By identifying occasions in a client’s life where the problem could have occurred but did not (referred to as “exception times”), coach and client can work toward solutions without spending too much time on the problem itself. Research in various populations (e.g., university students, patients, managers) has shown that solution-focused approaches correlate with well-being and promote goal pursuit ( Green et al., 2006 ; Grant, 2014 ; Pakrosnis and Cepukiene, 2015 ; Zhang et al., 2018 ), a finding that has also been confirmed in a meta-analysis on coaching in organizational and educational settings ( Theeboom et al., 2014 ).

While problem-focused coaching centers around asking questions about the client’s problem, solution-focused coaching can use different types of questions: the miracle question or success question are prototypical examples. The miracle question lets clients imagine a situation in which the problem miraculously no longer exists ( De Shazer and Dolan, 2012 ). This questioning technique uses mental imagery to stir the conversation away from the problem toward a desired situation where the problem is absent. Applying this technique can be an eyeopener for clients who tend to focus primarily on the struggles they encounter, and consequently pave the way for change ( De Shazer and Dolan, 2012 ). The success question lets clients think back to previous situations in which they have successfully managed a problem. This questioning technique is based on the assumption that people have solved plenty of problems in the course of their life and are therefore able to generate successful strategies to solve their current problems ( De Shazer and Dolan, 2012 ). This idea strongly resembles Bandura’s (1991) concept of self-efficacy: a person’s belief in his or her capability to successfully perform a particular task. Such self-efficacy beliefs are strongly influenced by past experiences of success (i.e., mastery experiences). As such, the success question can make past mastery experiences salient to the client and increase their sense of competence.

Despite its strong roots in seminal theory (e.g., social cognitive theory; Bandura, 1991 ) and its frequent use in practice, the success question has not received much scientific attention. This is unfortunate, because a deeper understanding of the mechanisms through which specific questioning techniques can improve client outcomes would not only advance theory in the field of coaching but would also allow practitioners to resort to coaching techniques that are tailored to and more effective for their clients ( Grant, 2020 ). In this study, we will therefore examine the effects of the success question in addition to the miracle question and will compare these effects with those of the problem-focused question.

Theoretical background and hypotheses

In line with positive psychology theory and common definitions of coaching as a change process aimed at building personal strengths and attaining personal goals, here we focus on key variables relevant in the context of goal-directed self-regulation: affect, self-efficacy, goal-orientation, goal pursuit, and problem-solving actions.

Question focus and affect

Research comparing problem-focused with solution-focused questioning paints a more positive picture in favor of the solution-focused approach (e.g., Braunstein and Grant, 2016 ; Theeboom et al., 2016 ). Specifically, solution-focused questions (as compared to problem-focused questions) may increase positive affective states (e.g., feeling energetic) and may decrease negative affective states (e.g., feeling anxious; Theeboom et al., 2016 ; Grant and O’Connor, 2018 ). According to positive psychology theory ( Seligman et al., 2005 ), when people are encouraged to think about a desired outcome in the future or past successes –rather than directing their attention to the problem– they will likely experience positive emotions (such as feeling energetic or calm) that accompany these thoughts. This idea is supported by regulatory focus theory ( Higgins, 2002 ), proposing that goals aimed at achieving positive outcomes (rather than at avoiding negative outcomes) are linked to positive emotions ( Idson et al., 2000 ). In contrast, goals aimed at avoiding or overcoming negative outcomes are linked to negative emotions. Hence, when people focus on potential solutions, they will experience positive emotions, whereas when they mainly focus on their problem, they will feel increased discomfort and negative emotions ( Theeboom et al., 2016 ). Based on this theorizing, we generate our first hypothesis.

Hypothesis 1: Compared to problem-focused questioning, solution-focused questioning leads to (a) higher positive affect and (b) lower negative affect.

Question focus and self-efficacy

Coaches often seek to increase their clients’ self-efficacy to promote a sense of personal agency and goal attainment ( Grant, 2012 ). This idea is rooted in Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory that posits that past experiences guide people’s future actions and that people engage in actions that have proven useful in the past. In solution-focused coaching, self-efficacy is promoted by focusing on “what is going well” instead of “what is going wrong.” Under the tenet “If it works, do more of it” therapists and coaches encourage clients to engage in activities that have been proven useful. Small steps in the right direction will likely spark further steps, gradually leading the client to feel “better enough” to end therapy or coaching ( De Shazer and Dolan, 2012 , p. 2).

The miracle question is typically used by coaches to spark optimism of a hopeful future and break free from existing –often dysfunctional– cognitive patterns and beliefs ( Grant and O’Connor, 2010 , 2018 ; Braunstein and Grant, 2016 ). By encouraging the client to envision a world without the problem, people are reminded of their qualities and skills that have been overshadowed by the seeming incompetence to handle the problem successfully. Therefore, the miracle question (as opposed to a problem-focused coaching question) likely increases self-efficacy to solve a personal problem. Moreover, we expect that the solution-focused success question will result in even higher self-efficacy than the solution-focused miracle question, because the success question instructs clients to think about previous mastery experiences, which –according to Bandura’s social learning theory– should be particularly strongly related to self-efficacy ( Bandura, 1982 ).

Hypothesis 2a: Compared to problem-focused questioning, solution-focused questioning leads to higher self-efficacy.

Hypothesis 2b: Compared to the solution-focused miracle question, the solution-focused success question leads to higher self-efficacy.

Question focus and goal orientation

With goal pursuit lying at the heart of coaching interventions, coaches may seek to assist clients in formulating effective goals, that is, approach rather than avoidance goals ( Elliot and Church, 1997 ; Elliot et al., 1997 ). Solution-focused questioning can help to achieve this as it emphasizes a desired outcome that one aims to achieve (i.e., an approach goal) rather than a negative outcome that one aims to avoid (i.e., an avoidance goal). This is in line with the self-regulation model by Carver and Scheier (1998) proposing that behavioral regulation with negative reference points (i.e., an undesired end state) is less fruitful than behavioral regulation with positive reference points (i.e., a desired end state) because the former fails to provide clients with a clear direction. Instead of focusing on the things that are going wrong, solution-focused coaching rather emphasizes behaviors that proved beneficial for the client during times of improvement ( De Shazer and Dolan, 2012 ). Drawing on the hierarchical model of approach-avoidance motivation ( Elliot, 2006 ) we argue that solution-focused coaching –due to its strong focus on positive outcomes and how to attain them– is inherently associated with an approach rather than avoidance orientation. Specifically, both the miracle and the success question draw attention to a desired outcome that either has “magically” come about (i.e., the miracle question) or has previously been achieved (i.e., the success question). As such, we hypothesize that the solution-focused coaching questions will stimulate approach goal orientation and inhibit avoidance goal orientation.

Hypothesis 3: Compared to problem-focused coaching, solution-focused coaching leads to (a) higher approach goal orientation and (b) lower avoidance goal orientation.

Question focus and goal pursuit

Compared to problem-focused coaching, solution-focused coaching approaches are stronger future-focused and goal-directed ( De Shazer and Dolan, 2012 ): considerable time is spent on constructing solutions, presumably more than on analyzing the problem that brought a client to coaching in the first place. Consequently, clients can make goal progress relatively quickly ( Iveson, 2002 ). Drawing on hope theory –that emphasizes agency and pathway thinking as central to the process of goal attainment– ( Snyder, 2002 ), we argue that solution-focused coaching activates clients’ sense of agency (i.e., the belief in one’s capacity to initiate and sustain actions or “willpower”) and goal-directed or “pathway” thinking, which likely promotes goal-directed behavior (e.g., development of action plans) and goal attainment. Solution-focused as opposed to problem-focused coaching is expected to be superior in promoting goal progress (e.g., Grant and O’Connor, 2018 ; Grant and Gerrard, 2020 ). Based on this theorizing, research indeed found that participants who engaged in a solution-focused coaching exercise listed more action steps to solve a problem than participants in a problem-focused coaching exercise ( Grant, 2012 ). In line with hope theory and earlier empirical findings, we formulate the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis 4: Compared to problem-focused questioning, solution-focused questioning will lead to (a) stronger increases in goal attainment and (b) more and higher quality action planning (i.e., number and quality of action steps) directly after the experimental coaching intervention.

Question focus and problem-solving actions

Although coaches can facilitate clients’ goal pursuit through formulation of action plans, clients still need to translate their goals and plans into actual behavior ( Theeboom et al., 2016 ). According to the theory of planned behavior ( Ajzen, 1991 ) behavioral intentions (action plans to solve the problem) will promote actual problem-solving behaviors. We therefore also investigate the effects of problem-focused and solution-focused questioning on reported problem-solving actions and actual problem-solving actions within a brief follow-up period. Specifically, we include an unobtrusive behavioral measure that captures whether participants actually take action to try and solve their problem. Given the previously described benefits of solution-focused questioning on affective (e.g., positive affect), cognitive (e.g., self-efficacy), and behavioral (i.e., action planning and goal attainment) outcomes, we expect that solution-focused (as opposed to problem-focused) questioning will have stronger effects on goal attainment and reported problem-solving actions within a follow-up period of 14 days, as well as on actual problem-solving actions within a subsequent follow-up period of 10 days.

Hypothesis 5: Compared to problem-focused questioning, solution-focused questioning leads to (a) higher reported problem-solving actions (i.e., extent of performing action steps), (b) higher goal attainment, and (c) higher actual problem-solving actions during follow-up.

Materials and methods

Participants and design.

Our sample comprised medical residents and MD/PhD students recruited from several medical centers and healthcare institutions throughout the Netherlands. In total, five medical centers as well as two umbrella training and education alliances that include more than 20 medical centers and several healthcare institutions were approached by the authors and shared the study invitation within their network of residents and MD/PhD students. Participants were invited by email to participate in a study on online coaching. Initially, a total number of 232 participants completed the self-coaching exercise that consisted of written instructions concerning a work-related problem.

In order to preclude any adverse effects of our manipulation on participants’ well-being and in line with coaching operationalized as an intervention for a healthy, non-clinical population, participants were screened at the start of the study on the emotional exhaustion component of the UBOS scale (UBOS; Schaufeli et al., 1996 ; Theeboom et al., 2016 ). Because we predicted more positive effects in the solution-focused than in the problem-focused condition, participants who reached a cut-off point of severe exhaustion (cut-off = 4.62; Schaufeli and Van Dierendonck, 2000 ) were automatically led into one of the two solution-focused coaching conditions. Additionally, these participants were notified at the end of the questionnaire that they scored above average on the exhaustion scale and were advised to seek support from their occupational physician or manager. We excluded their data ( n = 7) from our analyses. After applying a predetermined exclusion procedure (see Figure 1 for a CONSORT flowchart), our final sample comprised 183 medical residents and medical PhD students (159 residents, 145 females of which 61, 66, and 56 were assigned to the problem, miracle, and success condition, respectively). Their average age was 30.71 (SD = 3.30), ranging from 25 to 46 years.

CONSORT flowchart depicting screening and exclusion procedure at T1. EXCL refers to the exclusion of participants. Participants that spend 61 or more minutes on completing the experiment (i.e., extremes based on stem-and-leaf plot) were excluded, because the experimental design requires participants to complete the exercise at once.

The study consisted of an online self-coaching writing exercise and questionnaire (T1), a follow-up questionnaire (T2) and an unobtrusive behavioral measure (T3). The self-coaching writing exercise allowed us to test the effects of solution- and problem-focused coaching questions that were experimentally manipulated. Participants were randomly allocated to one of three conditions (problem-focused, solution-focused miracle, or solution-focused success). Including two different types of solution-focused coaching questions (i.e., miracle and success question) allowed us to compare their effects as well rather than merely contrasting solution-focused coaching with problem-focused coaching questions. While the follow-up questionnaire (T2) was used to measure the effects of the coaching exercise (i.e., reported problem-solving actions and goal-attainment) during a brief follow-up period of 14 days, the hidden behavioral measure (T3) aimed to assess actual problem-solving actions.

Procedure and manipulations

The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Review Board of the University of Amsterdam. Before starting the online coaching exercise (at T1), participants were informed about the study’s goal and procedure. They were also informed that all data would be handled confidentially, would not be shared with the organizations in which participants were employed, and that participation was completely voluntary. Finally, they read that the study consisted of a self-coaching exercise (T1) and a follow-up questionnaire (T2) they would receive 14 days later. See Figure 2 for details on the exclusion procedure at T2 and T3.

CONSORT flowchart depicting screening and exclusion procedure for T2 and T3 Follow-up. The sample at T1 consisted of 183 participants allocated to one of the three experimental conditions. Of the 183 participants, 1 participant did not indicate their email address and thus did not receive the T2 survey. Of the remaining 182 participants, 170 participants (response rate: 92.9%) filled in the T2 survey. Overall, 10 participants were excluded as they did not complete the survey, indicated that the steps reported were not correct or showed suspicious data entry. The final sample at T2 consisted of 160 participants. The final T3 sample that was analyzed consisted of 154 participants. 6 participants were excluded as they received the link for the website (T3) and the T2 survey simultaneously and this could potentially distort the answers on the T2 survey. *For exclusion procedure at T1, see Figure 1 . **Participants that didn’t answer items on effort to perform action steps (but on extent) were included in the sample although these answers were missing.

Manipulation: Self-coaching writing exercise (T1)

Participants completed the informed consent form, filled in a self-generated identification code to allow matching the T1 and T2 data, provided demographical information (i.e., gender, age, nationality, job position [i.e., medical resident, medical PhD student] and medical specialty, previous experience with coaching and email address for follow-up contact and compensation in the form of an online voucher), and completed the exhaustion screening measure. Participants then started the self-coaching writing exercise. The exercises with the solution-focused miracle or problem-focused questions were based on previous research ( Braunstein and Grant, 2016 ; Theeboom et al., 2016 ). The exercise with the solution-focused success question was added by the researchers and is based on Bandura’s concepts of self-efficacy and mastery ( Bandura, 1982 ; see the Supplementary material for a detailed description of the self-coaching exercises). As a first step, participants were asked to identify and describe a personal work-related problem that they would like to address during coaching. In order to guarantee a certain degree of standardization of the problems described, we asked participants to describe a problem that related to their job, career or work-life balance that they would like to address in a coaching session. Furthermore, they were asked to report the extent to which the problem was causing discomfort (on a 10-point scale, from 1 [ no discomfort at all ] to 10 [ heavy discomfort ]), and how the problem influenced thoughts and feelings or interfered otherwise with their functioning at work or in their private life. Finally, they were asked to indicate on a scale from 1 ( solution not reached at all ) to 10 ( solution reached ) to what extent they currently had reached the solution to their problem. Hereafter, the manipulation started.

In the problem condition, participants were asked to think back to a day where their problem had been strongly present. Hereafter, they were asked to describe the first thing they had noticed on that day, how they had behaved, thought, and felt in that situation, and how other people had noticed that their problem was strongly present.

In the miracle condition, participants were asked to imagine a situation in which their problem had magically disappeared overnight. They were then asked to describe what they would notice the next morning, how they would behave, think and feel in that situation, and how other people would notice that the problem had disappeared.

In the success condition, participants were asked to think of a situation in the past in which they had experienced the same problem but had been able to manage it successfully. They were asked to describe the first thing they had noticed that day, how they behaved, thought and felt in that situation, and how other people had noticed that they had successfully dealt with the problem.

Figure 3 presents the experimental procedure as well as the corresponding measures. See the Supplemental Material for information on additional measures.

Summary of study design.

At T1, participants filled out questionnaires to assess their positive and negative affect, self-efficacy, and goal orientation. Next, their own responses to the self-coaching exercise (i.e., what they had noticed, how they had felt, thought, and behaved) were presented to them and they were asked to list future action steps that would bring them closer to solving their problem. Hereafter, they were asked again about their goal attainment (i.e., how close they felt to the solution of their problem). Finally, participants answered the manipulation check questions, and were thanked for their participation.

At T2, 14 days after completion of the coaching exercise, participants who had completed T1 and had provided their email address received the invitation to the follow-up survey by e-mail. Participants reported their problem-solving actions (i.e., the extent to which participants had performed their action steps described at T1) and goal attainment. At T3, after completion of the T2 measures, they received an invitation to a website providing information on dealing with work-related stress, such as time management and mindfulness. Using a click-through measure, we assessed the number of visits during the upcoming 10 days as an unobtrusive behavioral indicator of participants’ actual (objective) problem-solving actions.

Our measures were derived from validated scales and have been used in previous studies in the context of coaching, and beyond. Below, we report reliability indices of our measures, Cronbach’s alpha and McDonalds omega ( McNeish, 2018 ).

Emotional exhaustion (T1)

Participants’ emotional exhaustion was measured with the emotional exhaustion subscale of the Dutch version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory adapted for human services such as healthcare (UBOS; Schaufeli et al., 1996 ; Schaufeli and Van Dierendonck, 2000 ). The eight items were answered on a seven-point scale ranging from 1 ( never ) to 7 ( always ). An example item is: “Working with people all day is a heavy burden for me” (α = 0.86; ω = 0.86).

Goal attainment (T1)

Goal attainment, the extent to which participants had reached the solution to their problem, was measured with a 10-point scale ranging from 1 ( solution not obtained at all ) to 10 ( solution obtained ; see Grant, 2012 ; Theeboom et al., 2016 ). Goal attainment was measured before and after the experimental manipulation. The following item was used: “On a scale from 1 to 10, to what extent have you at this point achieved the solution to this problem?”

Positive and negative affect (T1)

Participants’ positive and negative affect were measured with the hedonic tone (e.g., “satisfied”; α = 0.89; ω = 0.90), energetic arousal (e.g., “active”; α = 0.82; ω = 0.79), and the tense arousal (e.g., “nervous”; α = 0.90; ω = 0.90) subscales (8 items each) of the UWIST Mood Adjective Checklist (UMACL; Matthews et al., 1990 ). Participants were asked to indicate on a seven-point scale ranging from 1 ( not applicable at all ) to 7 ( fully applicable ) to what extent these adjectives currently applied to them when thinking about the situation they had just described (i.e., the coaching manipulation).

Self-efficacy (T1)

Self-efficacy was measured with the following four items that are based on the Core Self-Evaluations Scale and were adapted to fit the context of the study (CSES; Judge et al., 2004 ): (1) “I am confident that I can solve my problem”; (2) “If I try my best, I will be able to solve my problem”; (3) “I am full of doubts about my abilities to master my problem”; (4) “I am able to handle my problem well” (α = 0.70; ω = 0.71). The items were answered on a five-point scale ranging from 1 ( completely disagree ) to 5 ( completely agree ).

Approach and avoidance goal orientation (T1)

Approach and avoidance goal orientation were measured with three items each, that were based on the Achievement Goal Questionnaire (AGQ; Elliot and Murayama, 2008 ). We adapted the items to fit the context of the self-coaching exercise. The items were answered on a seven-point scale ranging from 1 ( completely disagree ) to 7 ( completely agree ). Example items of approach and avoidance goal orientation, respectively, are: “I strive to solve my problem as soon as possible” (α = 0.74; ω = 0.74) and “I am going to focus on preventing the problem from getting worse” (α = 0.61; ω = 0.62).

Action planning (T1)

Action planning was assessed by asking participants to describe the first steps they would take in the near future to achieve the situation they wished for (i.e., solution of the problem; Grant, 2012 ). The following item was used: “Can you describe what first small steps you will take in the near future to achieve the desired situation (solution of the problem)?” Fifteen text fields were provided for potential responses. We recorded the number and quality of action steps of each participant by means of four indicators: specificity , uniqueness , behavior (i.e., action steps reflect behavior rather than cognitions) , and approach goal orientation . In pairs of two, the authors conducted the coding of the quality indicators based on a coding scheme. See the Supplementary material for a detailed description of the quality criteria and the coding process and scheme.

Manipulation check (T1)

With six items that described the nature of the coaching instructions people had received, we assessed whether the manipulation had been successful. Participants rated on a seven-point scale ranging from 1 ( not applicable at all ) to 7 ( fully applicable ) whether the statements were applicable to them. Example items of the problem, miracle, and success conditions, respectively, are: “In this study, I was asked to think about a situation where my problem was very present” (α = 0.71), “In this study I was asked to imagine a situation in which my problem suddenly disappeared.” (α = 0.95), and “In this study, I had to think about what I had done in the past to solve the problem” (α = 0.76).

Problem-solving actions (T2)

Participants were shown the personal problem and the action steps they had described during the coaching exercise (at T1). They were asked to indicate to what extent they had performed these steps (on a scale ranging from 1 [ not at all ] to 7 [ completely ]) and how much effort they had spent to do so (on a scale from 1 [ not much ] to 7 [ much ]). Participants then could list additional action steps that had not been listed before. We used the following item: “For each step, indicate to what extent you have performed this step and how much effort you have put into taking this step.”

Goal attainment (T2)

Participants indicated on a 10-point scale ranging from 1 ( solution not obtained at all ) to 10 ( solution obtained ) to what extent they had currently reached the solution to their previously described problem. We used the same measure as at T1.

Actual problem-solving actions (T3)

Participants received an email with the link to a website providing information that could be useful for dealing with work-related problems (e.g., time management and mindfulness). As an indicator of objective (as opposed to self-reported) problem-solving actions, we used a click-through measure to assess if participants visited the website during a period of 10 days. The specific content displayed on the website can be requested from the first author.

Analytical approach

Data were analyzed in SPSS (version 25) using analysis of variance (ANOVA) with condition as between-subjects factor. Significant main effects were followed up with planned contrasts between the problem-focused (coded as −2) and the two solution-focused conditions (coded as 1 each), and –for H2b– between the solution-focused miracle (coded as 1) and the solution-focused success condition (coded as −1). Table 1 shows the means and standard deviations of the key variables in all three conditions. Table 2 presents the correlations of the variables at T1. Table 3 displays a summary of the hypotheses and their results.

Means and standard deviations of the key study variables in all three conditions.

PA, positive affect, NA, negative affect; Goal attainment pre, before the experimental instructions; Goal attainment post, after the experimental instructions.

a Based on n = 58, n = 66, n = 55 for problem condition, miracle condition, and success condition, respectively.

b Based on n = 55, n = 58, n = 47 for problem condition, miracle condition, and success condition, respectively, for the goal attainment measure; n = 53, n = 58, n = 46 for problem condition, miracle condition, and success condition, respectively, for the extent measure; n = 45, n = 48, n = 38 for problem condition, miracle condition, and success condition, respectively, for the effort measure.

c Based on n = 54, n = 54, n = 46 for problem condition, miracle condition, and success condition, respectively.

d Reflects the percentage of participants visiting the website once or more.

Means, standard variations, intercorrelations, and reliabilities of the study variables across the three conditions at T1.

N = 183 for variables 1–9. N = 179 for variables 10–13. Cronbach’s alpha reliability indices are displayed on the diagonal between brackets.*p < 0.05. **p < 0.01.

Summary of hypotheses and results.

See the main text for a description of the statistical results.

Manipulation check

Results showed that the experimental manipulation was successful. First, participants in the problem-focused condition scored higher on the degree to which the experiment had instructed them to imagine their problem being strongly present than participants in the solution-focused conditions ( F (2, 180) = 58.12, p < 0.001, see Table 1 ). Second, participants in the miracle condition scored higher on the degree to which the experiment had instructed them to image a situation in which their problem had suddenly disappeared than participants in other two conditions ( F (2, 180) = 479.45, p < 0.001). Finally, participants in the success condition scored higher on the degree to which the experiment had instructed them to image what they had done before to solve the problem than participants in the other two conditions ( F (2, 180) = 63.99, p < 0.001). Post hoc testing confirmed that differences between conditions were significant (all p ’s < 0.001).

Hypothesis testing

H1a predicted that the two solution-focused conditions (miracle and success) would elicit higher positive affect (i.e., hedonic tone, energetic arousal) than the problem-focused condition. Results yielded a significant main effect of condition for hedonic tone, F (2, 180) = 11.85, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.12: participants in the solution-focused conditions reported significantly higher hedonic tone than participants in the problem-focused condition, t (180) = 4.81, p < 0.001. Similarly, results showed a significant main effect of condition for energetic arousal, F (2, 180) = 6.81, p = 0.001, η p2 = 0.07: participants in the solution-focused conditions reported significantly higher energetic arousal than participants in the problem-focused condition, t (180) = 3.69, p < 0.001. Thus, H1a was supported.

H1b predicted that the two solution-focused conditions would elicit lower negative affect (i.e., tense arousal) than the problem-focused condition. Results showed a significant main effect of condition for tense arousal, F (2, 180) = 3.78, p = 0.025, η p2 = 0.04: participants in the solution-focused conditions reported significantly lower tense arousal than participants in the problem-focused condition, t (180) = −2.75, p = 0.007. Thus, H1b was supported.

H2a predicted that the two solution-focused conditions would elicit higher self-efficacy than the problem-focused condition and H2b predicted that the success condition would elicit higher self-efficacy than the miracle condition. These hypotheses were not supported, F (2, 180) = 1.00, p = 0.368, η p2 = 0.01.

H3a predicted that the two solution-focused conditions would elicit higher approach goal orientation than the problem-focused condition. Results showed a significant main effect of condition for approach goal orientation, F (2, 180) = 3.83, p = 0.024, η p2 = 0.04: participants in the solution-focused conditions reported significantly higher approach goal orientation than participants in the problem-focused condition, t (180) = 2.65, p = 0.009. Thus, H3a was supported. H3b predicted that the two solution-focused conditions would elicit lower avoidance goal orientation than the problem-focused condition, but was not supported, F (2, 180) = 0.71, p = 0.494, η p2 = 0.01.

H4a predicted that the two solution-focused conditions would yield a stronger increase in participants’ goal attainment after the coaching exercise than the problem-focused condition. Repeated measures analyses with time as within-subject variable and condition as between-subject variable revealed a significant main effect of time, F (1, 180) = 95.63, p < 0.001, η p2 = 0.35. In all three conditions, participants reported higher goal attainment after the self-coaching exercise than before, all p ’s < 0.001. The time x condition interaction was not significant, F (2, 180) = 1.45, p = 0.237, η p2 = 0.02, indicating that participants’ increase in goal attainment did not differ between conditions. Results furthermore showed that there were no differences between conditions in participants’ goal attainment at the start of the manipulation nor in the severity of the problem they had described, both p ’s > 0.05. Thus, H4a was not supported.

H4b predicted that the two solution-focused conditions would lead to more and higher-quality action planning than the problem-focused condition. The average number of action steps was the same in all conditions, F (2, 180) = 0.08, p = 0.926, η p2 = 0.01 2 and there was no difference between conditions for any of the four quality indicators ( specificity : F (2, 176) = 2.63, p = 0.075, η p2 = 0.03; uniqueness : F (2, 176) = 0.69, p = 0.505, η p2 = 0.01; behavior : F (2, 176) = 0.59, p = 0.557, η p2 = 0.01; approach goal orientation : F (2, 176) = 1.18, p = 0.309, η p2 = 0.01). Thus, H4b was not supported.

H5a predicted that the two solution-focused conditions would lead to higher reported problem-solving actions within the period of 14 days after the experimental coaching intervention than the problem-focused condition. Results showed no differences between conditions in formulated action steps, F (2, 154) = 0.01, p = 0.992, η p2 = 0.00, nor in the amount of effort spent on performing those action steps, F (2, 128) = 1.53, p = 0.221, η p2 = 0.02. Additionally, a Pearson Chi-Square test showed that the proportion of participants who reported additional action steps ( n = 22; 13.8%) did not differ as a function of condition X 2 (2, N = 160) = 3.96, p = 0.138. Thus, H5a was not supported. H5b predicted that participants in the two solution-focused conditions would report higher goal attainment than participants in the problem-focused condition. We found no support for this hypothesis, F (2, 157) = 0.375, p = 0.688, η p2 = 0.01.

H5c predicted that participants in the two solution-focused conditions would show higher actual problem-solving actions (i.e., website visits). We found no support for this hypothesis: a Pearson Chi-Square test indicated that participants from all three conditions 3 visited the website equally, X 2 (2, N = 154) = 1.39, p = 0.499.

Despite the popularity of coaching for increasing well-being and thriving at both the workplace and the private domain, research has lacked behind in uncovering the mechanisms behind coaching effectiveness. Specifically, only little is known about the effectiveness of specific type of coaching questions, and it has remained unclear if the positive effects of such questions can be sustained outside of coaching sessions. The current study therefore examined the immediate effects of solution-focused and problem-focused coaching techniques in an experimental setting and investigated if these questions led to goal-directed changes during a brief follow-up period of 14 days. We showed that when implemented in a self-coaching writing exercise, solution-focused questioning –a popular approach to the practice of coaching– fosters affective self-regulation relatively more than problem-focused questioning. That is, solution-focused questioning promotes positive emotions, hampers negative emotions, and increases people’s motivation to solve their problem (i.e., approach goal motivation). Yet, solution-focused questioning was not more effective than problem-focused questioning in reducing avoidance goal orientation or in promoting self-efficacy, action planning, problem solving and goal attainment. In fact, both solution- and problem-focused questioning increased perceptions of goal attainment right after the writing exercise and after a period of 14 days. Below, we will discuss our findings and their implications in more detail.

Our results show that thinking about solutions rather than problems makes people not only feel good, but also motivates them to strive for gains while keeping an eye on potential losses. That is, solution-focused questioning stimulated approach motivation but did not simultaneously inhibit avoidance motivation. A possible explanation for this finding might be that approach and avoidance motivation are relatively independent concepts ( Elliot and Covington, 2001 ), and are therefore influenced through different systems. It might also be possible that investing in solutions for complex problems –that often are systemic and not entirely within one’s control– is only adaptive when the problem will not get worse. In that case, adopting a prevention strategy (i.e., concerned with assuring safety and avoiding negative outcomes) can provide some degree of control ( Higgins, 1997 ).

Contrary to our expectations and earlier empirical findings, we did not find that solution-focused questioning was more effective than problem-focused questioning in increasing people’s self-efficacy beliefs, nor did we find any differences between the miracle and the success question in that regard. This is surprising, given that previous success experiences are deemed the most important source of self-efficacy ( Bandura, 1977 ). We see two explanations for this unexpected finding. First, it is possible that the success experiences made salient during the coaching exercise were too broad to be a credible source for solving one’s current problem. While mastery experiences in one domain can lead to spill-over effects to other domains, meaning that previous successes and associated positive experiences for example at work may boost motivation and positive affect to approach problems in private life, this is only the case if the same skills are required (e.g., general self-management strategies, Bandura, 2006 ). The skills that participants recalled during the coaching exercise may thus not have fully matched the skills needed to solve their current problem. It is particularly important for solution-focused coaches to not blindly focus on clients’ strengths but to enable clients to transfer the right prior experienced skills to the current problem. Second, the problems that participants expressed were complex and at least partly contextual (see the Supplementary material ), which may mean that participants may have had situational restrictions in mind when reflecting on their ability to solve the problem. Indeed, Table 1 shows moderate self-efficacy beliefs and relatively low variance among participants in all three conditions.

Another unexpected finding was that problem-focused questioning was equally successful as solution-focused questioning in promoting goal attainment (i.e., how close people felt to solving their problem). Interestingly, this was still evident in all groups 14 days later. Although ruminating on problems can be damaging to clients’ immediate affective states, taking time to reflect on one’s problem may still feel like progress. According to the Transtheoretical Model of Change ( Prochaska et al., 2015 ), people need to become aware of their problem, its causes and consequences, before they are ready to act. Although the awareness of a problem can be uncomfortable (reduced positive affect – a finding we also see in our study), it is a crucial first step on the road to change and may facilitate rather than impede problem-solving actions when one stops digging into the problem in time.

Lastly, the results showed no differences between problem-focused and solution-focused questioning with regard to people’s immediate action planning (i.e., number and quality of action steps), and their reported and actual problem-solving actions. In other words, thinking about solutions rather than problems did not make people actually do more to solve their problem. Our self-coaching writing exercise, in which participants were asked to describe a problem and reflect on it, may have been a push to start acting on the problem, irrespective of the experimental condition they were in. Thus, raising the salience of a problem may already trigger action planning and subsequent actions. Alternatively, the effects of problem-focused and solution-focused questioning techniques may outweigh each other in promoting or hampering action taking. While problem-focused questioning may cause deep reflection but also deactivating negative moods such as sadness and weariness (see Kreemers et al., 2020 ), solution-focused questioning may cause divergent thinking but also unrealistic fantasies that hinder the planning of concrete actions. Unlike concrete goals, positive fantasies lack a clear commitment to behavior ( Oettingen, 2012 ). When indulging in positive thoughts, one can easily forget that this positive future has not been realized yet, which ultimately hinders goal striving and pursuit.

Theoretical implications

The results of the present study provide a better understanding of the effects of questioning techniques in coaching and advance the literature in several ways. First, we answered to the call for a broader understanding of the psychological mechanisms that render positive coaching outcomes ( Bachkirova and Kauffman, 2009 ). We shed light on the most essential tool that coaches have: asking questions. We showed that solution-focused questions are more effective than problem-focused questions when the goal of coaching is to make people feel good, and to help people strive toward solving their problem (rather than preventing it from getting worse). For factors deemed essential for goal-directed self-regulation, the type of questioning made no difference.

Second, by examining the effects of questioning techniques on participants’ problem-solving actions during a brief follow-up period, we uncovered their differential potential to alter behavior – the ultimate goal for many clients and their coaches. Specifically, we showed that solution-focused and problem-focused questioning did not lead to different behavioral outcomes during this period. Thus, although a strength-based approach in coaching seems particularly useful in stages in the coaching process where clients get lost in complex rumination and feelings of despair, this approach may be insufficient for sustaining behavioral change. More theory development and research are needed to better understand which interventions have which effects in the different temporal stages of coaching (see also Theeboom et al., 2017 ).

Finally, while prior research with university students showed that individuals benefited more from solution-focused than problem-focused questioning, this finding was only partly replicated in our study with medical residents. This can be explained by the differences in samples: the type of problems that medical residents face in their job may fundamentally differ from those of students (e.g., study-related stress, Theeboom et al., 2016 ) in magnitude and complexity. First, the problems of employees and students may differ in magnitude . Theeboom et al. (2016) speculated that students’ problems might not be pressing enough. For example, students were instructed to think about problems that were “frustrating for them” or were posing a “dilemma […] where [they] feel caught between two or more possible courses of action” (e.g., Grant and Gerrard, 2020 ). These types of problems were probably less severe than the problems mentioned by the healthcare workers in our sample. Second, the problems of employees and students may differ in complexity. Healthcare workers are part of large organizational systems in which they can have limited autonomy and control in their work. The work-related problems they face may often involve structural organizational factors (hindrance stressors) and significant others (e.g., colleagues, supervisors or patients), which can significantly impact their perception of behavioral control, motivation and options for problem-solving actions ( Yang and Li, 2021 ). At the same time, the job demands (e.g., high workload, emotional demands) faced by the residents in this study might at least partly overlap with the experience of employees from relevant other settings (e.g., education). Consequently, we expect the findings to be generalizable across other professions outside of healthcare. All in all, it is possible that both the severity and complexity of the problems that coaching clients aim to solve influence the effectiveness of coaching questions for outcomes such as self-efficacy, goal attainment, and action planning and behavior. Therefore, as experimental studies encompass only a one-time and short (although controlled) intervention, future research could further improve its ecological validity by examining the effects of coaching questioning techniques in real coaching sessions. After all, coaching is a process.

Practical implications

Asking (the right) questions is an essential part of coaching. Our results show that not all types of questions are equally effective. Coaching questions that convey a positive outcome make the client feel good and motivate them to pursue their goals whereas “problem talk” goes along with unpleasant feelings. In coaching practice, it would be neither desirable nor constructive to eliminate the problem from the coaching conversation altogether. However, if coaches –in a specific stage of the coaching process– aim to reinforce positive feelings and inspire optimism and hope for the future, they might do well to ask solution-focused questions. This may help clients to temporarily detach from their problem and develop a different and broader view on their situation.

Second, our results suggest that feeling good is a “nice-to-have” rather than a “must-have” for clients to pursue and achieve their goals: with positive outcomes in mind, people feel better in the short run, but these immediate affective reactions may not translate into goal-directed behaviors in the long run. Thus, asking solution-focused questions is not necessarily helpful in every stage of the coaching process. Given that coaching clients enter a coaching session with a description of what brought them to seek support in the first place (the preparatory contemplation stage of the coaching process), focusing on the problem at hand often is the logical first step. Especially when clients want to talk about their problems –which can be a cathartic experience– coaches should meet this need and not counter it with a rigid focus on solutions ( Theeboom et al., 2016 ). Coaching is typically a blend of solution-focused and problem-focused techniques ( Grant, 2012 ), and not one or the other.

Finally, we recognize that effective questioning is only one pillar of successful coaching conversations. While skillfully asked questions can fundamentally set the tone of a coaching conversation by provoking thinking and self-awareness, the ultimate goal of coaching is client development and change. Therefore, coaches need to assist their clients in setting concrete and attainable goals and turning intentions into actions – one of the biggest challenges for many clients.

Limitations and future research

Our study is not without limitations. First, the experimental design of our study did not allow us to capture the coaching process in all its complexity. However, it afforded experimental control by which we could compare the pure effects of different questions techniques unaffected by relational (and other) factors that influence coaching outcomes in real-life. It is important to note that participants engaged in a short, online self-coaching exercise rather than a real coaching session with a professional coach. Real-life coaching is a joint and complex behavioral change process together with a professional that is different in many ways from self-coaching where such a professional is absent. While our design allowed us to disentangle the effects of coaching questions from other factors that play a role during coaching, a necessary next step is to investigate and extend the current findings using more ecologically valid procedures. Having said this, we are confident that our participants took the online exercise seriously as became clear from their serious and extensive responses to the open questions. Additionally, given that coaches regularly use (written) homework exercises for their clients between sessions, our results stress the (potential) benefits of such practice.

Second, we realize that the distinction between solution- and problem-focused questioning is in part artificial, and that real-life coaching is a mixture of many different approaches –of which solution- and problem-focused coaching are merely two– rather than the strict following of one single approach. Yet, disentangling the effects of both coaching approaches, can inform coaching practitioners of the unique effects that different types of questions may have on their clients.

We suggest some promising directions for future research. Based on the finding that a short self-coaching writing exercise could already increase perceptions of goal-directed change over time, it would be interesting to explore to what extent these perceptions are related to concrete behaviors (e.g., action planning and execution). Given that coaching tends to be an expensive enterprise, shortcuts to goal attainment could allow clients with fewer financial resources to benefit from coaching as well. Finally, as to gain an in-depth understanding of what happens in and leads to successful coaching, extensive process studies are needed that combine coach- and client perspectives and ultimately relate them to coaching outcomes. Such insights into the process of coaching will not only advance the theory of coaching but will also inform coaching practice in important ways. If coaching as a profession is seeking to move beyond an “anyone can coach” – approach, it is important to know which (trained) coaching skills –including question techniques– are essential in which stage of the coaching process for attaining coaching goals.

In this study we compared the effectiveness of solution-focused and problem-focused questions in driving positive outcomes of coaching. Our study shows that thinking about solutions rather than problems during a self-coaching writing exercise increases both people’s immediate affective states and their goal-directed motivation. Both approaches, however, are equally effective for immediate action planning and execution during a brief follow-up period. Further research is needed that examines the variety and effectiveness of coaching questions in different stages of the coaching process.

Data availability statement

Ethics statement.

The study involving human participants was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Review Board of the University of Amsterdam (2020-WOP-12154). The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author contributions

LS, AV, JK, TT, and BB coded the qualitative data. LS, AV, and JK analyzed the data. LS drafted the manuscript. All authors were involved in the conception and design of the study as well as the collection and interpretation of the data, reviewed and approved the manuscript.

Acknowledgments

We thank Ronald Flohil for his help in developing the study materials.

1 We are aware that the term problem-focused coaching is used primarily by advocates of solution-focused coaching. Real-life coaching often uses a blend of solution- and problem-focused techniques ( Grant, 2012 ) but since we are interested in the effects of specific coaching questions, we separate them in our study design.

2 Log-transformation of the data showed comparable results.

3 For 9 participants, it was not possible to retrieve if they had visited the website within the set period of 10 days. Because exclusion of these participants did not lead to changes in the results, we included their data in the final analyses.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.895439/full#supplementary-material

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ICF Credentialing Coach | Mentor Coach | Carly Anderson, MCC

helping coaches grow their coaching skills through ICF core competency development

Are you a problem-solving coach?

As a coach, we have a major influence on our clients by the mindset we enter the coaching relationship with, and how we apply that mindset to every interaction with the client. This is the backbone of our Coaching Presence. 

While every client has a ‘problem’ they want to solve – a gap from where they are now to where they want to be – that doesn’t mean that engaging from the mindset of problem-solving with the client is going to support them to successfully move forward.

Rather than having a problem-solving mindset, try approaching almost any client ‘problem’ from a vision-connector mindset or solutions-thinking.

My experience is that many coaches will delve into the current reality of the ‘problem’ and hang out there, or start there, and don’t really pay enough attention to the future desired reality or vision that would more easily pull the client forward in the coaching.

Most coaches will focus on solving the ‘problem’ and what’s wrong/not working, rather than visioning and helping the client to engage in understanding what they really want and what strengths they have, what is working, and what the compelling reason is for them to move toward their desired future reality. You’ve probably heard the saying, “focus on the solution, not the problem.” Well it applies to the coaching mindset.

Once the client is connected to their vision (be it to have a different relationship with a colleague, to be a more effective leader, to have a difficult conversation with a superior….) then the gap from where they are now to where they want to be is so much clearer. You then have some real coaching to do.

The energy of a client is completely different when they discover/uncover their vision, and/or connect with their desired future reality, and then work with their ‘problem’ from that perspective.

Versus the coach taking the client deeper into the present and trying to understand what is going on.  I often wonder for who’s benefit is that really – the coach or the client? The client is living with their ‘problem’ and the coach doesn’t need to know every detail for the client to move forward. In fact, it could keep the client stuck by coaching from that mindset.

When the coach engages in discovery/visioning more than problem-solving the current situation, the amount of learning the client can have becomes unlimited. We need to get clients outside their current thinking and shift their perspective.

So how much time to spend in uncovering the current reality of the problem? Well that really depends on how much time seems to be appropriate, but I’m going to suggest much less time than you think you need to.

You probably noticed that I highlighted every time I wrote the word, ‘problem.’ What if the client had no ‘problem’ to solve? Would you still feel you were adding value as a coach?

That may be a mindset shift for some coaches to make., do you want the opportunity to evaluate mcc coaching sessions.

Are you preparing to apply for your MCC, PCC or ACC credential? Or renewing your ACC credential and need 10 hours of mentor coaching? We offer an awesome mentor coaching group and individual program that has many exclusive offerings for our participants. One of those offerings is a library of MCC and PCC coaching sessions for our participants to listen to, evaluate, debrief, and learn from. These are incredibly valuable learning tools , and will accelerate your understanding of competency distinctions. Here’s where you’ll find more about The Mentor Coaching Group.

Meet Your Mentor

Carly Anderson, MCC is an active ICF assessor, credentialing expert, leadership coach and the founder of The Mentor Coaching Group.

More About Carly Anderson, MCC

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