The basis of a coaching process are questions. Through them it is achieved for the client to explore and deepen their own thinking to find out what you want and how you can get it.
With the questions, the coachee is given the power they have to achieve, with their own resources, the goal they want to achieve. In each session, different questions are posed that, in turn, generate new ones and what they do is generate before the client a range of options that they had not seen before and that will allow you to make decisions and, ultimately, take action.
One of the misconceptions that exist regarding coaching is to think that the job of a coach is simply to listen to the client and advise them and tell them what to do. Nothing is further from reality. A coach does listen, but not to not recommend, but to be able to ask the questions that he just needs to ask.
Of course, questions in coaching are not designed to simply elicit information from the coachee as if it were a simple interview. The questions in this case are aimed at making the client aware of their reality and to take responsibility for it. The answers generate new questions that create, in turn, new reflections and, thus, the learning path is outlined, which is truly a coaching process.
What questions are asked in a coaching process?
Although almost any question is suitable to be asked in a coaching session as long as the coach considers that it will be helpful to the coachee, There are some that are not recommended to use:
In coaching, therefore, The most efficient questions are the open, direct ones, those considered effective (what, when, who…), those that show interest (is there a reason to…?). And, in short, any of what are called powerful questions in coaching, that is, those that do not have judgment, develop learning, stimulate reflection, challenge and help to act.
Learn to ask questions
As we have seen, knowing how to ask appropriately is key to being a good coaching professional. Although we all know how to ask, we must work on the process of asking the right questions to be able to make clients reflect, realize and take action.
In our Master in Professional Coaching With IE and NLP Practitioner we place special emphasis on the art of questioning being completely internalized by our students. To do this, we not only thoroughly explain the entire methodology of the coaching process, but we carry out continuous practices so that they can really develop that skill and become effective coaches in their professional work.
