Conversation
Coaching Questions
Questions that help people think for themselves rather than receive answers — the working end of the coaching hat.
Reach for these with a smart person who wants to grow — never when something is on fire. The mindset is the tool: curiosity, listening, and pushing back the urge to answer.
The seven essential questions
What's on your mind?
The opener — straight into what actually matters to them.
And what else?
The best coaching question in the world. The first answer is never the whole answer.
What's the real challenge here for you?
Cuts through the situation report to the personal stake.
What do you want?
Surprisingly hard to answer — and clarifying to be asked.
How can I help?
Makes the request explicit instead of guessing and rescuing.
If you're saying yes to this, what are you saying no to?
Every yes has a price; make it visible.
What was most useful for you?
The close — turns the conversation into a lesson they keep.
Founder additions
- What's the number one thing you want to improve right now?
- Have you thought about this?
- What happens if nothing changes?
- Where do you see yourself in this company — and what's the main gap between here and there?
The urge you're resisting is the urge to be useful by answering. Coaching bets that they'll own an answer they found far harder than one they were given.
Source / credit
Michael Bungay Stanier · The Coaching Habit (2016) · The seven essential questions; founder additions are Outstride's
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