Scribd
Upload
25 views

Powerful Questions List

The document discusses powerful open-ended questions organized into categories that can be used to create greater learning and fresh perspectives when coaching and developing employees. The categories include anticipation, assessment, clarification, elaboration, exploration, implementation, integration, learning, options, outcomes, perspective, planning, predictions, resources, starting the session, substance, summary, and taking action.

Uploaded by

John
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
25 views

Powerful Questions List

The document discusses powerful open-ended questions organized into categories that can be used to create greater learning and fresh perspectives when coaching and developing employees. The categories include anticipation, assessment, clarification, elaboration, exploration, implementation, integration, learning, options, outcomes, perspective, planning, predictions, resources, starting the session, substance, summary, and taking action.

Uploaded by

John
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Coaching and Developing Employees

with Lisa Gates

Powerful Questions
Here’s a list of powerful, open-ended questions organized by category that you can use to
create greater possibility for expanded learning and fresh perspectives.

Anticipation
What is possible?
What if it works out exactly as you want it to?
What is the dream?
What is exciting to you about this?
What is the urge? What does your intuition tell you?

Assessment
What do you make of it?
What do you think is best?
How does it look to you?
How do you feel about it?
What resonates for you?
What is the opportunity here?
What is the challenge?
How does this fit with your plans, way of life, or values?
What do you think that means?
What is your assessment?

Clarification
What do you mean?
What does it feel like?
What is the part that is not yet clear?
Can you say more?
What do you want?

Elaboration
Can you tell me more?
What else?
What other ideas, thoughts, or feelings do you have about it?

Coaching and Developing Employees with Lisa Gates 1 of 4


Example
What is an example?
For instance?
Like what?
Such as?
What would it look like?

Exploration
What is here that you want to explore?
What part of the situation have you not yet explored? What other angles can you think of?
What is just one more possibility?
What are your other options?

For Instance
If you could do it over again, what would you do differently? If it had been you, what
would you have done?
How else could a person handle this?
If you could do anything you wanted, what would you do?

History
What caused it?
What led up to it?
What have you tried so far?
What do you make of it all?

Implementation
What is the action plan?
What will you have to do to get the job done?
What support do you need to accomplish it?
What will you do?
When will you do it?

Integration
What will you take away from this?
How do you explain this to yourself?
What was the lesson?
How can you make sure you remember what you have learned? How would you
pull all this together?

Coaching and Developing Employees with Lisa Gates 2 of 4


Learning
If your life depended on taking action, what would you do?
If you had free choice in the matter, what would you do?
If the same thing came up again, what would you do? If we could wipe the slate clean,
what would you do? If you had to do it over again, what would you do?

Options
What are the possibilities?
If you had your choice, what would you do?
What are possible solutions?
What will happen if you do, and what will happen if you don’t?
What options can you create?

Outcomes
What do you want?
What is your desired outcome?
If you got it, what would you have?
How will you know you have reached it?
What would it look like?

Perspective
When you are ninety-five years old, what will you want to say about your life? What
will you think about this five years from now?
How does this relate to your life purpose?
In the bigger scheme of things, how important is this?
So what?

Planning
What do you plan to do about it?
What is your game plan?
What kind of plan do you need to create?
How do you suppose you could improve the situation?
Now what?

Predictions
How do you suppose it will all work out?
What will that get you?
Where will this lead?

Coaching and Developing Employees with Lisa Gates 3 of 4


What are the chances of success?
What is your prediction?

Resources
What resources do you need to help you decide?
What do you know about it now?
How do you suppose you can find out more about it?
What kind of picture do you have right now?
What resources are available to you?

Starting the Session


What’s occurred since we last spoke?
What would you like to talk about?
What’s new/the latest/the update?
How was your week?
Where are you right now?

Substance
What seems to be the trouble?
What seems to be the main obstacle?
What is stopping you?
What concerns you the most about…?
What do you want?

Summary
What is your conclusion?
How is this working?
How would you describe this?
What do you think this all amounts to?
How would you summarize the effort so far?

Taking Action
What action will you take?
Is this a time for action? What action?
Where do you go from here?
When will you do that?
What are your next steps?

Coaching and Developing Employees with Lisa Gates 4 of 4

You might also like