How to Coach Yourself and Others Techniques For Coaching | Page 131

deep trust in the process of coaching, to believe that it is worth taking a
bit more time and to make the space for the coachee to be creative.
Recently I learned a very simple and helpful process that simplifies my
job in supporting my coachees to come up with their own answers so
that I don’t have to give them advice. Here’s how it works:
Let’s say my coachee asks me something like this: “How can I … ? or
“What can I do to …? My coachee is seeking an answer to some question
or problem he is facing. My options in that moment are to:
1) Give an answer,
2) Ask another question that helps him think further about what the
answer might be, or
3) Suggest that we brainstorm possible solutions together.
Obviously Option 1 is giving advice and not recommended.
In the past I have often used Option 2 and asked my coachee something
like “What do you think you could do?” There’s nothing really wrong
with this question, but asking a question like this does have some risks.
If my thinking is not clear enough, I might frame the question too
tightly and restrict the coachee’s responses. For example I might say
“What do you think you could do to discover the root causes of this
problem?” when in his mind there are no answers in the root causes
and this is simply a distraction from the real question. Also, there is an
implication that there is one ‘right’ answer, and this limits creativity.
Another risk with following Option 2 is that it may seem like I am
throwing the difficult question back to him and withholding my own
experience, wisdom and support.
Option 3 has some clear advantages. I could start by saying, “How about
if we brainstorm some possible solutions together?” Immediately I am
asking permission from the coachee to follow this next step. It is a way
of checking the importance of the question and keeping the coachee in
control of the process. I am open to the coachee saying, “Actually, I

440