How to Coach Yourself and Others Techniques For Coaching | Page 78

3.8.2. Scaling Techniques For Assessing Progress
Using scaling techniques in coaching can be a really useful way of
helping a coachee assess their progress or their state of satisfaction in
relation to their desired outcomes, or clarify their commitment to a way
forward.
For example (in the simplest form):
On a scale of 1 -10…
…to what extent have you made progress towards this goal?
…how content are you in this area?
…how committed are you to taking this action.
This then allows the coachee to assess their position and gives a
foundation on which to move forward.
The use of scaling techniques in coaching forms part of the ‘Solutions
focus’ approach (see further reading) and there are numerous
techniques you can employ to use scaling effectively. (There are even
whole day courses you can spend to improve your skills in this area!)
Assessing progress
One powerful benefit of scaling is to help your coachee to asess their
position in relation to their ideal outcome (their 10/10). So, when you
ask a scaling question remember to give a brief description of what
their 10/10 might be and a brief description of their 1/10, ensuring
that what you describe for the latter is well below what you know their
position is:
e.g. ‘On a scale of 1 – 10 where 10/10 is your perfect scenario where
you are totally organised, you know what you have to do and you
achieve everything you want to achieve in a day and more, and as a
result you feel great… and 1/1 is where you are so disorganised that
you achieve absolutely nothing in a day, you don’t know what you want
to achieve and you don’t even know how to start being
organised….where are you on this scale?’

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