Profound Belief and Powerful Questions
Coaching is a world of wonder and transformation, excitement overall, yet a journey of steps forward, creating infinite possibilities for change. A whole new world, as some would say!
What elements impact the atmosphere of a coaching session and can free a coach to ask "powerful questions?" We will look at two perspectives.
Imagine driving a car in the fog, which makes it hard to see what is before you. Fog can be created if we, as coaches, offer profound belief in clients and not towards ourselves. For example, if a coach's mind is distracted or belief is inconsistent, fog is created in the clarity with which the client is heard or how the coach communicates. Does the client have to earn belief, or is this a lifestyle choice engrained by the coach in self-care and perspective toward others? With Christ, there is an additional layer within whom God created a person to be. Welcoming this through belief can influence what a coach hears, asks, and the coaching experience.
How does this change coaching sessions?
When a coach has experienced the shift of believing in oneself, the ability to hear deeper and more broadly is enhanced. Being able to welcome a client into an environment where a person has overcome doubt, turned obstacles into opportunity, and moved forward rather than giving up is experienced through presence and partnership with the client.
The second ICF Coaching competency is called "Embodies a Coaching Mindset." The ICF shares, "Definition: Develops and maintains a mindset that is open, curious, flexible, and client-centered."
A subpoint from ICF Competency Number Two is:
Acknowledges that clients are responsible for their own choices
Partnership is possible when a coach takes responsibility for personal growth and leaves the client responsible for their own choices.
Asking "powerful questions" can result from a partnership with the client. When we live out compassionate curiosity as coaches, awareness is drawn to motivation, value, significance, and possible bridging or stretching moments for the client. Coaches come alongside, forming questions and remaining present with what the client brings.
The most effective questions I have found remain in the client's vocabulary—ones that come alongside the client's process rather than disturbing it. Pacing oneself with the client and offering room for them to form connections is essential. If elements of additional perspectives, silence, reflection, and self-expression are evident in coaching sessions, valuable moments of insight or awareness can occur. As a coach, I rarely summarize for the client. A role as a coach is listening for significance and patterns in times such as when the client is summarizing. The coach needs to know if a client has dismissed something they communicated as essential.
The most effective questions, what many like to call powerful questions, are the ones that reflect partnership. A coach's ability to come alongside a client's values, motivation, energy, and goals while listening in belief reveals a coach who is ready for powerful questions! These questions can take many forms. For example, a client might value family relationships. How might this serve as an additional perspective opportunity for the client?
One practice I have added in this season of coaching has been using the first coaching session or pre-coaching conversation to learn about crucial stakeholders or people and elements for the client's context. This resource allows a coach to be aware of additional factors or perspectives the client can consider and acknowledge throughout the coaching journey. Impactful questions meet clients where they are while inviting them to develop awareness and connections. When a coach asks the client to connect or describe elements such as additional perspectives, awareness, emotions, or reflection, long-lasting shifts can occur.
Two Questions to consider:
How might embracing profound belief in clients and partnering within yourself affect the coaching atmosphere?
If powerful questions are rooted in partnership with a client, how might you use what the client brings to form effective questions in coaching?
