Section 9: Questions Only!

This is meant to be an easy, fun exercise! I hope that it reveals that you do not have to
fix or advise as much as you thought; that simply asking wide open questions may be
the most helpful listening approach you can offer.

Feel free to use the “cheat sheet” below to support you in having a Questions Only
conversation. That’s right, your job is to only ask powerful questions (not yes/no
questions). Try at least two conversations of five minutes or longer where all you offer
are powerful questions and see what happens!

After you’ve had a conversation where you only asked Powerful Questions, consider the
following:

Conversation #1:

What was challenging about

it?

What was easy about it?

Conversation #2:

What was challenging about

it?

What was easy about it?

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 Section 9: GROW

Goal: Developing the picture and resonance of the goal

x Where do you want to be? What’s the outcome you’re going for?

x What is your ideal? What do you want?

x What is important about this to you? What’s the impact of this?

x Describe what we’ll see happening when this vision is realized—what are you
feeling, seeing, hearing? What are others feeling, seeing, hearing?

Reality: Confront the brutal facts, positive and negative, together

x Where are you (we) now?

x What is working for you (us) about the current situation?

x What is working against you (us)?

x What’s stopping you (us)? How might you be stopping yourself?

x What is the stretch for you (us) to reach the ideal outcome?

Options: Brainstorm possible actions

x If there were no limits, what would you do?

x What would it take to have this happen?

x What have you tried so far?

x What are you afraid to do?

x What would be easy? Fun? Interesting?

x What if you wanted to suffer a lot, how would you approach this?

x What would be a quick win?

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Will: Way Forward

x What are your next steps?

x What will you start doing? Stop doing?

x How will you know if it’s working?

x What support do you need to accomplish this?

x When will you take action?

x What accountability structure will support you?

(Adapted from “Coaching for Performance” by Sir John Whitmore)

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