Steps to Establishing a Structured Coaching Session

Hi guys, In my previous blog I explained 10 Top Mistakes That We Do When Asking Questions. In this blog post I bring you the normal steps to establishing a structured coaching session. I want to highlight the source of this blog comes from Tony Stoltzsfus and his book “Coaching Questions: A Coach´s Guide to Powerful Asking Skills”.

While a coaching session should feel natural and organic to those in attendance, these events do not become successful by accident; to be effective, a coaching session needs to be structured in the manner outlined below:

1. Begin With Open, Caring Questions

One should begin a coaching session by asking questions that are both emotionally significant and open-ended; by doing so, the coach invites clients to express whatever is on their minds. It’s important to be aware of factors that may be influencing the coachee’s motivation and ability to work, after all, before one gets started on anything else.

Try asking questions like:

• “What´s been the best (or worst) thing to happen to you this week?”
• “What in your life is interesting you the most right now?”
• “Have you experienced any major changes in your life since we last met?”
• “What´s new with you? Has anything interesting happened this week?”

2. Engage in a Progress Report

While the progress report is only a brief step—taking about 3 to 5 minutes—it’s nevertheless essential. By reviewing the action steps from your last session, you can organise the current session effectively, making sure that you leave time to cover all the items that need attention. Simply ask the coachee to update you on the progress of his or her action steps, noting what has and has not been accomplished since the last session.

3. Set an Agenda

Following the progress report, you will know which actions require follow up steps, as well as being aware of any new or continuing action steps. You should assess this information in tandem with a general review of your overarching coaching goals, and then build an agenda based on what needs to be done to ensure that progress continues. You should ask the client’s input through using the following questions:

• “Which action steps from our last session do you think require a follow-up?”
• “Are there any steps you want to discuss with me? What’s on your agenda today?”
• “Is there anything you need to focus on today in order to meet your goals?”

Using a conversational model, such as GROW, is often helpful during this stage of the session, focussing the efforts of everyone involved as a new set of action items is developed.

4. Review the New Action Items

Finally, you and the client should review each new action step that has been created during the session, making sure that you are both on the same page regarding what needs to be done. Asking the client to describe the action steps he or she has listed is a great way to make sure the process has been properly absorbed; likewise, ask him or her to repeat which steps are scheduled for the coming week before closing the session.

Picture credits go to: Naturhotel Waldesruhe

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