Coaching Question Library
Growth mindset research: Carol S. Dweck.
Powerful questions for every coaching scenario
A comprehensive library of coaching questions organized by coaching stage, skill focus, and situation type. Helps managers ask instead of tell, open thinking instead of giving answers.
Purpose
Equip coaches with ready-to-use questions that invite reps to think independently, build ownership, and avoid dependency.
Training Enrichment
Core Insight
Great coaches ask instead of tell, opening problem-solving and ownership in their team.
Real-World Challenge
In a high-stakes meeting, a team member faces a critical client question they can't answer. The manager, feeling the pressure to maintain credibility, instinctively jumps in to provide the answer, inadvertently teaching the team to rely on them instead of fostering independence and critical thinking.
Actionable Guidance
- 1When faced with a team member's question, pause and ask, 'What do you think?' to encourage their input.
- 2If a team member seems stuck, ask, 'What's the smallest step you could take today?' to promote action.
- 3During 1:1s, replace one directive statement with the question, 'How would you handle this situation?' to develop their problem-solving skills.
Coaching Prompts
- ?What patterns do you notice in how often you provide answers versus ask questions?
- ?In what scenarios do you feel compelled to give answers, and how can you shift to asking instead?
- ?How can silence in a conversation be used to help your team?
Application Drill(5 minutes)
During your next team meeting, consciously replace two directive statements with open-ended questions and note the team's response.
Success Criteria:
- ✓Team members provide their own solutions.
- ✓Increased engagement and critical thinking from the team.
Examples
- •Manager coaching discovery skills
- •Leader addressing deal slippage
- •Coach building rep confidence
Exercises
- 1Pick 5 questions and use them in your next 1:1
- 2Replace one 'telling' statement with a question today
- 3Review when questions and statements help the rep think; do not impose a numeric ratio
Tags
Related Artifacts
Expected Outcomes
- ✓Managers ask more, tell less
- ✓Reps think critically vs. wait for answers
- ✓Ownership and accountability increase
- ✓Coaching conversations unlock insight
Content Structure
ACT Framework Questions
ANALYZE QUESTIONS: • 'What pattern are you noticing?' • 'What's working? What's not?' • 'What does the data tell you?' • 'Where are you seeing friction?' • 'What's different about deals that close vs. those that don't?' COACH QUESTIONS: • 'What's your best guess on why that happened?' • 'If you could redo that moment, what would you change?' • 'What's one thing you're proud of, even if it didn't work?' • 'What did the buyer need to hear that we didn't say?' • 'What assumptions are we making that we should challenge?' • 'How do you think they perceived that?' TRANSFORM QUESTIONS: • 'What will you do differently next time?' • 'What's the ONE behavior you'll commit to?' • 'How will you know it worked?' • 'What support do you need to make this happen?' • 'When will I see this in action?'
Skill-Specific Coaching Questions
DISCOVERY & QUALIFICATION: • 'What pain did you uncover?' • 'How did you validate the problem is worth solving?' • 'What questions could you have asked to go deeper?' • 'How did you know they're the decision-maker?' • 'What's the cost of them doing nothing?' DEMO & PRESENTATION: • 'How did you connect features to their goals?' • 'When did you lose their attention-what happened?' • 'What stories could you tell to make it real?' • 'How could you make this more interactive?' • 'What's the one thing they need to remember?' OBJECTION HANDLING: • 'What's the real objection beneath the stated one?' • 'How could you reframe that concern?' • 'What evidence would address their doubt?' • 'When should you address objections-early or late?' • 'What's your best response to that objection?' CLOSING & NEGOTIATION: • 'What's their decision criteria?' • 'Who else needs to say yes?' • 'What's their decision process and timeline?' • 'Where's the value vs. where's the negotiation?' • 'What's your walk-away point?'
Situational Coaching Questions
WHEN THEY'RE STUCK: • 'What have you tried so far?' • 'What's blocking progress?' • 'What would happen if you did nothing?' • 'Who else has solved this problem?' • 'What's the smallest step you could take today?' WHEN THEY'RE OVERCONFIDENT: • 'What could go wrong?' • 'What are you not seeing?' • 'What would a skeptic say?' • 'How would your competitor attack this?' • 'What's your backup plan?' WHEN THEY'RE LACKING CONFIDENCE: • 'What have you done well before?' • 'What's one thing you can control?' • 'What would success look like?' • 'Who can support you?' • 'What's the worst that could happen-and how would you handle it?' WHEN A DEAL IS SLIPPING: • 'What changed?' • 'What signal did you miss?' • 'How can you re-engage?' • 'What would you do if you had to save this today?' • 'What can you learn for next time?'
Mindset & Ownership Questions
BUILDING OWNERSHIP: • 'What do you think?' • 'If this were your company, what would you do?' • 'What advice would you give someone else?' • 'What's within your control?' • 'How do you want to show up?' BUILDING SELF-AWARENESS: • 'What's your natural tendency?' • 'What's your blind spot?' • 'When are you at your best?' • 'What triggers you to react vs. respond?' • 'What's the story you're telling yourself?' BUILDING GROWTH MINDSET: • 'What did you learn?' • 'How did you grow from this?' • 'What skill are you building?' • 'What would make you 10% better?' • 'What's possible if you keep improving?' BUILDING ACCOUNTABILITY: • 'What did you commit to last week?' • 'What got in the way?' • 'What will you do differently?' • 'How can I support you better?' • 'What's your commitment for next week?'
Coaching Question Principles
THE POWER OF QUESTIONS: 'Great coaches don't give answers. They invite independent thinking.' PRINCIPLES: 1. ASK, DON'T TELL • Invite the rep to think independently • Build ownership and commitment • Reduce dependency on manager 2. OPEN > CLOSED • 'What did you learn?' > 'Did you learn anything?' • 'How will you approach this?' > 'Will you do X?' • Open questions create exploration 3. ONE QUESTION AT A TIME • Not: 'What happened and why and what will you do?' • Instead: 'What happened?' [pause] 'What will you do?' 4. SILENCE IS POWERFUL • Ask → Pause → Let them think • Don't rescue them from discomfort • Growth happens in the silence 5. FOLLOW THEIR ENERGY • Notice what lights them up • Double-click on insight • Let their curiosity lead QUICK REFERENCE: Best All-Purpose Questions: • 'What do you think?' • 'What else?' • 'What's the real challenge here?' • 'What will you do?' • 'How can I help?'
Authors
Target Audience
Duration
Reference tool for ongoing use
Difficulty
beginner
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