The Best Questions to Ask to Take Full Advantage of Your Coaching Sessions
In a perfect world, your coach enters your session, informs you exactly what steps to take to reach your personal development goals by simply looking at you, and sends you off into the sunset on your way to reaching all your goals. But that’s not an accurate depiction of how coaching works. It takes a bit more effort on your part, but the outcome is well worth it.
You’ll need to do some preparing on your end to make sure you’re getting the most out of your sessions. The best way to do so is to compile a list of questions. This will not only be beneficial for you, but also for your coach to better understand you and have a greater chance of helping you succeed.
There are a multitude of questions you can ask, especially in a long-term coaching relationship, but we’ll focus on the top four you can start with.
- Are my goals realistic? It can be easy to let your dreams run wild and get blown out of proportion. It’s also normal to believe you can take on more and to think of yourself as superman/woman. Having big goals is good, but sometimes it’s helpful to have an unbiased assessment of what’s possible short-term and what’s better as a long-term goal. You can also use this question to collaborate with your coach on the best approach for your goals.
- Which area should be my top focus? It’s often difficult to prioritize things, especially if you have a biased view. What may seem the most urgent to you, might be at the bottom for your coach. They have the benefit of being an outside perspective, so take advantage of that. Their top priority is to help you succeed which allows them to see which is the most important area for your growth.
- What can I do to move outside my comfort zone? Growth happens when you leave your comfort zone, so it’s imperative you’re able to do so. It’s not always easy to do this on your own but your coach can help provide you with little steps or challenges that will help you emerge from it.
- How much time should I be dedicating to this? The saying, “You reap what you sow” applies here. To get the most out of your coaching, you need to put in the necessary time to achieve your desired change and/or growth goals. Work with your coach and be honest about how much time you can set aside each day/week in your schedule.
When you first hire a coach, you probably have a specific goal you want to achieve where you need their help or guidance. These questions can help ensure you set yourself up for success to get there. Don’t be surprised if you discover other personal growth aspirations along the way though — that’s fairly normal. Keep coming to your sessions with specific questions so you can continually grow and tackle each goal as they arise.
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Written by Rachel Strysik
