Coaching DojoAn Introduction To Powerful Questions

14 – 8 – 2012Joost Mulders

Welcome!

ScheduleWhat is a coaching dojo?

Powerful questions

Powerful questions exercise

Practice Powerful questions

What is a coaching dojo?

A place to learn coaching skills.

Safe environment.

Not directly related to current work activities.

Focus on the skills, not on the content.

What is a coaching dojo?

Subject Coach

Coaching activity

FeedbackFeedback

Observer

What is a coaching dojo?

Subject Coach

Coaching activity

FeedbackFeedback

Observer

What is a coaching dojo?

Important about feedback:

Feedback should be constructive.

Be open in receiving feedback.

Be respectful in giving feedback.

What is a coaching dojo?

When giving feedback, THINK:

True

Helpful

Inspiring

Necesarry

Kind

Powerful Questions

Powerful Questions

What is a powerful question?

Powerful Questions

What questions are not powerful?

Questions with a yes / no answer.Are you able to finish the project before the deadline?

Questions with the answer already in the question.

Will you be dissapointed when the team fails the sprint?

Don’t you think it is important to be on time for the meeting?

Powerful Questions

Non – powerful questions limit the response.

Powerful Questions

A powerful question activates the brain

Powerful Questions

A powerful question activates the brain

Powerful Questions

Are truly open

Are not asked with a “correct” answer in mind

Show true interest in the person

Why..?How..?What..?

Who, when, were?

Yes / No Questions

More Powerful

Less Powerful

Powerful Questions

Samples:

Is there another way?

How can you do that better?

Can you explain that to me?

What will this get you?

What is it we’re not seeing?

What is your responsibility?

Powerful Questions

That’s very abstract, let’s look at some more concrete

samples…

Powerful Questions

Sample 1:

What Agile engineering practice will add the most value to this Sprint?

Powerful Questions

Sample 2:

What will be your reaction when the team fails?

Powerful Questions

Sample 3:

What action item from our retrospective do you feel you have the most influence over?

Powerful Questions

Why would you want to use them:

Invite introspection

Reveal additional solutions

Lead to greater creativity and insight

Send people into a realm of discovery

Powerful Questions

Don’t forget to listen

Powerful Questions

Enough theory, time to practice.

Powerful Questions

Exercise 1:

Take the powerful question cards.

Order them from least powerful to most powerful from left to right.

Powerful Questions

Exercise 2:

Take one of the three least powerful questions.

Rephrase the question to create a powerful question.

Powerful Questions

Practice exercise:

Make a group of 1 subject, 1 coach and 1 or more observers.

The subject presents a problem, the coach coaches the subject, the observer(s) provide feedback afterwards.

7 minutes coaching, 7 minutes feedback.

Rotate until each person has been the subject, coach and observer.

Powerful Questions

Debrief

10 min

Powerful Questions

Resources:

This presentationSlideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/muldersj

http://www.agiledevelopment.nl/powerful-questions/

Contact:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/joostmulders

Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/joostmulders

Thank you for your attention