Questions questions

“Neuro-psychologists have demonstrated that the parts of the brain that are used by a coachee when a question is asked are different from those used when someone receives an instruction,” says psychologist Jonathan Passmore, programme director of the Masters in Coaching Psychology course and director of the Coaching Psychology Unit at the University of East London, quoted in Personneltoday.com.

 

This comes from a useful article written by Stephanie Sparrow which first appeared in “Training and Coaching Today” and points to evidence of the science behind coaching: if an executive coach can ask their client the right questions they can stimulate their client’s brain in a new way and generate new insight. However, as the piece goes on to point out, too many questions can get in the way of listening and according to Erik de Haan of the Ashridge Centre of Coaching, “asking only a few questions is the mark of a successful coach”. Sparrow also lays out five useful coaching questions suggested by de Haan together with the intention behind them:

 

Question: Why is this issue important for you now?

Intention: To discover more about the relationship between the coachee and the issue.

 

Question: What do you expect from coaching?

Intention: To establish objectives for the coaching.

 

Question: Where have you come across a similar issue?

Intention: To find out more about the coachee’s reaction to past challenges.

 

Question: What would you advise yourself?

Intention: To help the coachee take responsibility.

 

Question: If this is a symptom of something else, what is that?

Intention: To bring out another dimension of the problem.

 

I look forward to readers sharing their own favourite executive coaching questions…

 

Why does executive coaching work?

 

Executive coaching works because of the tools and processes that executive coaches use with their clients. Perhaps another way to ask the above question is “How does executive coaching work?”

 

Executive coaching methodologies draw on a variety of disciplines from business management, leadership theory, behavioural psychology, adult learning models, systems theory, neuroscience and neuropsychology. Neuropsychology, for example, is an interdisciplinary branch of psychology and neuroscience that aims to understand how the structure and function of the brain relate to specific psychological processes and overt behaviours. Greater understanding about the way the brain works can help us learn how to change our behaviour to improve our effectiveness.

 

The human brain has evolved over millions of years to deal with some pretty basic survival needs. Part of the brain called the orbital cortex is built to detect changes in our environment and alert us to anything unusual. The orbital cortex is also very closely connected to the amygdala which is where the brain processes fear; this is very helpful when you are face to face with a sabre-toothed tiger. But the orbital cortex and amygdala compete for processing energy with the prefrontal region of the brain which is where a lot of higher intellectual functions operate. So when we are under stress or faced with a challenging environment we tend to act more emotionally and impulsively as our animal instincts start to take over our logical and rational thought processes. This is can be less than helpful in a business situation.

 

By learning from other disciplines, executive coaching can help clients improve their self-awareness and help them explore how to improve their effectiveness. Executive coaches help their clients analyse their goals more objectively and make decisions about what actions they wish to take to achieve those goals. The executive coach provides a framework for this and to support their client make permanent changes in their behaviour to help them achieve their desired objectives.

 

This example of the relationship between the orbital cortex and the amygdala is just one of many ways in which other disciplines contribute to the executive coaching profession. A good executive coach is alert to new insight from other fields and draws his tools from other branches of learning. Here are some examples of such tools:

• Using lateral thinking techniques to help re-frame issues and give alternative perspectives to problems
• Exploring a client’s core values and how these values influence their personal decision making process
• Identifying the core motivation behind an objective
• Helping a client to identify the full range of their skills and strengths as well as undeveloped opportunities
• Helping a client to brainstorm alternative courses of action to generate greater choices or a wider range of potential solutions
• Provide a non-judgemental, non-threatening, trusting environment to encourage creative thought
• Encouraging a client to express their goals as SMART objectives
• Driving behavioural change through a disciplined and action-oriented development plan

Part of the success of executive coaching stems from the fact that it isn’t just a one off exercise but a sustained period of learning. Executive coaching is not like a morning spent in a seminar being told something that is forgotten within a couple of weeks. Executive coaching is about a close focus on a particular aspect of your personal improvement until it becomes second nature – lodged in your subconscious so you can work towards your goals armed with a new way of thinking and equipped with new skills, behaviours and habits that stick with you for years.