Series - Utilizing Coaching Skills to Become a Better Leader – Part 9 Asking empowering questions

One of the biggest downfalls of some leaders is assuming that they have all answers and that their approach is superior to everyone else’s. Effective leaders assume they know very little and seek answers from their team by utilizing one of the most important coaching techniques – asking empowering questions. 

Not all questions are equal or empowering. Some questions are judgmental in nature and put others on the defense. A manager with the habit of asking questions like “Who screwed this up?”, “Why are we behind schedule?” or “What seems to be your problem?” is looking for a scapegoat, instead of focusing on solutions. 

Empowering questions on the other hand cause a person to search for new possibilities. They are expansive in nature. According to iPEC (The Institute for Excellence in Coaching), empowering questions are:

• Powerful
• Open-ended
• Clarity seeking
• Probing
• Challenging
• Thought-provoking
• Future-directed
• Solution-oriented

Empowering questions begin with “how”, “what”, “when”, “where”, and “if” or simply ask “tell me more”. Empowering questions are asked with curiosity, never with judgment. 

The benefits of asking empowering questions in the workplace have been recognized in many leadership books and magazines. These questions can cause a boost in motivation, morale, and confidence, and can lead to an increase in learning and self-awareness.

Here are some examples of my favorite questions to ask clients:

• What are you learning about yourself?
• What is holding you back?
• What is another way to look at that?
• How true is that?
• What does that mean to you?
• What could get in the way?
• How can I be of assistance?

I encourage you to make asking empowering questions a habit in your daily life, not just in the workplace, and observe how it will change your relationships. My prediction is that you will learn things you never knew about others and that asking empowering questions will broaden your mindset. If you need help in developing the skill of asking empowering questions, reach out to me at angela@belladonnacareercoach.com. I am happy to tell you more.