REINVENT YOUR FUTURE
Too often we exchange small talk without really engaging one another.  "Try on" many of the questions below with yourself, your clients, your friends, and your co-workers, and see what happens.  These questions help reveal what matters most to you, and may lead you into some intriguing, unexpected, rewarding, even life-changing discussions and explorations.  

Use these questions  as a point of departure, not a destination.  As you explore and challenge your assumptions, attitudes approaches, actions, and values, you may find  that questioning can be more than an entertaining pastime - it can become a way of life!

Jim LaDoux

100 Powerful Coaching Questions

- Rev. Dr. Felix Villanueva, MCC

Spiritual or Faith-based Questions
  • In what ways has God been generous to you?
  • How have you experienced God's abundant love today?
  • What's the most wonderful thing about God?
  • What is God inviting you to be a part of today?
  • Where is God in all of this?
  • What is God’s dream for your life?
  • What would life be like without anger?
  • Who can you forgive today?
  • When was God most real to you today?
  • When are you most aware of God’s amazing love for you?
  • What keeps you from experiencing God’s amazing love for you?
  • What is God’s deepest desire for you?
  • What part of God's responsibility are you feeling responsible for?
  • What are the signs that your church is headed in the wrong direction?
  • What's God already doing that you can join?
  • What would the heroes of our faith say to us about our big picture?
  • What is God's invitation to you, right now, today?
  • What are you learning about God on this journey?
  • What's the leap of faith you need to take?
  • What are the best ways for you to experience the sacred each day?

Current Reality Questions
  • What is happening now (what. who, when, and how often)?
  • What is the effect or result of this?
  • Have you already taken any steps towards your goal?
  • How would you describe what you did?
  • Where are you now in relation to your goal?
  • On a scale of one to 10, where are you?
  • What has contributed to your success so far?
  • What progress have you made so far?
  • What is working well right now?
  • What is required of you?
  • Why haven't you reached that goal already?
  • What's your definition of the big picture?
  • In what ways are you playing too small right now?
  • What's possible?
  • What are you not seeing, and who can help you see bigger?
  • What needs more attention, right now, today?
  • What needs less attention, right now, today?
  • What is most important for you to tackle today?
  • What are you pretending not to know?
  • When has worrying paid off for you?

What’s Next Questions
  • How are going to go about it?
  • What do you think you need to do right now?
  • Tell me how you're going to do that.
  • How will you know when you have done it?
  • Is there anything else you can do?
  • On a scale of one to 10, how likely will your plan succeed?
  • What would it take to make it a 10?
  • What obstacles are getting in the way of success?
  • What roadblocks do you expect or require planning?
  • What resources can help you?
Goal-oriented Questions
  • What do you want to achieve from this coaching session?
  • What goal do you want to achieve?
  • What would you like to happen with ?
  • What do you really want?
  • What would you like to accomplish?
  • What result are you trying to achieve?
  • What outcome would be ideal?
  • What do you want to change?
  • Why are you hoping to achieve this goal?
  • What would the benefits be if you achieved this goal?
  • If you had a magic wand and could make things happen, what would you like to see?
  • What is your dream?
  • What would happen if you could achieve your dream?
  • What would your life look like if you accomplished your goal?
  • What is your superpower?
  • What is your kryptonite?
  • What is your big picture?
  • What is it that you don’t know you don’t know?
  • What’s really possible?
  • How well do you deal with uncertainty?

Options Questions
  • What are your options?
  • What do you think you need to do next?
  • What could be your first step?
  • What do you think you need to do to get a better result (or closer to your goal)?
  • What else could you do?
  • Who else might be able to help?
  • What would happen if you did nothing?
  • What has worked for you already? How could you do more of that?
  • What would happen if you did that?
  • What is the hardest/most challenging part of that for you?
  • What advice would you give to a friend about that?
  • What would you gain/lose by doing/saying that?
  • If someone did/said that to you what do you think would happen?
  • What's the best/worst thing about that option?
  • Which option do you feel ready to act on?
  • How have you tackled this/a similar situation before?
  • What could you do differently?
  • Who do you know who has encountered a similar situation?
  • If anything was possible, what would you do?
  • Say more...

What’s Next Questions
  • What is missing?
  • What will one small step you take now?
  • When are you going to start?
  • How will you know if you have been successful?
  • What support do you need to get that done?
  • What will happen(or, what is the cost) of you NOT doing this?
  • What do you need from me/others to help you achieve this?
  • What are three actions you can take that would make sense this week?
  • On a scale of one to10, how committed/motivated are you to doing it?
  • What would it take to make it a 10?

Learn About Your Clients

Questions for Initial Sessions

QUESTIONS TO BEGIN THE RELATIONSHIP AND DISCERN A COACHING FOCUS
  • "So, how have you been?" (Great open-ended question to drill down from)
  • "What would a home run in your life look like this week?" (Make a list)
  • "What's been working for you since our last conversation?"
  • "What hasn't been working for you?"
  • "What do you need most from me today?"
  • "So, what have been your 'highlights' since our last session?" "And your 'lowlights'?" 
  • "I'm curious, how do you think I can help you this week?"

QUESTIONS TO DEFINE THE OUTCOMES OF A COACHING SESSION
  • "What, if you got it finished this week, would make you jump for joy?"
  • "What is the biggest change you are willing to make today?"
  • "What would you love to have happen by the end of this session?"
  • "What would you most like to get out of the next 30/45/60 minutes?"
  • "What would be the most helpful thing for you to take away from this session?"
  • "What if you worked on it right NOW, would REALLY put a smile on your face?"
  • "Imagine you've just had an ideal week. What 3 things did you complete?"
  • "What could we work on that would help you the most over the next few weeks?"
  • "What would you be disappointed we didn't work on today?"

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS TO RAISE DURING THE FIRST SESSION
  • "Tell me about yourself..."
  • "What specific goals would you like to meet by working with a coach?"
  • "What have you already done towards your goals?"
  • "How will we evaluate the success of the coaching at the end?"
  • "What kind of coach would you like me to be for you?"
  • "What are you expecting from the coaching?"
  • "What do you need most from me during our coaching?"
  • "What is the one thing I should not do/say to you?"
  • "What is the most exciting part of working with a coach?"
  • "What is the scariest part of working with a coach?"
  • "What is the biggest change you are willing to make today?"
  • "What is one thing you will do immediately after our session today?"

Questions About the Client

STRENGTHS
  • What comes naturally for you?
  • What do others say that you are good at?
  • What do you do better than most people?
  • In what ways are your strengths being used in ministry?

HISTORY
  • Where were you born?
  • What were some of your family traditions and faith traditions or practices?
  • Where did you go to school?
  • Briefly describe your faith journey. How did you end up here (church, city, workplace)?

ATTRACTIONS
  • What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
  • What activities give you the greatest sense of satisfaction?
  • What attracted you to your place of employment?
  • What aspects of your job are life-giving for you?
  • What do you do and where do you go to get your batteries recharged?

PEOPLE & PLACES
  • Who has had a significant influence on your life?
  • To whom do you go to for advice?
  • Who are your “cheerleaders” in life? Who challenges you in your faith journey?
  • Do you have any spiritual role models? If so, who are they?
  • In what settings have you had the greatest impact on others?

EXPERIENCES
  • What do you consider to be key turning points in your life?
  • What life situations have caused the greatest growth for you?
  • If you could live your life over, what would you do differently? Do more? Do less?
  • How would you describe your current prayer life?

DREAMS
  • What are some of your personal hopes and longings?
  • How do you see yourself partnering with God to fulfill your congregation’s vision?
  • Do you have a personal and professional development plan?
  • What are some of your dreams for this congregation?
  • Five years from now, what would you like others to say about your ministry?

Questions for Reflect on Between Sessions

  • How can I pamper myself today?
  • What am I grateful for?
  • Can I make someone smile this morning? Who?
  • What will recharge my batteries?
  • What is fun?
  • How can I have this be easy?
  • Who can I get to play with me on this project?
  • What is grace/serenity?
  • What makes me laugh?
  • Do I choose heavy or do I choose light?
  • Since I am going to do this anyway, do I choose to have it be neutral, hard, or fun? 
  • What can I do to my physical environment to have it nurture/relax/empower me? 
  • What is fulfilling, what feels good, and so what?
  • What is pleasure?
  • What acknowledgment can I give myself today?
  • What is kindness?
  • What is it to go softly into life?
  • What is abundance?
  • How can I have this be playful and light?
  • How can I double my vitality?
  • What should I give myself permission to do today?
  • When will I take a break today?
  • What thrills me?
  • What is it to be awed?
  • What is it to be generous with myself?
  • What is it to be gentle with myself?
  • What am I grateful for today?
  • What is it to be compassionate?
  • What do I regret/resent?
  • What am I unwilling to change?
  • Where might I be in denial?
  • What am I overlooking?
  • Where am I slowing down?
  • What is the decision I have been avoiding? 
  • Where do I stop short?
  • What is a big enough game?
  • What have I wanted to do and haven’t?
  • What keeps me from winning?
  • Where have I denied myself/others?
  • Why bother?
  • What am I being right about?
  • What complaint/fear/bad habit/discomfort can I do something about today?
  • Where am I asleep at the wheel?
  • What am I settling for?
  • What will this goal get me?
  • What am I overlooking?
  • How do I sabotage myself?
  • What is it to transcend my sense of failure/sense of resignation/feelings of “I can’t”?
  • Where am I selling out on myself?
  • What am I willing/unwilling to change?
  • What am I stepping over?
  • What is my reputation?
  • What do I expect of myself?
  • What is grace/enthusiasm/prosperity/abundance?
  • What is it to be proactive?
  • What is it to be centered/optimistic/non-attached
  • What is the one thing I could do to drastically reduce worry?
  • What needs more attention, right now, today?
  • What needs less attention, right now, today?
  • How do you silence your negative emotions?
  • What would make today special for you?
  • What is your relationship with money? Time? Relatives?
  • What is going well for you right now?
  • Where and when are you playing it safe?
  • What myth about yourself are you trying to keep alive?
  • How well do I deal with uncertainty?
  • What do you really believe about asking for help?
  • What is most important for you to tackle today?
  • Who makes me jealous? Why?
  • What are you learning about love?
  • What’s the most challenging part of love for you?
  • What’s a question that I need to be asking myself this month?
  • What needs my immediate attention this month?
  • If success was a certainty, what next steps would you take?
  • What’s the inner tape yo play when you find it hard to say “no?”
  • In a nutshell, what’s the main issue?
  • What action could you take to get rid of your negative inner tapers permanently?
  • What are you not doing but really need to?
  • What is the actual problem?
  • What gets in the way of you being at your best?
  • If my whole attention is focused on producing the result, what will I have to give up?
  • Why am I taking this action?
  • What is it to be fluid/flexible?
  • What is completion? Where am I incomplete?

Questions for Designing Your Life

Your History
  • Describe your three greatest accomplishments to date. What made these accomplishments stand out for you?
  • What have you incorporated into your current actions from your past accomplishments?
  • How could you use what you’ve learned from these accomplishments to assist you in making future changes?
  • What major transitions have you had in the past two years? (For example, new assignment, new residence, new relationship, etc.)
  • If you worked with a coach before or a similar one-on-one adult relationship (for example, a tennis coach, piano teacher, therapist) what worked well for you?
  • If you have worked with a coach, and you are not currently, how did that relationship end?

Your Potential
  • What is your personal and/or professional vision?
  • What would you like to contribute to the world
  • What are you most wanting to achieve in the next three years?
  • What are you most wanting to achieve in the next six months?
  • How ready are you to go for it?
Your Life
  • Who are or have been your major role models?
  • What attributes of these role models do you admire and want to emulate?
  • What are the five most positive things in your life?
  • What are five things you would like to change in your life that would make it even more satisfying, effective, and joyful? (Examples include relationships, information, environment, job.)
  • Who are the key supportive people in your life, and what do they provide for you?On a scale of 1 to 10 (1being least effective and 10 being most effective), rate the quality of your life.
  • By what criteria did you rate yourself
  • What percentage of the life you are leading is actually YOUR life?

Your Self Today
  • List five adjectives that describe you at your best. 
  • What prevents you from being at your best?
  • What energizes you? What saps your energy?
  • What are you learning and accepting about yourself at present?
  • In what ways do you currently spend time, that if you were to spend it differently, would yield greater happiness and achievement?
  • What do you consume now, that if you didn’t, would allow you to be healthier?
  • Could therapy effectively resolve some issue in your life now?

25 questions to ask a mentor

Ask your mentor to tell a STORY.
  • How did you land your current role?
  • Think back to five years ago.
    Did you envision this is where you would be?
  • Can you tell me about a time when you had a difficult boss? How did you handle it?
  • How did you learn to embrace failure?
  • What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned and how is it valuable?
  • Tell me about a recent setback and how you recovered?
  • Was there ever a job position that you applied for and got, but you weren’t 100% qualified?
  • How did you build the skill of always speaking so engagingly in front of others?

Ask your mentor for ADVICE 
  • How do you approach risk-taking?
  • What new skills do I need to move ahead?
  • How can I become a more assertive negotiator?
  • How can I be better at managing people who do not report to me?
Ask your mentor to be a SOUNDING BOARD
  • I’m considering a career transition. What do you see as the pros and cons?
  • Who are the people I need to align within this organization to achieve success?
  • What advice can you offer on how to progress in my career?
  • How do you successfully stay connected to key influencers who do not work in same
    office or geographical area?
  • When trying to gain buy-in to implement a new program, what tactics have worked
    for you?

Ask a mentor for FEEDBACK
  • Where do you see my strengths and what should I focus on to improve?
  • What do you see as some of my blind spots? 
  • How do you think others perceive me?
  • How I am viewed by leadership?
  • Do I come across as poised and calm?
  • How am I viewed (i.e., what’s my personal brand) in our organization?
  • Did everyone understand what I presented at the last meeting?
  • How could I have communicated my idea more clearly?


Questions Submitted by Students

Miscellaneous Questions

RELATING  Questions:
  • How are you doing? How is it with your soul?
  • What spiritual practices are supporting your life right now?

REFLECTING  Questions
  • What have you been learning about yourself and others?
  • What’s working or not working?
  • What do you think are the contributing factors?

QUESTION 1:  What would you like to talk about today?
  • What seems most important to focus on right now?
  • What is happening now (what, who, when, how often)?
  • What assumptions are guiding your interpretation of this issue?
  • Where are your energy and emotions around this issue?
  • Is fear part of this story?
  • Do you need more information?

QUESTION 2:  What would you like to take away from our session?
  • What are your goals/steps for the next 30 days?
  • What’s the ideal, in your mind?
  • What are some possible ways to get there?
  • Where do you anticipate you might get stuck or experience resistance?
  • What would be the simplest way to do this?

QUESTION 3:  Are we still talking about what matters most to you?
  • On a scale of 1-10, how important is this issue to you?
  • What is motivating you to work on this issue?

QUESTION 4:  What will you say or do (this week) to move forward?
  • What are your options? Which option do you feel ready to act on?
  • What takes priority for you?
  • What changes might be being called forth in you? in others?
  • How might your response to this issue play to your strengths?
  • What would happen if you did nothing?
  • What roadblocks do you foresee? How will you work with them?
  • How and when will you take some time to reflect back on this week?

QUESTION 5:  Who can support your next steps?  Who
  • Who can support your next steps?
  • Who could serve as a mentor or guide for you?
  • What kinds of resources will you need to move forward?
  • Which steps could be outsourced to others?

QUESTION 6:  Resource and Wrap-up
  • What did we accomplish today?
  • Are we still on track with your dreams and goals?
  • What was the most/least helpful part of today's conversation for you?
  • Prayer concerns?
  • When will we meet again?

Top 10 Questions for Leaders
  • What do you want to be able to say three years from now that you can’t say today (about yourself or your organization)?
  • What are the possible next steps?
  • Who can help you with this?
  • What's the truth about now?
  • How do you handle failure?
  • What do you model?
  • How much of a people pleaser are you?
  • What do you need to say goodbye to in order to move forward?
  • On a scale of 1 to 10 how committed are you to taking action? (1 = no commitment, lO=high commitment)
  • What's the payoff of not taking action?

Top 10 Year· end Questions for You or Your Team
  • What have you accomplished this year?
  • What have you learned this year? What skills did you pick up?  What lessons did you learn?
  • What got in your way? Where will your work be next year? 
  • Who contributed to your success? 
  • What can you do to recognize these members of your personal or professional team?
  • What mistakes did you make, and what did you learn from them?
  • How was your work consistent with your values?
  • Where did you not take responsibility? 
  • How did your performance rate? 
  • What do you need to let go of? 
  • What was missing for you this year? How can you address what's missing next year?

Miscellaneous Questions
  • What is motivating you?
  • What has you hooked?
  • What is missing here?
  • What does that remind you of?
  • What do you suggest?
  • What is underneath that?
  • What part of what I said was useful? And how so?
  • What is this person contributing to the quality of your life?
  • What is it that you are denying yourself right now?
  • What do you need to put in place to accomplish this?
  • What is the simplest solution here?
  • What would help you know I support this/you completely?
  • What happened?
  • What are you avoiding?
  • What is the worst that could happen?
  • What are you committed to?
  • What is your vision for yourself and the people around you?
  • What don't you want?
  • What if you knew?
  • What's your heart telling you? What are you willing to give up?
  • What might you have done differently?
  • What are you not facing?
  • What does this feeling remind you of?
  • What would you do differently if this problem were solved?
  • What does your soul say?
  • What do you need to say goodbye to in order to move forward?
  • What's the payoff for you of not dealing with this issue?
  • Are things as bad as you say they are or are they worse?
  • At what point when you say "yes" are you really feeling "no"?
  • What is the decision you are avoiding?
  • What are you pretending not to know?
  • What are ten things I absolutely need to know about you?
  • What are you NOT saying? What are you holding back?
  • Are you pursuing a goal that no longer makes sense?
  • What internal rules and unspoken standards are having a negative impact?
  • What do you really, really, really, REALLY want?

Concise, Concrete Questions

  • What's next?
  • What do you want?
  • What are you afraid of?
  • What is this costing you?
  • What are you attached to?
  • What is the dream?
  • What is the essence of the dream?
  • What is beyond this problem?
  • What is ahead?
  • What are you building towards?
  • What has to happen for you to feel successful?
  • What gift are you not being responsible for?
  • What are your healthy sources of energy?
  • What's stopping you?
  • What's in your way?
  • What would make the biggest difference here?
  • What are you going to do?
  • What do you like to do?
  • What can you do to be happy right now?
  • What do you hope to accomplish by having that conversation?
  • What do you hope to accomplish by doing that?
  • What's the first step?
  • What would it be like to have excitement and fear at the same time?
  • What's important about that?
  • What would it take for you to treat yourself like your best client?
  • What benefit/payoff is there in the present situation?
  • What do you expect to have happen?
  • What's the ideal?
  • What's the ideal outcome?
  • What would it look like?
  • What's the truth about this situation?
  • What's the right action?
  • What are you going to do?
  • What's working for you?
  • What would you do differently?
  • What decision would you make from a place of abundance?
  • What other choices do you have?
  • What do you really, really want?
  • What if there were no limits?
  • What aren't you telling me that's keeping me from coaching/helping you?
  • What haven't I asked that I should ask?
  • What needs to be said that has not been said?
  • What are you not saying?
  • What else do you have to say about that?
  • What is left to do to have this be complete?
  • What do you have invested in continuing to do it this way?
  • What is that?
  • What comes first?
  • What consequence are you avoiding?
  • What is the value you received from this meeting/conversation?
  • What do you hope to celebrating to three months from now? A year from now?
  • What is holding you back? What keeps getting in the way?
  • What can you do today to move closer to your goal?
  • What is your biggest, wildest dream?
  • What keeps you up at night?
  • What has motivated you in the past to reach/achieve difficult goals?
  • How can your past learnings, successes, and challenges inform your next steps?
  • Who can help you with this?
  • What are you tolerating?
  • What has served you in the past? Is it still in effect now?
  • What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?
  • What part of this goal is yours? What belongs to someone else?
  • Who else can support you? What do you need most from me?
  • What are you grateful for?
  • What makes your heart sing?
  • What's missing?
  • What do you have to do differently to make this happen?
  • What do you need to put in place to make this happen?
  • When you attain your goal, what will it look like?
  • Who do you know that is already doing this well?
  • What will be the signs that it's time to begin?
  • How will you know that you have succeeded?
  • How will you know when you arrive?
  • What about yourself-do you need to change?
  • What is one thing you need to focus on to get where you want to go?
  • Could you be mistaken? How could you check this out?
  • Does this align with your vision and goals?
  • What is one thing you feel really good about over this past week?
  • What one thing would make the biggest difference right now?
  • What's your belief about this situation?
  • What would you like more of? Less of?
  • What is true about this situation?
  • What are the effects of this on you?
  • What steps would move this forward?
  • How attached are you to the outcome?
  • What is the "should" in this situation?
  • Is this the time to begin?
  • What is the truth about this situation?
  • What is the path of least resistance?
  • Is there another way? Let's brainstorm five to ten other possibilities.
  • What is this costing you?
  • Can you see what is beyond this problem?
  • Can you see what's ahead?
  • Are you open to a completely different way of looking at this?
  • What are your actions saying about this situation?
  • What will happen if you keep doing this for the next ten years?
  • Underneath all of this, what are you really committed to?
  • What is the legacy that you want to leave behind?
  • May I push you on this?
  • So, what's possible here?
  • What opportunities are you not taking advantage of?
  • Who's really in charge here?
  • What are five changes or actions that you can take in the next 30 days that will move you forward?
  • What are you willing to do to make this work?
  • What consumes your time?  What distracts you from fulfilling your goals?
  • What are you afraid of about this situation?
  • What is the worst that could happen? And if that happened, what’s the worst that could happen after that?
  • What is the best that could happen?