Coaching with questions instead of giving answers
An assistant superintendent brings you a delivery clash and waits for an answer. You can solve it quickly, but this is the third similar question this week. The assistant has the schedule and supplier contacts yet has not used them to propose an option.
Ask questions that help the person define the problem, compare realistic options and choose the next action within their authority. Listen to the answer before supplying your own. Coaching works best on decisions the person can safely work through with the information available. It should not delay an urgent safety response or disguise a decision that only you are authorized to make.
- Check whether the issue needs an immediate direction or specialist decision. Deal with those needs first; use coaching for the parts the person has room and authority to resolve.
- Ask the person to describe the conflict in facts: what is due, which space or resource is shared and who is affected. Help them separate a confirmed constraint from an assumption.
- Ask what options they have considered and what each would change. Have them check the relevant programme, delivery commitments and site contacts rather than inventing an answer to satisfy you.
- Ask which option they recommend and why. Test the missing information with a further question, but avoid steering every reply toward the answer you already chose.
- Agree the next action, authority boundary and time for an update. If approval is needed, make clear who obtains it and what can happen while it is pending.
- Review the result briefly afterward. Discuss the reasoning that helped or failed so the person can use it on the next similar decision.
Common mistakes
- Turning questions into a quiz with one hidden correct answer.
- Asking for options before giving access to the necessary information.
- Using coaching to avoid giving an urgent direction.
- Taking the decision back as soon as the first proposal is imperfect.
Checklist
For the next coaching conversation
- Urgency and authority checked
- Problem stated in facts
- Assumptions distinguished
- Options and consequences considered
- Recommended action explained
- Update and review agreed
Check your understanding
A staff member proposes an option you dislike, but it meets the known constraints. What should you do?
