Asking questions is the pivotal
coaching move – the shift that takes us from a consulting to a cognitively-challenging
stance. It’s the central move in the GIR
model. Yet, time and again, coaches tell
me it’s the hardest shift to make along the Gradual Increase of Responsibility
model for coaching. It can be difficult
to break the habit of making recommendations, even when teachers we are working
with don’t need them.
As I read about the “Extreme Question
Challenge,” in Liz Wiseman’s book, Multipliers,
I couldn’t help but make a coaching connection and think about how the
challenge might help coaches make a difficult shift. Liz describes a time when she was complaining
to a colleague about how, at home, she had become “the bossy mom,” constantly barking
orders and telling her kids what to do. Her colleague offered an interesting
challenge: “Try speaking to your children only in the form of questions. No
statements, no directives, no orders. Just questions.” Although the idea at
first seemed ludicrous, Liz decided to give it a try for one evening. As the
dreaded bedtime routine rolled around, Liz asked, “What time is it?” One child responded,
“It’s bedtime.” “What do we do when we get ready for bed?” Liz asked. Liz’s children responded to all of her
questions, leading themselves through the bedtime routine that was typically
such a struggle.
Liz said she was shocked and wondered,
“What has happened to my children? How long have they known how to do this?” She kept up the experiment for a couple of
days before returning to more normal conversational patterns. Liz said she discovered her kids knew how to
do a lot more things than she had thought.
Impressed by this revelation, she
decided to try the experiment with the business team she managed. Liz reported that she found her team to be
even smarter than she previously thought!
She realized they didn’t need her to tell them what to do, but, rather,
they needed her to ask them intelligent questions.
So, what do you think? Are you ready to try the Extreme Question
Challenge in coaching? To force a change
in habit, you could make a short-term, 100% commitment. Try it for one meeting. If you think the shift in conversational
pattern might seem abrupt or strange to teachers, tell them you are
experimenting with your coaching role. Then
go for it and see what happens! As the
teachers you are working with take up the increased intellectual challenge, it’s
likely there will be greater collective learning – for the teachers and for
you!
Once a coach accepts that she doesn’t
have to have all the answers, she is free to ask bigger questions. Together, you and the teachers you are
coaching can figure out things you don’t yet know. Full effort comes when people see a challenge
they can respond to. Brains will be stretched
as you each reach for the next inquiry and response.
This
week, you might want to take a look at:
Three
ways to manage a chatty classroom:
Why
kids need play:
Play
is good for adults, too:
How
to stay in the profession:
5
essentials for coaching success:
That’s
it for this week. Happy Coaching!
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