Coaching Questions: A Coach's Guide to Powerful Asking Skills

by Tony Stoltzfus

The single most important skill in coaching is asking powerful questions. In this volume, master coach trainer Tony Stoltzfus joins with 12 other professional coaches to present dozens of valuable asking tools, models and exercises, then illustrates these coaching strategies with over 1,000 examples of penetrating questions. Covering the gamut from basic techniques like options and actions to advanced concepts such as challenge and reframing, Coaching Questions is a book that will find a home on any coach's short list of handy references. Coaching Questions: A Coach's Guide to Powerful Asking Skills includes: 1. Dozens of asking tools, models, and strategies. 2. The top ten asking mistakes coaches make, and how to correct each one. 3. Nearly 1200 examples of powerful questions from real coaching situations. 4. Destiny discovery tools organized in a four-part life-purpose model . 5. Overviews of 15 popular coaching niches, with a tool and examples for each. 6. A schedule of training exercises to help you become a "Master of Asking".

Genres: Business, Leadership, Nonfiction, Management, Personal Development, Psychology, Communication

100 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Known for his wealth of practical tools and engaging writing style, Tony Stoltzfus has authored 21 books, launched several training organizations and is a founding figure in the Christian coaching. He's coached leaders worldwide through their most painful experiences in life for over 25 years.

Tony's full line of books and training aids is available at Leadership MetaFormation, a training organization that uses innovative, experiential learning methods to help you engage God from the heart.

Visit The Heaven Experience to enjoy his latest work, a journey to heaven that combines scripture and science for a breathtaking, mind-bending look at heaven and the incredibly good God behind it all.

Reviews

[Zoë · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend that any coach buy this book. It's packed full of useful questions and approaches to really get the most from sessions with your clients and is my most solid go-to ahead of my appointments. Also some 'coaching niches' sections, such as coaching for behaviour change, which definitely have their place. The missing star is just the slight jarring of the religious undercurrent (I appreciate this is written by a minister but as a business coach it didn't sit well) and the androcentric nature - 'what would your wife think?' sorts of examples which, once you've noticed it, makes you wary of a perspective which may not especially consider the female experience. But, looking past those elements, it's an incredibly useful resource.

[Jordina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a coach but I like and I am interested in coaching.
I have this book in my library because, sometimes when I feel confused, I love to find useful questions to ask me.
You can find a lot of contents: of coaching process, life coaching, decision making, motivations, ...

I love the GROW model
- G - Questions to establish a goal or OBJECTIVES
- R - Questions to determine the starting point or REALITY CHECK
- O - Questions to think creatively the OPTIONS
- W - Questions to make actions steps to a concrete action, WILL.

[Chuck Cova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource. Well organized and packed with lots of useful, practical information. I'm sure I'll be turning to this for a long time to come as I develop my coaching business and ministries.
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This was my 2nd time through, and now that I'm getting a bit of experience as a coach it meant even more. My plan is to keep this by my side, and continually read a page or two each day, to continually embed these thoughts/ideas/insights into my thinking as a coach.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. It has a lot of questions, as well as examples of contexts in which to ask them. These questions help prompt additional questions.

Many of the negative reviews I've seen came from a perspective of wanting these questions to be a substitute for coaching skills or of believing that what's the author intended the book to be. Reviews from such perspectives are worse than worthless.

[Lance McNeill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good value but repetitive

I got value for this book, especially based on its price compared to many other coaching books. However, I think a lot was repetitive and I was at times distracted by the choose your own adventure format.

[Angie Jones-Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a qualified Life Coach I have found this book to be invaluable.

It isn't the kind of book to sit down and read from cover to cover, however; it is a brilliant reference guide. When planning client consultations, there are tips and questions to offer suggestions on the ways in which you can conduct your consultations.

We all have our own methods and coaching styles, this book offers a great support to any coach with numerous different questions built around the same point to make your clients think and also to ensure the client achieves the best that they can from their coach.

I can see me using this for years to come, it was a reference text for my Advanced Life Coach diploma and a very useful one too.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource of information that is packed into this book! I definitely will be referencing it again and utilizing the content of the book to strengthen my ability to coach and get to the heart of helping my coaching clients to succeed at their life and goals. Simply perfect!

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[Glen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stoltzfus is a recognized leader in the life coaching world. He has produced a highly useful tool here that succinctly walks the reader through critical coaching needs by including several excellent model questions to use in helping others process important areas of life and work.

This particular book can serve as a reference guide for consulting whenever you are helping someone walk through significant events and/or decisions. Due to the topical arrangement and succinct chapters, the reader can quickly find the specific tools they need without reading the entire text. Even if you are not a coach, the excellent collection of questions contained here will help you become a life-giving listener to those whom you desire to serve.

[Marc Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're looking for a book that will teach you the power of asking great coaching questions, then look no further. In this book, Tony provides readers with a wealth of knowledge on how to ask better questions that can lead to more productive conversations. He also shares many helpful tips on how to listen more effectively and understand what your coachee is really saying. Overall, "Coaching Questions" is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to improve their coaching skills. And if you're like me and need a little help in that area, then I highly recommend this book.

[Susan A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coaching Questions, A Coach's Guide to Powerful Asking Skills, is an excellent book for anyone, not just coaches. It is well-formatted and the subjects flow through this information-packed question guide. I am so glad that I found this book because it will help my coaching, my interactions with others, and my life in general.

I recommend this for anyone who is a coach or wants to understand and help others better.

[Uomodellamansarda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer I am not a coaching expert. It was my first coaching book and I found it very practical.
It is a manual with six sections.

Why you should read? If you are a manager or leading an organization it helps to improve your relationship with others asking better questions and helping other to give their best.

My suggestions is to take notes and try to apply what do you read on weekly basis otherwise is useless.

[Fernando Pablo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice for a start

The book is very well structured. It comprises significant areas where coaching is applied and questions related to these areas. Nevertheless, there is a lot more to dig in into powerful questions, much more individual areas with potent questions to draft to a person that is initiating as a coach.

[Santosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great "how to" book for coaches

Great how to book for those who are in coaching. The book is structured topic wise.

However, some framework or model on Questions, there types etc would have added value.

Great resource to keep handy if you are into coaching. Either beginner or seasoned it will certainly help.

[Hans Wulffraat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in preparation for a missionary project that involves coaching local church leaders tasked with coaching new leaders in evangelistic outreach to communities of other religions.
It stimulated me to mentally go over the coming conversations and formulate both my strategy and detailed questions. Very helpful.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cheat-sheet style manual that helps new coaches ideate and create new questions. While this cannot substitute for a coaching training program, this supplemental material is extremely useful as a reference and starting point.

[Didi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It s valuable to understand client needs and possible new paths to create in their minds yet it s not enough to be practicing while reading.It gives a perception for readers about real mentoring not only coaching.

[Kindra Wilcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short read containing enough information to get a newbie started or give a refresher for someone more experienced with coaching. Although, at times, I wanted just a little bit more, I found it was generally enough to start my own thoughts and gave enough information to begin forging my own path.

[Kasia Hrms · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the concise style of this publication. The easiness to go through each chapter. I use it constantly when preparing for coaching sessions. An easy compendium on coaching structure and powerful questions.

[Oliver Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book. Every page is packed with useful distinctions, helping to break down the coaching process into a very easily understandable skillset while allowing the reader scope to modify those skills according to their personality/style. Highly recommended for coaches of any level/niche.

[Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much more than just a list of questions as I had expected. Recommended by Evercoach in their supplemental materials, I picked this up to bolster my arsenal of questions. What I found went deeper and presented several different methodologies with their related questions. This opened the book up to be a powerful toolkit for all types of coaches. Fantastic!

One caveat - there are a few annoying typos and the language is a little antiquated in places, especially in the back where it outlines the different types of coaching. But this is a minor bugbear that doesn’t detract from an excellent book.

[Irene Gracesiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why asking questions is important for leaders!
1. All the information is with coachee
2. Asking creates buy-in
3. Asking Empowers
4. Asking Develops Leadership Capacity
5. Asking creates authenticity

[Raya Al-Raddadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

مقدمة جيدة وشاملة لأغلب الجوانب المهمة فيما يختص بالكوتشنغ ومهارات طرح الأسئلة واقتراحات لبعض الأسئلة الفعالة تبعاً للمواضيع التي تطرح في الجلسات. من الكتب الجيدة للمبتدئين في هذا المجال.

[Alexander Lesnevsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my desk book.

[LaurieAnn Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great content for coaches!

[Debbie Jozwiak · Rating 3 out of 5]

This gave some good pointers for questions to ask clients. I wasn’t aware of the religious aspect of the book and the author. I wasn’t a fan of that personally.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good book with lots of examples and techniques. It will be great for reference when i start my practice.

[Julise · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is more like a manual and guidebook with many details questions that you can use in different scenarios. Good to take as a reference.

[Ann Louise Tisdale-Ramos · Rating 5 out of 5]

More of an important reference guide than cover to cover “book to read.”

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aveces se pierde con tanta pregunta, y con preguntas relacionadas con Dios.