4 easy steps for ANYONE to Coach with Powerful questions!

Coaching the team members in self-management and cross-functionality

This is an extract of the book Scrum Unlocked:

One of the key responsibilities of the Scrum Master is to serve the Scrum Team by coaching team members in self-management and cross-functionality. This means that the Scrum Master helps the team develop their skills and capabilities to work more effectively together and achieve their goals.

Coaching team members in self-management involves helping them to become more autonomous and self-organizing. The Scrum Master encourages team members to take ownership of their work and to make decisions independently within the framework of Scrum. They help the team develop their decision-making skills so that they can make informed choices about how to approach their work and overcome obstacles that arise.

Coaching team members in cross-functionality involves helping them develop their skills in different areas to work more collaboratively and effectively as a team. The Scrum Master helps team members to identify their strengths and weaknesses and to work on developing their skills in areas where they may be less experienced. In addition, they encourage team members to share their knowledge and expertise so that everyone can contribute to the team's success.

For instance, disagreements, lack of decision, or confusion about a topic. The Scrum Master can bring the topic for discussion, facilitate, and allow the Scrum Team or Developers to determine what to do as a self-managing team.

Coaching the Scrum Team in self-management and cross-functionality is essential for the team's success. It helps team members become more autonomous, collaborative, and effective and ensures they can deliver value to the customer and the organization. The Scrum Master is critical in this process, providing guidance, feedback, and support to help the team continuously improve and optimize their performance.

For instance, if the Scrum Team wants to skip a Scrum event or skips tests from Definition of Done to deliver faster, the Scrum Master, instead of saying, “You must follow the Scrum Guide,” or “Because Scrum says so,” can ask powerful questions to make the team reflect on how the decision will affect the ability to inspect and adapt, what will be the risk or not meeting the goals, or what will the stability and quality of the product in the long term be and its consequences. People should believe in the change rather than imposing it.

GROW Coaching framework

The GROW coaching model is a widely used framework for coaching conversations that can help individuals or teams set and achieve their goals. The acronym stands for:

• G - GOAL: Define a clear and specific goal that the coachee wants to achieve.
• R - REALITY: Obstacles or challenges that prevent them from achieving their goal.
• O - OPTIONS: Different options to overcome obstacles and move closer to the goal.
• W - WILL: Specific actions that the coachee will take to achieve their goal.

1. Goal: The first step is clarifying the goal or objective the coachee wants to achieve. This helps the coach and the coachee to understand what they are working towards and why it's important.
2. Reality: The next step is to explore the current reality of the situation. This involves assessing the coachee's starting point, resources, strengths, weaknesses, and any obstacles or challenges that must be overcome.
3. Options: Once the goal and reality are clear, the coach and coachee can brainstorm potential options or strategies for achieving the goal. This step encourages creativity and generates a range of potential solutions.
4. Will: The final step is to help the coachee commit to a specific action. This involves selecting the most effective option and creating a plan for moving forward. The coach helps the coachee to identify the necessary steps, resources, and support needed to achieve their goal and to create a timeline for taking action.

The GROW model is a flexible and effective coaching framework that can be adapted to various coaching contexts and goals. It helps to structure coaching conversations, provide focus and direction, and support the coachee in achieving their goals.

Powerful questions

Powerful questions in coaching are open-ended questions that aim to stimulate deeper thinking, self-awareness, and reflection in the coachee. They encourage the coachee to explore their thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and actions and to gain insights into their challenges and goals. Powerful questions do not have a straightforward answer and help the coachee to see things from different perspectives and uncover underlying assumptions, biases, and patterns. They often help the coachee gain clarity, overcome obstacles, develop new strategies, and make decisions. Examples of powerful questions in coaching include:

• What would you do if you had no fear of failure?
• What assumptions are you making about this situation?
• How can you turn this challenge into an opportunity?
• What do you want to achieve, and why is that important?
• How can you apply your strengths to overcome this obstacle?
• What support do you need to achieve your goal?
• How would you describe your ideal outcome?
• What have you learned from this experience?

5 Strategies for using powerful questions in coaching

Strategies for using powerful questions in coaching include active listening, avoiding giving solutions and letting the coachee find their own solution and take action. This helps the coachee to develop problem-solving skills, take ownership of their actions, and build confidence in their abilities. The coach can also encourage the coachee to explore various options and weigh the pros and cons of each, to help them make an informed decision. Using powerful questions, the coach can guide the coachee towards discovering their solutions and owning their growth and development.

1. Ask open-ended questions: Powerful questions are open-ended questions that encourage exploration, creativity, and problem-solving. Avoid questions that can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no" and instead ask questions that begin with "what," "how," or "why."
2. Use reflective listening: Reflective listening involves paraphrasing what the coachee has said to ensure you understand them correctly. This demonstrates that you are listening actively and can help the coachee feel heard and understood.
3. Avoid leading questions: Leading questions can inadvertently guide the coachee toward a particular answer or solution. Instead, ask neutral questions that allow the coachee to explore all options and find and own their solution.
4. Allow for silence: Silence can be uncomfortable, but it can also be powerful. Giving the coachee space to think and reflect can lead to deeper insights and more meaningful conversations.
5. Follow up with action steps: Powerful questions can help the coachee gain clarity and insight, but it's important to follow up with actionable steps. Ask the coachee what action steps they will take and how they will hold themselves accountable for progress towards their goals.

Powerful questions with GROW model

Powerful questions can be classified into many groups to address a conversation. However, combining them with the GROW model is a simple way to use them. You can use the following questions for a one-to-one conversation or with a team:

GOAL

• What is your desired outcome?
• What would success look like?
• What are you hoping to achieve?
• What are your long-term goals?
• How can you align your goals with the goals of the organization?

REALITY

• What is currently happening?
• What have you tried so far?
• What is the biggest challenge you're facing?
• What resources do you currently have?
• How do you feel about your current situation?

OPTIONS

• What are some possible solutions?
• If it was up to you, what would you do?
• How can it be more fun?
• What might happen if you took a different path?
• What are some alternative ways of approaching this problem?

WILL

• Which option resonates most with you?
• What is one small step you can take to move closer to your goal?
• What action will you take next?
• How will you hold yourself accountable for taking action?
• What support do you need to follow through on your plan?

Powerful questions at a team level

Now, we can also use the powerful questions when we look at the team to reflect and take action. Here are some examples of powerful questions designed to address a conversation with a team:

GOAL

• What are the key objectives we want to achieve as a team?
• What impact do we want to have on our customers or stakeholders?
• How will we know when we have achieved our goal?
• What is the vision we have for our team?
• How can we ensure our goals align with the company's vision?

REALITY

• What are the biggest challenges we are currently facing as a team?
• What is working well for us as a team?
• What are the root causes of our current challenges?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of our team?
• How do we communicate and collaborate as a team?

OPTIONS

• What are some potential solutions to our current challenges?
• What resources do we need to implement these solutions?
• What are the risks associated with each solution?
• What are the potential benefits of each solution?
• What would be the impact of not taking any action?

WILL

• Which solution do we think is the best option for us to pursue?
• Who will be responsible for implementing the solution?
• What are the next steps we need to take to move forward?
• How will we measure the success of our solution?
• What can we do to stay committed to implementing our solution?

Source: Scrum Unlocked