Waste less time: Ask why to verify...

This week our coaching question of the week comes from one of our Head Coaches here at IMPACT,? Brian Casey .

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How often do we make the assumption that what has been said has been fully and clearly understood?

As much as we trust our clients, it’s critical that we never skip the step of verifying their understanding from their perspective. We trust?and?verify.

The way this shows up in my coaching and training is by asking variations of?‘Why is it important that we do it this way?’

Or simply,?‘why?’

This question is important for a few reasons:

• First, it forces the client to articulate it for themselves, and in order to do that, they have to think for themselves.
• Second, it gives me an opportunity to dial up the importance of the work by digging deeper. (What kind of problem does this solve for? What impact does it have? What would be a reason why we would stop doing this? How important is it that we never skip this?)
• Third, before we move on to the next topic or lesson, I can quickly get a sense of any gaps in their knowledge and respond accordingly, making sure that I haven’t made assumptions.
• Finally, if the client can say it back to me in a clear way, it gives me the confidence that not only have they learned and understood it, but they have also internalised and therefore own it for themselves.

What we don’t want to have happen is that the client keeps making the same mistakes, or missing out on important steps, and we waste a lot of time going back over the same ground.

So, what we do is build time into our coaching work to verify that the client has got this and we’re moving forward with the work we’re doing together.

Where can you use this question in your work with your clients?

Brian.

PS.?If you'd like a weekly letter and more coaching resources/tips from Chris Marr, go ahead and?subscribe to his weekly letter ?that lands in your inbox every Thursday.?

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