The Coaching Habit

I thought this was an excellent book.

I appreciate the authors writing style (causal and with good humor) and how formulaic the chapters are.

This book is easy to consume in a couple of 1-2 hour sessions depending on your reading speed.

If you are leading people, you know that asking great questions is an important part of your job. The coaching habit gives you 7 questions to ask. The best part about each chapter is it explains why the questions are so powerful and some underlying psychology it triggers.

The author does a great job of connecting the dots between popular books in the habit formation category to support and augment his points. If you love reading books by Charles Duhigg, Simon Sinek, or Greg McKeown you will find this to be in the same lane.

Habits & Questions

I appreciated the author taking time to illustrate how leaders often have a bad habit of answering questions for people. Their motives can range from ego, lazy to short on time. But what’s most important is to ask a leading or deep question that helps focus the individual or conversation topic so the answer is mutually discovered.

The Coaching Habit Questions

1. The Kickstart Question – “what’s on your mind?”
2. The AWE Question – “and what else?”
3. The Focus Question – “What’s the real challenge for you here?”
4. The Foundation Question – “What do you want?”
5. The Lazy Question – “How can I help?”
6. The Strategic Question – “If you’re staying Yes to this, what are you saying No to?”
7. The Learning Question – “What was most useful for you?”