An important skill for coaches and mentors to develop is knowing the appropriate time to ask the appropriate questions to facilitate growth in a client or protege. The complexity of this skill, referred to as probing questioning, is marked by the complex differences between every individual.
Daloz illustrates his ability to ask strategically-selected probing questions in every story he shares. As he recaps where each of his students are in their transformational journey in education, it is clear he is aware of students' confusion or discomfort, regardless of whether the student is. Daloz takes risks by asking questions that may cause the student further discomfort, knowing that the goal is to foster the student's individual growth.
Daloz demonstrates that questioning is never the same for any two conversations. He also eloquently asks the questions in the form of dialogue and not of interrogation. In much the same way, a coach must know when to acknowledge that a client may need to look at a subject in a new way. Oftentimes the simplest questions can hold the most insight for us. This stems from the fact that we, as students or clients, are often so close to our daily lives, so entrenched in the rigors and immersed in the routines, that we have difficulty stepping outside of it to see the bigger picture. It is often by way of an outside source that we can be asked the simple "Who, what, whens and wheres" that open our eyes. One of the simplest, but most eye-opening questions a coach asked me when I first began my coaching certification was, "What does success look like for you?"
Have you ever been asked a question that instantly changed the way you looked at a problem? Please feel free to share!
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