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January 10, 2023 • Rich Litvin

Challenging and provocative questions

Last year I wrote The Coach’s Prayer. It begins:

God, grant me the wisdom to seek questions
I cannot answer 
And seek answers 
I don’t cease to question.

If you want to stand out as a coach you’ve got to become extraordinary at asking your clients challenging and provocative questions. Your questions cannot be generic. They need to be tailor-made for each person you coach.

I was a teacher before I became a coach and I’ve spent over 30 years asking powerful questions. 

In 1997 I read Stephen Covey’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and I began a Weekly Review habit of answering 3 questions:

  1. What did I accomplish last week?
  2. What did I not accomplish?
  3. What will I accomplish next week?

Without a doubt these 3 simple questions changed my life. Until then, I’d been completely unconscious about how I lived my life. 

From that moment on, I began to take responsibility for my life and everything changed. 

My questions have changed over the years but the habit of seeking out great questions has not. 

What questions have had the biggest impact on your life?

Love. Rich 

 

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