I was hanging out with my friends Sandy Grason and Mary Kay Morgan last night and at one point the topic of coach training and certification came up. As a general rule, when it comes to my own life I tend to care a great deal if the professionals I go to are certified or licensed – such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, therapists, contractors and day care providers, etc.; but, since the coaching industry is so NOT regulated it has turned into an industry where you have people who are practicing with all levels of education and experience.

Now, personally I paid my $4000 dollars and got my certification but I think that was much more a function of my very long academic background (I finished my last graduate degree at the age of 31 and I’m pretty sure there’s still another degree with my name on it out there:) than the fact that I really needed it. Trust me, you go through 5-6 years in graduate work in the fields of counseling and sociology and “coaching school” is not entirely necessary.

But, one of the things that did come up during the conversation was that while we’ve all experienced amazing coaches who have never taken a coaching class in their life and have had other coaches with a list of credentials who were quite bad, the ability to come up with really powerful and effective questions is not always as easy for those who haven’t been trained. I love questions. There are moments when you ask the right question at the right time and there’s instant transformation. So, I decided to write a super quick list of what I consider to be the 7 most effective questions you can ask during a coaching session. They are not always appropriate but when they are, watch out. Hold the space for the person to answer and be prepared for some dramatic shifts in thinking and behavior.

Here they are:

1. What if that feeling/thought/story was no longer important to you? What would you be able to do/accomplish if it weren’t?
2. Why are you choosing to have this experience?
3. How is this working for you?
4. I hear what you are saying but I would not be the coach you wanted me to be if I let that go. What about that is true?
5. If you were your own coach, what kind of coaching would you give yourself right now?
6. What is the value of your current belief/thought/attitude?
7. What would you have to believe in order for this to be true?

These questions are great to have nearby when you’re coaching and also so that you can ask them of yourself if you need some clarity of your own.

If you have any more really effective ones you would like to add, I would love to hear them.