Effective coaching begins with self-awareness. The following pages contain four sets of questions about your personal interests, workplace goals, and the organization in which you work.

Look them over. You do not need to answer all of them, but consider how your interests align with the interests of your organization. Consider what changes you will need to make to become the leader your organization needs you to become.

The thinking provoked by these questions will enable you to focus more clearly on your coaching goals.

Personal

• What are you good at doing?

• What gets you “up in the morning”?

• What are your guiding principles, that is, what keeps you focused?

• How would you define your character, e.g. what do you stand for?

• What do you wish to accomplish in the short -term?

• What do you wish to accomplish in the long -term?

• What is (or may be) preventing you from accomplishing your goals?

• What can you do to improve your opportunities for success?

• What is your personal mission, e.g. why do you do what you do?

 

Functional Questions

• What is your job description? 
   
• What is the purpose of your job?

• What excites you about what you do?

• What do you spend your most of your time doing? [Give percentages of time -spent per task if useful]

• Is what you do aligned with your job description? If not, why?

• What should you be spending more time on? Why?

• What should you be spending less time on? Why?

• What can you do to reconcile any discrepancies?

 

Organizational Questions

• What is your organization’s vision?

• What is your departmental/functional vision?

• What is your organization’s mission?

• What is your departmental/functional mission?

• What is preventing your organization from fulfilling its vision or mission? What can you do to influence that outcome

 

Leadership Questions

• What is happening in your organization?

• What is happening in your department/function?

• What is NOT happening in your organization?

• What is NOT happening in your department/function?

• What can you do to influence the outcome?

• How can you do this?

• Starting when?