A Powerful question to drive improvements

A small step forward in the right direction will take us closer to the target no matter where we start or where are heading.

I have a question that I use frequently in coaching conversations to understand the current state of things and even more importantly to understand what the person can do to make things better.

Understanding the present

I start by asking the question; how are things today?

If the smiling face is you jumping up and down, super energized about everything and if the unhappy face is you feeling super frustrated, unmotivated and very low on energy; where are you today?

Understanding where we are heading

If I were to ask you the same question in two weeks time; where do you think the pointer would be? Is the pointer moving upwards or downwards? Why do you think it is moving in that direction? Is there something that you worry about?

What can we do to impact the movement

Now when we know which direction things are moving we want to understand what we can do to make things better.

• If things are getting worse
  • Which are the actions we can take to change that movement?
• If things are getting better
  • What can we do to increase the positive movement?
  • Do we see risks that could change the positive movement? If so, what can we do to mitigate those risks?

In short

Identifying small and tangible things that we can do to make things better is a powerful tool to drive positive change.