Now is the time of year when many of you are doing mid-year reviews with your clients and team members. This is when clients want to discuss financial issues that they’re having beyond their tax returns. They are looking for smart ways to grow their businesses and for ways to become more efficient and effective. Team members are looking for ways to enhance their professional skills, to take on challenging new projects and to become more valuable to the firm.
In either case, they’re looking to you for guidance about what to do next.
Every conversation you have with a team member or client is an opportunity to coach them. You can help them solve their own problems by helping them unlock their true potential. Come to think of it, isn’t that what all the great sports coaches do — help their athletes unlock their true potential?
Michael Stanier’s insightful book "
1. What’s on your mind? This is a great question to start with because it gives people permission to speak freely about anything that’s on their mind. Think of this question as the kickoff to your guided conversation. Whether you’re speaking with a client or a team member, “What’s on your mind?” is a direct (but nonconfrontational) way of asking what’s troubling them — i.e., what’s keeping them up at night.
2. And what else? This is a great follow-up question to “What’s on your mind?” The real issue usually pops up after you ask, “What else?” This question really helps people crystallize the challenge they’re facing so you can better help them resolve it. The other reason I love this question is because you can keep asking someone, “And what else?” until they really get down to exactly what they want to talk to you about. Only then should you move on to question No. 3.
3. What’s the real challenge here for you? Only after someone has articulated what they want to talk about can you ask them what the issue is for them. If they just tell you they’re unhappy, that’s not enough. Keep probing. For your team members, this is where they really start to articulate the problem. Most people have trouble articulating what the real roadblocks are in their life. If you can get to this point in the conversation, you’re 80% of the way to a solution.
4. What do you want? This is where you get down to brass tacks with a client or team member and ask them to clarify what they think an ideal outcome looks like. As the old saying goes, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” Helping people identify what they really want is a very powerful step toward arriving at a solution.
5. How can I help? This seems obvious on the surface, but clients may simply tell you they need a sounding board. Don’t trivialize the importance of this question, because “How can I help?” can become an expanded scope of service for you. For instance, a client may tell you they need help with “fractional CFO” or they need better reporting. A team member may have already started down the path of trying to solve their own problem. But they may need validation that they’re doing the right thing. And if a team member needs your help, great. Move on to question No. 6.
6. If you’re saying yes to this, what are you saying no to? If team members are asking for your help, you must explain that there’s a tradeoff: “I can help you with this. How should I solve this other issue I’m working on?” There’s an opportunity cost to how you spend your time helping people. Teach team members to respect each other’s time (including your own). They will be selective about when and how to seek your assistance and advice, realizing that most of the time they can handle their challenges without you.
7. What was most useful for you? This is a very powerful question for recapping the previous six questions and for tying together the conversation you’re having with a client or team member.
By using this seven-question methodology consistently, team members will find they’re getting better and better at solving their own problems. Clients will get better at articulating the value you’re providing as a sounding board — a trusted advisor who helps them arrive at solutions.
By the way, after clients tell you what they found most useful about your coaching process, you can ask them for a Google review. My recent article has more about the right way to
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