Coaching Questions Ch. 1.
...
1. Define Coaching-
...The intricate dance to assist clients to self actualize, fulfill goals successfully,
... [Show More] resulting in a higher level of living life in a state of wellbeing, physically and mentally, based in nonjudgment.
2. Describe how Wellness, health and fitness coaches differ from one another.
...Wellness Coaches--they encompass health, fitness and mental health professionals, who coach on an evidence basis of wellness (all professionals.) Health Coaches—They are Credentialed Health Care Professionals, nurses, NPs, PAs, Physicians who coach.Fitness Coaches—They are cardiac Rehab, PTs, Group Ex, CYTs who use coaching to enhance wellness.The difference between them is that Wellness Coaches encompass all coaches, health coaches are licensed Medical or Psychological professionals. Fitness Coaches are Cardiac Rehab, PTs, and group exercise or Yoga teachers who specialize in their fields.
Wellness Coaches--they encompass health, fitness and mental health professionals, who coach on an evidence basis of wellness (all professionals.) Health Coaches—They are Credentialed Health Care Professionals, nurses, NPs, PAs, Physicians who coach.
...
Fitness Coaches—They are cardiac Rehab, PTs, Group Ex, CYTs who use coaching to enhance wellness.
...
The difference between them is that Wellness Coaches encompass all coaches, health coaches are licensed Medical or Psychological professionals. Fitness Coaches are Cardiac Rehab, PTs, and group exercise or Yoga teachers who specialize in their fields.
...
3. Distinguish between Wellness Coaching and other forms of coaching.
...
Corporate coaches are used to improve work place performance of execs and upper management. Life Coaches help people through a transition such as career, retirement, divorce, life quality improvement, time management, finding passion or purpose. Wellness specifically focuses on wellbeing—improvement of health by examining personal goals, values and behaviors to make changes in fitness, nutrition, weight, health risks, stress management, smoking cessation, etc, towards life satisfaction.
...
4. Why are professional coaches needed in areas of physical and mental wellness?
...
Too many people have weight issues, don't exercise or eat well. They enable people to be done with quick fixes, overcome challenges, and to master health and wellbeing and make changes that last.
...
5. Distinguish between the coach approach and the expert approach to learning and growth.
...
Coaching is drawing out knowledge the client already has, to bring about change. They work in tandem with a client, at the client's level of self efficacy to make changes. The client is in control; they find their own answers; coaches rarely offer advice. Experts teach, analyze, problems, offer advice, prescribe solutions recommend goals, develop strategies, teach new skills, and with this lets subtly let clients off the hook of responsibility -"you aren't in charge."
...
6. Distinguish between coaching and therapy.
...
Therapy treats diagnosable disorders. (DSM-IV). Coaching does not diagnose, prescribe, and coaches do not work with people suffering from clinical dysfunction. Coaches work with people who are already doing things well who want to improve.
...
7. Identify and explain 3 key components of coaching used by professional and wellness coaches.
...
A. Values—Coaches believe clients are whole, creative, resourceful, resilient. Clients figure out their best paths; coaches help chip away at the outside to show the pure beauty within. Coaches value the process more than their own expert knowledge.
...
B. Relational skill—Coaches bring a beginner's mind, engage, arouse, energize, and challenge clients to do the work needed to create desired change. The qualities of good relational skills are; listening deeply, inquiry, (simple reflection) but also mindfulness, empathy, authenticity, affirmation, courage, zest, playfulness, and warmth.
...
C. Coaching process—There are many. The most important are the Trans-theoretical model of change, and to approach clients where they are, not where we as coaches want them to be. The stages of change are pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. Other systems are Appreciative Inquiry, Non-violent communication, motivational interviewing, social cognitive theory, ultimately dancing with the client in relational flow. Both, but mostly the client, are highly engaged, awake, challenged, and stretched.
...
8. Describe how people can use coaching to master wellness.
...
There are 12 themes as to why people use coaching to master wellness:
...
a. Quick fixes don't work—too many to count.
...
b. Precious asset—Health is precious, and hard to fix, easier to maintain.
...
c. Get off the fence—Tired of doing nothing.
...
d. Not about weight—It is about a state of wellness, a healthy balance.
...
e. Be the boss—"I am taking charge of me and my health."
...
f. Health style—My approach, not another person's choice.
...
g. Mental game—I know what I want to do, and want to master the mental game, turning the intention into reality.
...
h. Peak performance—to reach peak performance, I need to achieve peak wellness.
...
I. Big picture/small steps—Extremes don't work, but small steps in the right direction do, and yield powerful results.
...
J. Confidence—done with self doubt, building confidence in client's ability to master wellness.
...
K. Winning wellness game—focus is on winning, not on loosing or quitting.
...
L. Close the gap—Client wants to close the gap in wellness between where they are to where they want to be.
...
Ch. 2.
...
1. Explain what is meant by "Relationship is the heart of coaching".
...
To effectively coach a client, there must be an established, strong trust, rapport, to generate a productive and fulfilling change process. It allows clients to be vulnerable, to trust enough that growth is the forgone conclusion.
...
2. List several dimensions of relationship building and give examples.
...
a. Hold unconditional positive regard—completely accepting the client regardless of choices, without reservations.
...
b. Show empathy—A respectful understanding of another person's experience, including his or her feelings, needs, and desires. (NOT the same as sympathy, which means a person identifies with another's experiences.) Empathy builds trust, and rapport.
...
c. Be a humble role model—Walking the talk quietly, coaching is a modeling profession, not a service profession. We do the work, and hold standards others aspire towards, without placing ourselves above others.
...
d. Slow down—Listen, ask simple questions, savor the moment instead of rushing.
...
e. Pay full attention—Focus on client, not something else. Even taking notes takes away from client..
...
f. Underpromise and overdeliver—Choose words carefully as a coach. Give much more than promised.
...
g. Confidentiality is crucial—Respect privacy as long as laws are not broken, and no one is harmed.
...
h. Be honest—In all dealings, foster learning and growth. Keep judgment totally out of the equation; honesty means being totally vulnerable and safe.
...
3. What is mindfulness? Give an example of an exercise to increase mindfulness.
...
Nonjudgemental awareness of what is happening in the present moment. It enhances coaching, removes people from autopilot. Exercises to increase mindfulness can be as simple as being completely focused on a small piece of fruit; a grape, a raspberry—feeling, looking at it, smelling it, before putting in mouth, get a sense of it on the tongue, then take first bite. Another is a minute of silence, and then breathing exercises.
...
4. Define mindful listening, and discuss its importance in building trust and rapport.
...
Mindful listening is bringing full, nonjudgmental awareness of what someone is saying at the present moment. "Listening until I don't exist" is the hallmark of an excellent coach. Staying totally focused on the client, focusing on them is the goal.
...
5. What does it mean to "Listen until I don't exist?"
...
It means, focusing so much on the client that as a coach you forget about anything else. It is putting aside coach's agenda to completely and solely focus on the client.
...
6. What is an open ended query?
...
Open ended queries require long narrative answers, and they are expansive questions that encourage deep thought. Typically, they start with "What?" and "How?" and they move people towards change. The focus is on client, not coach.
...
7. What are perceptive reflections in the context of a coaching conversation? Give an example.
...
Perceptive reflections are a form of active listening. They allow people to hear what they say from another's perception. The purpose is to elicit sentiments that evoke change behavior or belief. Simplest way to restate what a client says in his or her own words. This is a Simple Reflection.
...
8. Discuss the importance of silence in the coaching conversation.
...
Silence is the gift of giving space, a core tool in coaching, evokes greatness in clients. The message sent by the coach is " I, as your coach, believe you can figure this out by going deeper." Silence leads clients to new insights and directional shifts that coaches often can't and don't anticipate. Meditation helps develop a silence practice.
...
9. What is Reframing? What can you do to reframe a coaching conversation in a positive light?
...
Positive reframing is "rephrasing a client's experience in a positive light" by taking what the client perceives as a negative ("I only worked out 2x when I set a goal to work out 5x) as a positive "I hear you say that you worked out 2x this week when you haven't been able to work out at all for 6 weeks! That's great!" It shifts client's perception by asking the client "What is the silver lining in the situation?" Other examples are, "What is the best meal you have enjoyed since you started your diet to lose 35 lbs?" It's flipping the situation to look at the best instead of the worst.
...
10. What is meant by the phrase "My certainty is greater than your doubt?"
...
A masterful coach is always upbeat and client focused, and know without hesitation that the outcome is assured because with diligence, and introspection, every client can succeed, especially if we as coaches hold a safe space to explore their vulnerabilities, moving towards growth and change at a pace they not the coaches set for them.
...
11. Describe several qualities of a masterful coach.
...
a. authentic empathy, complete acceptance
...
b. totally nonjudgmental
...
c. sniff out strengths values, desires of clients,
...
d. they prefer to listen, not talk.
...
e. they see the funny side in a way that allows for growth.
...
f. they hold up a mirror with courage for clients when necessary
...
g. they hold a safe space with lots of patience to allow clients to sit in muck, with tears, without need to rescue client.
...
h. Assist client to achieve more than they might otherwise
...
i. they take risks to challenge clients to reach higher, picking knowledgeably the right moments, knowing quality of lives are at stake.
...
j. Especially, they know how to celebrate client successes.
...
Ch. 3.
...
1. What is the Transtheoretical Model? List the 5 stages of change and briefly describe each one.
...
Prochaska's transthoretical model is a system or series of stages people go through as they decide to make behavioral changes relating to all aspects of health, including smoking cessation, eating, exercise, regular health checkups, etc. Because self change is a staged process, people move through the stages of chance at their own pace, and sometimes circle back to earlier stages on their path of growth. It is a cycle, and is circular in movement, not linear.
...
a. Precontemplation—stage I where people don't want to make a change, they aren't ready and don't see a problem. They are sometimes in denial there is a problem. "I won't/I can't"
...
b. Contemplation—Stage II Where people are thinking about making a change. "I may" usually within a 6 month period.
...
c. Preparation—Stage III Preparing for action, gathering information "I will" usually will move forward in one month or sooner.
...
d. Action—Stage IV "I am" stage—no holds barred, forward momentum, concentration, dedication, conscious thought. Usually for a client it is a 6 month period.
...
e. Maintenance—Stage V—"I still am" stage. Behavior has now become routine/automatic. Self efficacy is 8-9 out of 10.
...
2. Why is it important to identify the stage of change a client is in for a particular behavior?
...
It is important for a coach to ID the client's readiness to change so that the coach can approach the client on the right wavelength for moving into a coaching relationship. The support necessary is different for each stage of change, and the motivational tools a coach uses are different and can hinder a client if used at the wrong time. The coaching protocol is to support at each stage of change, without judgment.
...
3. Pick an area of wellness that you would like to change or have changed recently and determine what stage of change you are in. What information did you use to determine what stage of change you are in?
...
Diet. I am contemplative. I am very familiar with the transtheoretical model.
...
4. What are some strategies you would use to help a client that is in the precontemplative "I can't" stage get ready to take action?
...
I would use empathy, reflecting back to them that what they feel is valid, accepting where they are at the present moment. I would focus on understanding them, letting them know they are welcome to contact or discuss with me any changes they are prepared to make.
...
5. What are some of the goals that someone in the preparation stage might set?
...
People often gather information about the health benefits of making a change, many times because of an emotional movement forward, ( a family member losing weight, or getting sick) thinking or considering how the behavior they adopt will impact their family or friends, connecting dots between how they see themselves and how their new behavior will impact their new self image, and talking to like minded people who are contemplating or actively engaging in the new behavior( self help group) etc.
...
6. What is the optimal time frame to initially set for coaching?
...
A 3-6 month coaching program of weekly, biweekly coaching sessions is usually ideal. But if a client is successful, and has a long term goal, such as losing a large amount of weight, then the time frame should and must be longer to continue the support.
...
7. What is decisional balance? What is the optimal ratio of pros and cons for someone to do a new behavior successfully?
...
Decisional balance is weighing the pros and cons of changing a behavior. Looking at the gains helps people move forward as they progress. The barriers are the obstacles to change. A specific reason or goal to a change makes shifting behaviors difficult. The pros in decisional balance must outweigh the cons to make a behavior stick.
...
8. What is Self Efficacy? How does it impact behavior change?
...
Self efficacy is the belief that one has the capability to initiate or sustain a desired behavior (the exercise of control) It describes the circular relationship between belief and action: the more you believe something, the more likely you will do it. Success =repetition. To impact behavior change, coaches must have clients set realistic goals.
... [Show Less]