Article

Powerful questions
for finding solutions

© David Clutterbuck, 2016

Prof David Clutterbuck

Coaching and Mentoring International Ltd www.coachingandmentoringinternational.org
Woodlands, Tollgate, e-mail: info@coachingandmentoringinternational.org
Maidenhead, Company registration number : 08158710
Berks, UK. SL6 4LJ
Powerful questions for finding solutions
1. How important is it to find a (complete) solution now?
2. What are the potential benefits of a short term fix versus a long term solution?
3. What is it most important to get right about this?
4. Who else needs to be consulted and what about?
5. In what ways might people, who are part of the problem, become part of the
solution?
6. What do you need to know to feel confident about the way forward?
7. What would you do, if you knew you couldn't fail?
8. What would your courageous self do? (What would you do, if you were
bolder?)
9. What would your greatest hero do?
10. What would your ideal self decide to do here?
11. What could you do to widen your choices?
12. What's the simplest solution?
13. What's the difference between the solution that's wanted and the solution
that's needed?
14. What solution is most likely to work in practice?
15. What solutions do you feel most enthusiastic about?
16. When you look back at this in a year's time, what will you wish you had
decided?
17. What solutions will open up or close down later options?
18. What personal values are important to you here?
19. What does the range of solutions you see tell you about yourself?
20. What negative patterns do you want to avoid?
21. How can you keep your integrity intact?
22. What might your assumptions prevent you from considering?
23. In 10 years’ time, will you be proud, ashamed or indifferent about this
decision?
24. Suppose you did this the opposite way to normal, what would it look like?
25. What might be the cost of succeeding?
26. If you can’t change the situation, how can you turn it to advantage?
27. What’s the difference you’ like to make, but can’t work out how you are going
to make?
28. What solutions have you been avoiding?
29. What’s the dialogue you really need to have but haven’t had so far?
30. If you do what you usually do, how happy will you be in getting what you
always get?
31. When would be the best time to procrastinate about this?

© David Clutterbuck, 2016