Powerful Coaching Questions For A Staff Supervisor
The leader of the past was a person who told, the leader of the future will be a person who asks—Peter Drucker
In Mentor-Coaching in a Supervisory Relationship we saw that coaching is where the expertise lies within the person being coached, and the role of the coach is to help the coachee, in partnership with the Holy Spirit, discover and maximize their personality, strengths, gifts and potential to accomplish God’s plan and purpose for their life and ministry.
This is accomplished by asking powerful questions that cause the direct report to think reflectively, creatively problem solve, develop answers and behaviors they believe in, and motivates them to act on their ideas.
Therefore, powerful coaching questions are an essential tool for the supervisor toolbox because they have the potential to:
- Inspire reflection
- Illuminate pathways forward
- Bring focus
- Develop solutions and ownership
- Aid in discernment
- Know oneself
- Create buy-in
- Improve Performance
Powerful Coaching Questions For Church Staff
Below is a collection of strategic questions about issues facing church staff that can be used by the supervisor in coaching a direct report.
Starting the Conversation
- What is the most significant thing that has happened in your life/ministry since we last talked?
- What has been heaviest on your mind the last week? What has been the highlight of your week?
- What would be the most helpful thing for us to talk about/focus on? What do you hope to gain from our conversation?
- What are your wins or victories since we last met? What is the best praise you have received?
- What have you been focusing on this week/month?
Knowing Self
- What 3-5 words have you heard others use most frequently to describe you?
- What are your top five strengths?
- How do you use your strengths to contribute to your ministry success?
- What activities and relationships energize you? What are you passionate about? How can you do more of this?
- What activities and relationships deplete you? What demotivates you? How can you do less of this?
Reflection
- Where have you seen God working in your life and ministry?
- What has been your most recent disappointment?
- What are you most thankful for? What is going well?
- When was the last time your stress was significantly lower? What changed?
- Where have you been stretched and grown recently? What is your biggest growth edge?
Character
- What area of Christ-like character would you like to address?
- What spiritual disciplines have you found most important to your soul care?
- What are you reading in God’s Word?
- What is God teaching you?
- Who is speaking into your life in a significant way? Whose life are you speaking into?
Progress
- What are the 2-3 biggest obstacles keeping you from moving forward?
- Does your ministry budget reflect your ministry priorities?
- How do you measure success?
- What is your greatest opportunity right now? Your greatest challenges? Where are you stuck?
- What are your top 3 priorities for the coming month? Provide me a brief progress report on your priorities. What are your next action steps?
Ministry Leadership
- What are the key expectations and performance indicators for your team?
- Does everyone know what is expected of them?
- How are you developing and investing in your team? Who has untapped potential?
- How are you providing feedback to your team? How are you encouraging and praying for your team?
- What areas of your ministry are you most motivated to improve?
Goals
- What do you believe God wants you to accomplish? By when?
- Can you think of a way to quantify this goal so we know when you have reached it?
- What human and financial resources do you need to accomplish this goal?
- What obstacles might keep you from reaching your goals?
- How can we turn your goals into actions steps and a timeline? How are you going to hold yourself accountable?
Conflict Resolution
- Have you approached the conflict biblically? Could a mediator help?
- How have you contributed to the conflict? What responsibility do you need to take?
- Are you being triangulated, taking responsibility for someone else’s actions?
- Are you avoiding facing this conflict? What are your fears? Where do you need to set more boundaries?
- Is there someone you need to forgive? Is there someone you need to ask for forgiveness?
Decision Making
- What assumptions are you making? How do you know they are true?
- What additional information do you need to make an informed decision? Where might you go to get the needed information? Who else might you approach for input and advice?
- What are the costs and benefits, risks and rewards? What is the worst case scenario? Can you live with it?
- What does God’s Word say about this decision? What are you hearing from God?
- What are three options for how you could tackle this challenge?
Delegation
- How would you and others benefit if you delegated more?
- What are the costs of not delegating more? What is holding you back?
- What part of your job description can only you do?
- Which of your job duties can others do as well or better than you?
- Who can you train to do some of these job duties?
Closing the Conversation
- What are your take-a-ways from our time together? Where do you need clarification?
- What do you see as next steps?
- Where do you see what we talked about going?
- What one thing that we talked about, if carried out well, would make the biggest difference?
- What is going on inside of you after this conversation?
Posted on March 21, 2017
