The Learning Question – Finish Strong!
“Focus on the real problem, not the first problem. If you are not trying to fix things, you don’t need the backstory.” Michael Bungay Stanier
This is the last question Stanier writes about in his book, The Coaching Habit. He states that the best way to finish strong is to ask the question, “What was most useful for you?”
Those of you who have attended our seminars are very familiar with this kind of question as it is part of the Exit of the conversation in the Coaching Frame. While there are other iterations of the question such as, “What did you learn?”, “What was the key insight”, “What do you want to remember?”, or “What’s important to capture?”, or “What was most useful for you?” is like a superfood because it hits the spot in at least six ways.
- It assumes the conversation was useful.
- It asks people to identify the One Big Thing (OBT) that was most useful.
- It makes it personal.
- It gives you feedback.
- It’s learning, not judgment.
- It reminds people how useful you are to them.
Start Fast. Finish Strong! How will you end your next conversation?
Knowing that I’m going to ask “What was the most useful for you?” also helps to remind me to shine the light on the client. The conversation must be useful for the client and to achieve that I must stay committed to the coaching frame.