5 Great Coaching Questions You Should Be Asking Your Hybrid Working Team

Although there isn’t one single trait that makes an great leader, one common skill shared among them is mastery in the art of asking questions.

When you get into habit of asking your people the right questions, it allows you to get to the heart of what’s most important to your team (especially when used during 1-to-1s) and it helps your employees to develop and grow into their role more quickly.

We can't wave a magic wand and transform you into an extraordinary coach overnight, but we can share with you five questions you can ask your team every week and help lead your team to greatness.

1. How are you? 

It never ceases to amaze me how many leaders jump straight into progress checking and status updates. The idea that feelings should be separated from work is an outdated principle - life doesn’t just stop during in the workday, so it’s important to understand how your team are feeling. Helping them to articulate their own emotions will lead to healthier relationships and greater wellbeing and resilience both in and out of work. 

2. What are your wins for the week?

This is always a great place to start. Never miss an opportunity to let your team celebrate the things that are going well; this also includes the small wins that often get overlooked because they aren’t related to top priorities. As a leader, you’ll get a better understanding of where their strengths lie so you can plan more development opportunities in the future.

3. What are you biggest challenges?

Ask your team what challenges they’re facing so you can take proactive measures to prevent them growing into a crisis. Asking this question is a great opportunity to demonstrate a safe space for them to share their issues. If your team know that you will to listen to their challenges without will judgement, they are more likely to trust you, too. 

4. How fulfilled are you?

Employee satisfaction is a precursor to success (not the other way around!) When people are fulfilled, they not only come up with better solutions, but their satisfaction also helps to build a high-performance culture. By regularly asking this question, you'll have a better understanding of engagement levels as well as sending the message that people are valued beyond their performance.

5. How am I doing as a leader? 

The most valuable feedback is the kind you ask for. It can reveal what you’re currently doing well as a leader, what specific actions and behaviours your team value and appreciate. Asking this question also encourages your team to feel comfortable asking for their own feedback.

A lot can happen over the course of a week; particularly whilst many of us are juggling hybrid working teams, so take the time to ask these five questions regularly - preferably weekly - to give your people a voice, to open the door for challenging, important conversations and to aid your leader-as-a-coach development.