Solution-focused vs. problem-focused coaching questions
23 December 2010 in Books/Articles review Write by Paolo Terni
Problem talk creates problems. Solution talk creates solutions. – Steve de Shazer (1940-2005)
This being the Holiday Season, I would like to share with you a great gift that Anthony M. Grant and Sean A. O’Connor gave to the Solution-Focused Coaching community this year: a pilot study of “the differential effects of problem-focus and solution-focused coaching questions”.
From the abstract:
Findings – Both the problem-focused and the solution-focused conditions are effective at enhancing goal approach. However, the solution-focused group experience significantly greater increases in goal approach compared with the problem-focused group. Problem-focused questions reduce negative affect and increase self-efficacy but do not increase understanding of the nature of the problem or enhance positive affect. The solution-focused approach increases positive affect, decreases negative affect, increases self-efficacy as well as increasing participants’ insight and understanding of the nature of the problem.
And from the Summary:
Problem-focused questions reduced negative affect and increased self-efficacy. However, the solution-focused questions were overall more effective, providing the same benefits as the problem-focused condition while also increasing positive affect and participants’ understanding of the nature of the problem. Overall it seems that while both problem-focused and solution-focused questions are effective, generally, solution-focused coaching questions are more effective than problem-focused questions. [my emphasis]
Thank you Anthony and Shean!!
The differential effects of solution-focused and problem-focused coaching questions: a pilot study with implications for practice by Anthony M. Grant and Sean A. O’Connor, in: “Industrial and Commercial Training”, vol. 42, No.2, 2010, pp.102-111.
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WHAT'S IN A NAME?
A friend of mine asked me why I chose the name briefcoachingsolutions for my website.
Easy: it is the shortest description for what I do.
Solutions: that is what my clients arrive at: solutions. For their goals, their needs, their problems. They arrive at better solutions. Faster. With less effort. Solutions sustainable in the long run because they are based on what is already working in the clients' situations
it is also the description of my approach: solution-focused.
Coaching: that is the tool I use to help clients...
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