Quick and powerful: The 10 minutes coaching practice*

Imagine how good it would feel to have a positive impact on another person’s life within the shortest of times. Sometimes you only have a few minutes. For example, when someone approaches you in the coffee corner at a customer’s office. Yet you still want to support them. Do you have 10 minutes for this person and for yourself?
This coaching format can be a helpful addition to your toolbox.

Situation AsseSsment (<1 minute)

Objective: Find out quickly what the topic is.

You can start with one of the following questions:

• What brings you to me?
• What is it about?
• What’s on your plate?
• What’s up?

Determine Goal (2 minutes)(s)

Objective: Find out what support is needed right now

Possible questions:

• What can we discuss now so that you can solve this problem well?
• What sort of support do you need from me?
• What can we discuss briefly so that you can handle the tasks?
• What would be a good result for you in the next minutes, so that you can continue working on the topic?

Get Solution outline (5-7 Minutes) outline

Objective: Outline success criteria and solution

Possible questions:

• What possibilities do you have to solve the issue?
• Which possibility have you not yet thought of?
• How would you recognize a good solution?
• Which important criteria indicates your solution’s success?
• What characteristics would a good solution have?
• Assuming you have an idea for a good solution, what would you have to do to destroy it?
• How would your best colleague solve the issue?

Actions (1-2 Minutes)

Objective: Determine how they want to proceed

Possible questions:

• Which first step will you take now?
• If we stop here now, which of these will you implement immediately?
• What will you tell your partner tonight, about what steps you have taken today to solve the problem?

(*) See: Radatz, 2010

What do you think about this format? In what ways can you see this helping you? Please comment below.