Discover yourself: 100 powerful self-coaching questions
100 Powerful Self-Coaching Questions
Developing awareness of who you are (identity), what brings you a sense of meaning, belonging and achievement is crucial to experiencing the benefits of a Good Life and Good Work.
Explore these 100 powerful self-coaching questions and see what insights you discover about yourself.
You can also use these questions with your teams to improve trust, engagement, commitment, accountability, influence, wellbeing, and results.
David's tips
Don't try and work through all of the questions in one sitting. Use them as a way to stretch your awareness of yourself and discover insights that can enhance growth and learning agility. Focus. Spend no more than 10-15 minutes on one or two questions and then take a break.
The deeper you reflect, the more you will learn, and the more profound the impact.
Julie's tips
Explore these 100 powerful self-coaching questions and see what insights you discover about yourself.
Perhaps you are struggling with performance around a particular task or project. Questions relating to achievement might help you to understand where the blockers are. Start with questions 9, 11, 26, 50 and 51.
Maybe you have a problematic relationship with a team member but can’t understand what is causing the bad feeling between you. Start by asking whether you know what their challenges are (Q34), might there be something that is causing them stress and anxiety (Q41)? What level of empathy have you demonstrated towards them in understanding any problems they might be facing (Q17)?
You can also use these questions with your teams to improve trust, engagement, commitment, accountability, influence, wellbeing, and results. Have you recently stopped and explored with your team how they feel about the work they do, what motivates them, how happy they are in their work? Start by asking them questions 1, 2, 5 and 55.
Chellenge yourself and see what insights you discover.
The Good Life + Work project 100 Powerful Self-Coaching Questions
What makes you happy at work?
What de-energises you at work?
What brings meaning to your life?
What brings you meaning in work?
On a scale of 1-10 (1 being low), what is your level of wellbeing right now? [explore what it would take to make a one-step improvement]
On a scale of 1-10 (1 being low), how do feelings of wellbeing vary across your team right now? [explore what it would take to make a one-step improvement]
Think of your most attractive qualities, what impact do they have on your team?
What impact do your not-so-attractive qualities have on your team?
Thinking of challenges you might be facing, what would you do if you were not [anxious/afraid/angry etc.]?
What is the most significant thing that has happened to you recently? [consider how it is it influencing your life?]
What is distracting you? [dig deep, and explore what is causing the distraction]
What makes you unique?
What is it about what makes you unique that could benefit others?
What makes you feel positive about yourself?
What makes you feel positive toward others?
Describe the level of empathy you have for yourself.
Describe your level of empathy toward others.
What stops you from expressing your thoughts or feelings? [how do you feel when you suppress your thoughts?]
What has brought you the greatest sense of achievement this week?
If life is a small boat, what will you throw overboard to give you more room to grow?
What could you do to take more control over your destiny?
What do you do to help people meet their needs?
If your image is your brand, what do people think when they see a picture of you?
Thinking about the types of relationships you have at work, what does the nature of these relationships say about you?
What does power mean to you?
What does achievement mean to you?
What do you do to challenge your beliefs?
What makes you feel uncomfortable or anxious?
What do you do to challenge others?
What are the standards by which you measure yourself?
To what standards do you hold others? [consider what could bring people to say your expectations are too high?]
What do you do when people fall short of your expected standards?
What would people say about what you take from life, in comparison to what you give to life?
What are the three most significant opportunities and challenges facing each of the people in your team?
How do you measure your level of harmony with others?
What could bring people in your team to say you have a low level of emotional control?
What would bring people to say you are trusting?
What makes you trustworthy?
When you learn something new or achieve a goal, how do you reward yourself?
When others learn something new or accomplish a goal, how do you reward them?
If failure is not about falling, but failing to get back up again, what motivates you to get up again when you fail?
If you were speaking to a biographer about the one defining event that shaped who you are today, what would it be?
Who inspires you, and what is it about them that influences you?
If you had a magic wand and could change one thing about your life for the better, what would it be and why?
What would be the one thing about your life you would never change, and why?
What brings you to feel stress or anxiety at work?
What brings you the greatest sense of satisfaction or joy at work?
What can others do to bring out the best version of you?
What do you do to help others bring out the best version of themselves?
What's motivating you to succeed right now?
What's demotivating you right now?
Describe the best version of you.
What would your level of happiness be if you remained as the person you are today for the rest of your life?
Thinking about career and where you want to be, what makes you happy about where you are today?
What are your top 5 motivators? [explore rankings]
When you think about what makes you happy, what makes the most difference?
How can you do more of what makes you happy?
How much energy do you put into changing things that are outside your control?
Reflecting on the way you respond emotionally to a challenge, what triggers the response?
Looking back on your life, what patterns do you discover when you reflect on your emotional reactions?
[on exploring your ability to change a decision] If you knew then what you know now, what would you be doing differently?
What is the one skill you need to improve to increase your level of happiness at work?
What is the one skill you could acquire or upgrade to improve the happiness of the people who work with you?
On a scale of 1-10 (1 being low), and thinking of your worst work relationship, what rating would they give you as a leader and what would bring them to provide you with that rating? [explore what it would take to make a one-step improvement]
Imagine that you can only accept superstars on your team, what makes you a superstar?
What does work-life balance mean to you?
What does work-life balance mean to the people on your team?
What makes you smile?
What do you value most about your job?
When you say that you don't have time to do something, what is the real obstacle?
What do people see that would bring them to describe you as resilient?
Thinking ahead ten years, what does the future hold for you?
What is the one thing you have done in the last week to make a difference for someone else?
Thinking about your awareness of what is happening around you, where is your blind spot?
What would you do if you knew you could never fail?
When faced with adversity, we can be broken, survive or thrive, what drives you to succeed in the face of adversity?
What makes you brave?
What would other members of your team point to as the bravest thing you have done?
If you saw one of your team treated unfairly, what would you be willing to sacrifice to defend them?
What three examples would you give to evidence that you are open-minded?
What unconscious biases are impacting the way you work with people?
On a scale of 1-10 (1 being low), how accountable are you? [explore what it would take to make a one-step improvement]
What could stop people from approaching you with a challenge or opportunity?
What will be your next job?
What are the barriers to getting your next job?
What would bring people to say that you are defensive?
If you are a work in progress, what are you working on today?
What is your response to criticism?
What would people say is your unspoken agenda?
What are the differences between the person you are at work and the person you are at home?
What does loyalty mean to you?
What are you willing to sacrifice to deliver results at work?
When do you do to right your wrongs?
What three examples would people in your team use to demonstrate that you are a good listener?
What do you fear most about work [and life]?
What weight of expectation are you carrying through life?
What will be your legacy when you leave your current role?
What are your attainable dreams?
What will you lose if you don't challenge yourself to achieve your dreams?
What will you do next?