Solution-oriented coaching

Care providers have been using problem-oriented coaching for a long time. The problem is first thoroughly investigated before a solution is looked for. But if the problem is very complex, thorough investigation is sometimes not possible and sometimes it is simply not known what the cause of the problem is. What then? Insoo Kim Berg came up with solution-oriented coaching. She assumes that there is not necessarily a connection between problem and solution. “What would you like instead of the problem?” you could take it as the center of solution-oriented coaching. How do you give concrete form to solution-oriented coaching?

Basics of solution-oriented coaching

Solution-oriented coaching has a number of rules that the coach continually brings up to the person being coached. These are:

If something isn’t working, stop doing it
If something isn’t working, do something else
If something works, do more of it
If something works, learn it (from) someone else

Yet this can be very difficult. Just think of ingrained habits and routines. By replacing these with other behaviors, you don’t have to stop, but replace behaviors. This is often easier and you kill two birds with one stone: you stop what doesn’t work and start doing something that does!

The eight-step dance of solution-oriented coaching

As a coach you have eight steps that you can use to support the person being coached. The most important of these and reflected in every other step is complimenting. You remain positive and compliment the successes achieved by the coachee, no matter how small. This gives the coached self-confidence, courage and motivation to continue.

Make contact

Making contact is always the first step you take. The coachee must feel comfortable and know that you will not judge him. To achieve this, you will have to show attention and interest in the person being coached. This can also reveal a lot of information that you can use later, such as family members (see resources).

Clarify context

Then you continue to clarify the context. This can be done, for example, by asking the usefulness question: What would be useful for you to discuss here? This immediately makes the coachee think about what he would like to do in the time he has with you.

Set goals

You can then discuss what the person being coached would want instead of the problem. The desired situation is something other than the absence of the problem. Determining the goal can be done, for example, by asking the miracle question. You can introduce this at length, but you can also shorten it, for example:

“Suppose you are going to sleep tonight. The rest of your family is asleep. You wake up in the morning and your problem is gone. How would you notice that? How would others notice that you no longer have the problem?”

Scale question

The scaling question is about asking the coachee to what extent he has already reached the solution. This can take the following form, but you can be creative with it:

“If 10 is the desired situation and 0 is the most undesirable situation, where would you be?” and then continue with “Good thing you’re already at [number]! What is going well that you are already at a [number]?” and ending with “Where would you like to go on the scale and what does that look like?”.

If the client is very low (e.g. 2), you might ask, “Why not 0?” . Even if the client says 0, it is useful. To this you might say, “How are you managing to hold on now that the problem is at its worst?” .

This way we look at what went well before (looking for exceptions), what resources they have and what they have already done to make things better.

Looking for exceptions to the problem

One of the principles of solution-oriented coaching is that no problem always exists to the same extent. Sometimes it is more in the foreground, sometimes more in the background. One way to work toward the solution is to look at what has already worked to make it better. You can use that more often. You can also ask others what works for them, so that you can use it yourself. A good question is “When did the problem occur less? How did that happen?, . The situation can be described here; what was different? In addition, the contribution of the person being coached can be discussed: “What did you contribute to that change?” .

Resources

People often have many resources without realizing it or having access to them. These are, for example, strong qualities of the person being coached. For example, the question can be asked: “What helps you despite your problems?” . However, social contacts can also be used for help. The most important thing about this technique is that resources are tapped or made visible to the person being coached.

Future orientation

With this technique you and the person being coached will sketch the desired situation more and more concretely. The miracle question can also be used for this (see Setting goals). It is important to visualize the situation without the problem, because this creates a positive feeling. The scale question (see Scale Question) can also be used here, by asking: “What would cause you to move up 1 point on the scale?” . Small steps are important here. This creates a feeling of success and that leads to motivation and positive feelings. You could also ask the relationship question: ,How would others notice that your problem has disappeared or diminished?, .

Eight Step Dance of solution-oriented coaching

Ultimately, complimenting is the most important part of solution-oriented coaching. All steps do not have to be used consecutively, but rather derive their power from mixing the techniques. In a diagram this could look like the picture on the left.