Powerful questioning is a key in effective coaching.  After actively listening, the coach should ask questions that evoke discovery, insight, commitment and life changing action (e.g., those that challenge your assumptions).  Open-ended questions are especially helpful in creating greater clarity, possibility or new learning.  These are not questions that ask for you to justify or look backwards; rather they are questions that move you toward what you desire.  Jesus asked some powerful questions of those He was coaching.  In John 6:66-67, 12:27, 13:38, He used a series of questions which called those He was coaching to commitment and to count the cost of that commitment. 

In Luke 14:28, 31 Jesus uses a question to focus the disciples their need to count the financial cost of their commitment to follow Him.  He uses questions in Mark 6:38, 8:19-20 to remind them He is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that they could ask or even think.  When people are making changes in their lives, it is often necessary to point out available resources.  Coaches ask questions about resources such as “Who do you know that can help?”, “What resources do you need in order to do this?”, “What resources do you have?”  In His questions, Jesus pointed out that the resources often exist which He can multiply, and that resources need to be assessed before proceeding. 

In coaching, the same challenges are presented.  The person being coached is asked to determine the cost in terms of barriers to remove, issues to release or energy to expand, and to make commitments to action.  Jesus knew that people will not follow through on actions until they have counted the cost and until commitment is present.  It is helpful for the coach to remember his/her commitment to be unattached to the outcome and continue loving the person and to recognize that not everyone will respond to the self-discovery process in a positive way or in the way one might have hoped.  This is merely an affirmation of the free will that God designed.  Everyone is free to make his/her own choices.  If God places such a high value on free will, should not we?

In Matthew 7:3, 11 and Luke 6:39-41, Jesus used questions to provide clarity to the principles He was teaching and to spur those He was coaching to action.  Jesus used questions concerning identity in Matthew 16:13, 15, John 20:27, 29, and Mark 5:9.  His purpose was to gain clarity before proceeding.  This was not because He did not know who He was; rather, it was to help the hearer identify who he was.  In coaching, it is often helpful to deal with identity issues of all types.  Unlike Jesus, people are not always in touch with their own identity. 

Questions that focus you on identity issues are used to free you to become the person you were created to be.  In other cases, you need to identify people who can contribute to your journey of change and action.  When Peter identified Jesus as the Christ, Jesus was able to articulate the foundational principle for freedom from sin through salvation.  When the demoniac identified the demons inside, he was freed, and became clothed and in his right mind.  It is interesting to look at how Jesus used questions in Matthew 5:46-47, Mark 4:30-32, Luke 6:32-34 to challenge, make huge requests, and expand the vision of His disciples.  The purpose was to stretch them to greater excellence.

When you look at Matthew 17:25, 18:12 and Luke 7:24-26 you see Jesus using questions to generate shifts in the thinking and awareness of his disciples.  His purpose was to align their actions with their changed thinking; all shifts in action require changed thinking.  Not only does thinking need to change before actions change, but values and beliefs need to shift.  Jesus was a master at generating paradigm shifts.  Likewise, coaches are always looking for ways to help you make shifts in behavior.  We see Jesus using questions in John 5:47, 11:26, Matthew 9:25, and Luke 6:25 to bring those shifts into their mindsets.  Essential to all behavior are underlying beliefs and values.  Coaches are especially interested in those beliefs and values that dictate behaviors for you.  Since change happens first at this level, questions that provide insight to your systems of belief are of paramount importance.  Jesus asked more questions in this category than any other.  It is difficult to create enough awareness through powerful questions to create major shifts quickly.  Thus, as coaches we need to be patient with the process, and we need to give ourselves permission to be a bit frustrated and disappointed, just as Jesus was, when it does not happen quickly.

Jesus used questions in His teaching to bring to remembrance things learned in the past. He did this to keep His disciples from falling into the trap of self-sufficiency in their thinking and to help them understand that God provides true wisdom.  In Mark 3:33 and Luke 10:36, He uses questions to bring reflection on the meaning of relationships in the lives of His listeners.  He often made statements or gave commands about relationships; however, He did prompt some learning about relationships through questions.  Coaches use questions to probe relationships in your life to discover how these relationships might support you in the change process. A coach’s questions in this area can help you determine the “state of the house”—whether divided or not divided—and can help identify which people you should have a relationship with. 

Some of Jesus’ questions had obvious answers, as in Mark 2:8, Luke 18:41, and John 8:8-10.  The answers were so obvious that they caused the people to grasp deep concepts of the heart, to examine motives and bring change to the core of their lives.  Asking powerful questions that get to the heart and motivational level of you is one of the most helpful things coaches can do. These questions allow you to touch those areas you have not been able to get to, and since “He desires truth in the innermost being” (Psalm 51), when this happens you become whole and healed.