Become A Stronger Leader With Compassionate Coaching And These 25 Questions

Audree Grubesic published this article on Dec. 17, 2024. It is a 3-minute read.

Compassionate coaching

Compassionate leadership skills require proficient coaching skills. Coaching can be used with clients, vendors, peers, bosses, or employees.

The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as partnering with stakeholders in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.

Compassionate Leaders Circle defines compassionate coaching as partnering with stakeholders in a compassionate, present, and in-depth process that helps them slow down, assess progress, and trust their inner wisdom for transformation.

How coaching changes the conversation

Coaching shifts the focus from the leader to the stakeholder. It also shifts the leader from doing most of the talking to doing most of the listening.

Why courage matters

Courage is a core attribute of compassionate leadership. It means advocating strongly for yourself, your values, and your stakeholders. Effective coaching conversations require a balance of courage and compassion.

25 coaching questions

The article groups the questions into five categories: professional, personal, annually, monthly, and weekly.

Professional

• What is going well with your business/job/role?
• What could be better?
• From 1 to 10, how would you rate your current stress levels regarding your professional life?
• If high, what is the source of the stress, and are you doing anything to address this? If low, what is your secret?
• Is there anything I can do to support you in creating less stress and more happiness at work?

Personal

• Have you discovered any new and fun hobbies or movies/TV shows during this time?
• Are your close friends and family members healthy? If not, what can I do to support you through this time?
• From 1 to 10, how would you rate your current stress levels regarding your personal life?
• If high, what is the source of the stress, and are you doing anything to address this? If low, what is your secret?
• Is there anything I can do to support you in creating less stress and more happiness at home?

Annually

• What did you learn about yourself in 2023?
• How can you take those lessons to make 2024 better?
• What is one specific thing you want to create, build, or develop yourself professionally this year?
• What is one specific thing you want to create, build, or do to develop yourself personally this year?

Monthly

• Tell me about the best thing that happened, personal or professional, last month.
• What did you learn from that situation?
• Tell me about the most challenging thing that happened, personal or professional, last month.
• What did you learn from that situation?
• Would you do anything differently if you had to do it over?
• What are your top three priorities for next month?

Weekly

• From 1 to 10, how would you rate your productivity for last week?
• If high, what is your secret? If low, what can you do this week to improve it?
• Is there anything I can do to support you in creating more productivity?
• What are your top three personal or professional priorities for this week?
• How can you have more fun at work this week?

Action plan

The article suggests answering four questions to become a stronger leader through compassionate coaching:

• How can you bring more compassion to coaching others?
• How can you bring more courage to coaching others?
• Which stakeholder may benefit from your coaching this week?
• What are three skillful questions you can ask that stakeholder to help you have a productive conversation?

Connect with Meryl Eriksen

Meryl Eriksen is listed as Chief Compassion Officer at Compassionate Leaders Circle.

• Email: Meryl@compaassionateleaderscircle.com
• Phone: 315-217-1740
• Website: compassionateleaderscircle.com

Vision

The stated vision is: “We see a world where leading with love is the path to positive change, peace, and prosperity for all.”