By Natalie Michael, CHRP

When I teach coaching courses, executives often ask me: Do you have some great coaching questions I can ask my best and brightest people? My answer: Do I?! I don’t have great ones…I have fantastic ones. One of “my little hobbies” is seeking out powerful questions. When I am reading articles, watching TED talks, or cruising the web, my brain is always subconsciously turning impactful headlines and articles into questions. Here are the 10 I like best for exploring issues with high potential talent.

1. Five years from now what does an amazing career look like for you? A mediocre one?
2. Over the next year, what contribution are you most inspired to make, and why?
3. Let’s assume that as you try to achieve your priorities you will be super busy and distracted. What systems do you need to put in place to see your priorities through?
4. Let’s imagine for a minute that your ability to achieve your vision will be in direct proportion to the extent to which you keep your word. What does this mean to you?
5. Given what you are facing, how would you like to evolve and grow as a leader?
6. What needs to change in your inner world to become the kind of leader you want to be?
7. On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you believe your team is doing? On a scale of 1 to 10, how well do you think they need to doing?
8. I know you are great at what you do, yet where would it be valuable for you to be a beginner again?
9. When you look at the business and your life, what’s clear and obvious to you?
10. How can I help?

Natalie Michael and Michael Timms are presenting at HRMA’s 2016 Conference + Tradeshow. Their session, Succession Planning That Works, is on Wednesday, April 27. For more information on this and other sessions, please visit hrma.ca/conf2016.

Natalie Michael, CHRP is a CEO and executive coach with The Karmichael Group and a MacKay CEO Forums chair. She coaches executives who want to extract more meaning from their work, refine their leadership style and be more influential in challenges (and sometimes political) environments.