Coaching

The best sessions start with "so this thing happened..." The right question helps the client see it on their own terms.

Pick what fits. Skip what doesn't. Each guide prints as a page and as cards you can put on the table.

For coaches, coaching practices and restaurant leaders who coach.

25 live guides. Prices are in US dollars and the Etsy listing is the final word on price.

Not sure which one? Take the one-minute quiz.

Where to start

You open conversations and want a better first question. Start with Coaching Questions for Session Openers.
Your questions keep turning into advice. Start with How to Ask Coaching Questions.
A problem in your team keeps coming back. Start with Pattern and Interaction Questions.
You hold regular one-on-ones on the restaurant floor. Start with One-on-One Questions by Leadership Stage.

Coaching questions

Question sets for the session in front of you, from the first check-in to accountability. Each comes with a card sheet.

Coaching Questions Toolkit

48 pages. $29.

Questions from real coaching practice, from the first five minutes to the follow-up, in ten guides with 160 printable question cards.

For coaches, new coaches and managers who want the full set in one download.

What is inside

All ten guides: openers, goals, stuck and options, accountability, values, strengths, intake forms, whole-life review, group coaching, and the asking guide.
Every guide's card sheet, 160 question cards in all, with cut marks.
The whole set merged into one PDF, and each guide as its own file, in US Letter and A4.
A START-HERE guide that shows which guide to open for which moment.

Coaching Questions for Session Openers

5 pages. $9. With a card sheet.

Coaching questions for the first minutes of a session: check-in questions, agreeing what today is for, and the working agreement with a client or sponsor.

For coaches, new coaches and managers who open conversations and want a better first question.

What is inside

Check-in questions that find where the person is before what they want.
Questions that agree what today's session is for, in the person's own words.
Agreement questions for the start of an engagement, including a sponsor who pays for the coaching.
Questions to check the agreement mid-session and across the engagement.
A card sheet of 16 questions, eight to a page with cut marks, and a short fictional one-on-one example.

Coaching Questions for Goal Setting

5 pages. $9. With a card sheet.

Goal setting questions that start from what winning looks like for the person on their own terms, then test the goal against what has already been tried.

For coaches and managers helping someone set a goal they actually believe in.

What is inside

Questions that draw out the outcome in the person's own words.
Questions about where things are now, what has been tried, and what it costs.
Option and trade-off questions, then commitment questions for the next step.
Questions to agree how both of you will know it is working.
A card sheet of 16 questions with cut marks, and a short fictional one-on-one example.

Coaching Questions for Stuck Clients

4 pages. $9. With a card sheet.

Coaching questions for stuck clients and overthinkers: name the stuck, see what keeps it in place, widen the options past the first two, and decide.

For coaches and managers working with someone who keeps circling the same problem.

What is inside

Questions that name what kind of stuck this is.
Questions about what has been tried, where else it shows up, and who else could help.
Questions that open more options, including doing nothing and the middle ground.
Decision questions that end in a small first step.
A card sheet of 16 questions with cut marks, and a short fictional one-on-one example.

Coaching Questions for Accountability

3 pages. $9. With a card sheet.

Questions for the last two minutes of a one on one, so the session ends in a next step the person chose and the next one starts from what actually happened.

For coaches and managers whose sessions end in good talk and no next step.

What is inside

Questions that give a next step a shape and a date.
Questions about the week the step has to survive, and who can help.
Follow-up questions the person designs, so you are not chasing.
Review questions that treat a missed step as information, not a verdict.
A card sheet of 16 questions with cut marks, and a short fictional one-on-one example.

Coaching Questions for Values and Purpose

4 pages. $9. With a card sheet.

Values questions for when two things that matter collide, like a late close and a child's school night, so values show up in a real week, not a word list.

For coaches and leaders working on values, purpose, direction or a next chapter.

What is inside

Questions that name values from principles and from real stories.
Questions that look for values in behaviour, trade-offs and other people's view.
Purpose questions for a person, and for a team or organization.
Questions that turn named values into a small action this week.
A card sheet of 16 questions with cut marks, and a short fictional one-on-one example.

Coaching Questions for Strengths and Reflection

3 pages. $9. With a card sheet.

Strengths questions that ask what a strength costs as well as what it gives, plus reflection questions that slow one hard moment right down.

For coaches and managers who debrief experiences and develop people.

What is inside

Strengths questions, including where a strength becomes a blind spot.
Reflection questions that slow down one experience and what happened between people.
Two questions for the inner critic.
Questions that name growth and carry the learning forward.
A card sheet of 16 questions with cut marks, and a short fictional one-on-one example.

Coaching Intake Form and Pre-Call Questions

6 pages. $12. With a card sheet.

A new-client intake that even asks what the person would rather not be asked about yet, plus a sponsor intake, a prep sheet for every session and a review form.

For coaches onboarding new clients who want an intake that is not a form letter.

What is inside

An intake questionnaire: work, story, goals, what they want from coaching, how they like to work.
A short intake for a sponsor who asks for or pays for the coaching.
A prep sheet to send before each session.
Prompts for the weeks between sessions, and a review form after a run of sessions.
A card sheet of 16 questions with cut marks, and a short fictional one-on-one example.

Life Coaching Questions for a Whole-Life Review

5 pages. $9. With a card sheet.

A whole-life review that asks which area pays first when work runs long, instead of scoring each area of a life on its own.

For life coaches and leaders running a whole-life or life balance review.

What is inside

Questions that survey the areas of a life, including rest and energy.
Questions about how the areas feed and drain each other, and who else feels it.
Questions about what is missing or merely tolerated.
Questions that choose one move and watch how it travels.
A card sheet of 16 questions with cut marks, and a short fictional one-on-one example.

Group Coaching Questions

3 pages. $7. With a card sheet.

Group coaching questions for a room: sixteen questions to open, think together, commit and review, so the group hears itself and each person still does their own thinking.

For coaches and team leaders running group coaching, peer circles or team sessions.

What is inside

Opening questions built for a room, not one person.
Questions that send people to each other instead of to the facilitator.
Commitment and peer check-in questions.
Review questions for the end of a group session.
A card sheet of all 16 questions with cut marks, and a short fictional example.

How to Ask Coaching Questions

6 pages. $12. With a card sheet.

How to ask coaching questions: what a good question does, rewrites from closed to open, ten ways asking goes wrong with one question for each, practice drills and a review.

For new coaches and managers coaching their team for the first time.

What is inside

Five marks of a good question, and a rewrites table from closed to open.
Follow-up questions that build on the last answer and ask about the people involved.
Ten ways asking goes wrong, what each sounds like, and one question for each.
Practice drills and a short review to run after a session.
A card sheet of 16 questions with cut marks, and a short fictional one-on-one example.

Systems questions

Questions about the pattern between people: what has been tried, what it set off, and what holds a problem in place.

Pattern and Interaction Questions

4 pages. $9. With a card sheet.

Questions that move a conversation from one person's traits to the pattern between people: sequence, interaction, time and what has been tried.

For coaches who want to ask about the pattern between people.

What is inside

Questions grouped under See, Pattern, Time and Leverage
Six systems terms, each defined in one plain sentence
One worked one-on-one example with what to notice
Sixteen question cards for the card sheet
Print-ready PDF in US Letter and A4

Attempted-Solution and Reframe Questions

4 pages. $9. With a card sheet.

Open questions for a problem that keeps coming back: map what was tried, see the pattern, and change the frame.

For coaches and facilitators working with a problem that keeps returning.

What is inside

Questions to map what has already been tried
Pattern and time questions that show what each attempt set off
Plain definitions of attempted solution, first-order and second-order change, and reframe
A short one-on-one example with what to notice
A card sheet of 16 questions to print and cut

Delay, Stock and Leverage Questions

4 pages. $9. With a card sheet.

Questions on what builds up, what lags, and where a small change counts, for coaches and leaders.

For coaches who want to help a client stop judging a change too early.

What is inside

Four sections of open questions: See, Pattern, Time and Leverage
Plain definitions of stock, flow, feedback loop, delay and leverage point
A short one-on-one example with what to notice
A card sheet of eight questions to cut out and carry
US Letter and A4 files

Levels of Learning and Double-Bind Questions

4 pages. $9. With a card sheet.

Coaching questions that separate a better answer from a different kind of answer, and help you name a double bind without blame.

For coaches, facilitators and consultants who want to see the pattern before acting.

What is inside

Questions sorted by what to see, which pattern is running, how long it has run and where to shift
Plain-language definitions of levels of learning, double bind and reframe
A one-on-one example with notes on what to listen for
Questions that work for someone who has never heard the terms
A card sheet of eight portable questions for use in the moment

Seeing the System Before Acting

3 pages. $7. With a card sheet.

A short checklist of open questions to ask yourself before you step in: who is in the picture, what keeps repeating, what has been tried and where to aim next.

For coaches and facilitators who want to see the pattern between people before the first question.

What is inside

A pre-question checklist in four parts: See, Pattern, Time, Leverage
Thirteen open questions, one per line, to answer before you act
Three plain-language systems terms, each defined where it first appears
A short one-on-one example showing the checks in use
A card sheet of eight questions to keep in hand

Restaurant leadership development

Questions for restaurant leaders who grow their people on the floor, from one-on-ones and huddles to hiring and development.

Restaurant Leader Development Toolkit

40 pages. $29.

Eight restaurant leader guides: one-on-ones by stage, huddles and debriefs, delegation, feedback, goals and reviews, hiring and promotion, director growth, leadership stories.

For general managers, restaurant managers and operators who develop their people on the floor.

What is inside

All eight guides: one-on-ones, shift huddles and debriefs, delegation, feedback and hard conversations, goal setting and business reviews, hiring and promotion, director and multi-unit development, and leadership stories.
Every guide's card sheet, 88 question cards in all, with cut marks.
The whole set merged into one PDF, and each guide as its own file, in US Letter and A4.
A START-HERE guide that shows which guide to open for which conversation.

One-on-One Questions by Leadership Stage

7 pages. $12. With a card sheet.

One-on-one questions for restaurant leaders, set out by stage: team member, trainer, shift lead, manager, director and operator.

For general managers, restaurant managers and shift leads who hold regular one-on-ones.

What is inside

Questions to get ready for a one-on-one and open it well, starting from what you saw on the floor.
A set for each stage: team member and trainer, shift lead, manager, and director, GM or operator.
Closing and follow-up questions so the next one-on-one starts from what happened on the shift.
A card sheet of 16 questions, eight to a page with cut marks.
A short fictional one-on-one between a GM and a shift lead, with what to notice.

Shift Debrief and Huddle Questions

4 pages. $7. With a card sheet.

Five-minute questions for the pre-shift huddle, a quick check during the rush and the debrief before the team leaves, about what happened, not who to blame.

For shift leads, managers and trainers who run the huddle and the debrief.

What is inside

Pre-shift huddle questions: what has to go right and what the last shift handed over.
A quick mid-shift check on what the floor shows that the numbers will not.
Post-shift debrief questions about what happened and who did what, in order.
Follow-up questions that carry one change into the next shift.
A card sheet of eight questions with cut marks, and a short fictional example.

Delegation and Ownership Questions

4 pages. $9. With a card sheet.

Delegation questions for restaurant leaders handing a station, a shift or an area to a trainer, shift lead or manager, so the work stays with them.

For general managers and managers who keep doing the work themselves.

What is inside

Questions to ask yourself before you hand off: whose work this is and what the person has to work with.
Hand-off questions that settle what done looks like and what they decide alone.
After questions about what happened when you stepped back in.
Follow-up questions that keep ownership with the person.
A card sheet of eight questions with cut marks, and a short fictional example.

Feedback and Hard-Conversation Questions

4 pages. $9. With a card sheet.

Questions to prepare, hold and follow up a feedback talk or a hard conversation on the floor, asking for their reading before you give yours.

For restaurant managers, shift leads and trainers with a conversation they have been putting off.

What is inside

Before questions: what you saw on the shift, and your own part in it.
During questions: their reading first, yours plainly, and staying in the room when it gets tense.
After and follow-up questions that end in a step the person names.
Questions for asking for feedback on yourself as their leader.
A card sheet of eight questions with cut marks, and a short fictional example.

Goal Setting and Business Review Questions

5 pages. $9. With a card sheet.

Goal setting and business review questions for restaurant leaders: sales, labor, guest feedback and line checks, read together, and the next quarter's few priorities.

For general managers and operators who set goals with their leaders.

What is inside

Questions to get ready for a review of the unit's results.
Goal questions that turn a wish into a picture of done the person can see on the floor.
Review questions about what moved, what came just before it, and what was tried.
Questions for choosing the next quarter's priorities and the check-back.
A card sheet of eight questions with cut marks, and a short fictional example.

Hiring and Promotion Conversation Questions

5 pages. $9. With a card sheet.

Job-related interview and promotion questions for restaurant leaders: what a candidate did on a shift, with a guest and a teammate, and who is ready to move up.

For managers, general managers and operators who interview and promote.

What is inside

Questions to get clear on what the role asks for before you sit down.
Interview questions about the rush, the guest and the teammate, all job-related.
Promotion questions: what they already do of the next role and who takes over what they do now.
Questions for deciding together, including a not yet, and for the first weeks in the new role.
A card sheet of 16 questions with cut marks, and a short fictional example.

Director and Multi-Unit Development Questions

5 pages. $9. With a card sheet.

Development questions for a director or a leader taking on a second unit: who decides what, where hand-offs between managers break, and who they grow next.

For operators and general managers developing a director.

What is inside

Questions about what the unit does without the leader there.
Questions for leading through other managers: ownership, hand-offs and stepping in.
Questions for the director role, when the operator, the team and the guests pull different ways.
After and follow-up questions about the next step and who they grow next.
A card sheet of 16 questions with cut marks, and a short fictional example.

Leadership Story Questions

3 pages. $7. With a card sheet.

Questions that help a shift lead, manager or GM find the moments that show how they lead and tell one well in an interview or promotion conversation.

For shift leads and managers preparing for a bigger role.

What is inside

Questions for finding the moments: a plan that fell apart, a person you grew.
Questions for telling one story well, from the floor to what changed for the team and guests.
Questions for the thread across your stories.
Practice questions for saying it aloud to someone who listens.
A card sheet of eight questions with cut marks, and a short fictional example.

Read the answers buyers want before they buy: Questions coaches ask.

Buying for a team or several units? See licences for teams and organizations.

Read the disclaimer for these guides.