Problem Is Not the Problem: Structured Coach

“My problem is time management.” Michelle opens a new week of Five Levels in Real Coaching Conversations with aleader who is overwhelmed: a packed calendar, a growing task list, late nights, and messages answered after hours. This week follows one presenting problem through all five levels to explore what happens when the problem someone bringsis only the first layer. At Level 1, the Structured Coach has useful tools: priorities, delegation, time blocking, and routines. Sometimes that is exactly what is needed. But what happens when the plan works for two days and then falls apart, again and again? Michelle explores how practical solutions that don’t stick can be a signal to become curious, not suspicious, and how a coach can invite the coachee into discovery withoutannouncing that the stated problem is wrong. The presenting problem tells us where to begin, not necessarily where we will end. Have a question or a coaching moment you’d like Michelle to explore on the podcast? Email [email protected]. Ready to coach beyond the first problem someone names? The Grow By 1 Coaching Academy begins in January, and when you join now, we’ll send you weekly resources so you can start growing while you wait. Learn more at CA.GrowBy1.com. Reflection Questions When someone names their problem, how quickly do I accept that label and move straight to strategies? What signals tell me a practical solution is working, and what signals tell me the same issue keeps returning for another reason? How can I stay curious about a deeper layer without becoming suspicious of what the coachee has told me? When have I been tempted to decide I know “the real problem” before the coachee has discovered anything? How could I invite a coachee into the discovery when their tools and plans keep falling apart?