Solution-focused Coaching

There are several different approaches a coach can take, many of which have been covered in other Insights and Hot Topics. Solutions focused coaching is another approach that should be considered as a coach, as it adds a slightly different approach to solving performance issues.

In essence, the solution-focused (SF) approach seeks to keep the coachee focused on the solution to a given problem, rather than working through the cause. More traditional coaching approaches try and understand the root cause of an issue and how it impacted the coachee’s performance. As stated in Cox et al (2010) this approach may limit thinking, constraining the coach and coachee into a frame of reference that limits the number of potential solutions.

SF coaching is rooted in constructivist theory, in that the coachee is able to determine the pathway to success by using what they already know, thus constructing their own outcome. The coach in this instance works as a facilitator and guide, ensuring the focus remains on the solution and not the problem.

This approach was first used in therapy in the 1970’s and 1980’s, Berg & Szabo sate in their book “Brief Coaching for Lasting Solutions” that therapists had realised that traditional therapeutic approaches could find clients becoming entrenched in their views as they continued to recount and talk through their problems. In essence, what we focus on tends to grow, so if a coachee is continually focused on a problem, it can become almost insurmountable, for instance when trying to sleep, the barking of a neighbour’s dog can hold our attention and our focus on it grows, to the point where it seems the barking is getting louder. When in fact the volume has not changed at all, it is simply our perception of the noise that has changed, due to the level of focus we have applied to it.

SF coaching focuses on two key areas, changing how the coachee views things and changing what they do about it. To change the coachees viewpoint the coach must shift the attention away from the problem and onto solutions, as previously discussed what we focus on tends to grow, so by changing the focus onto a potential solution the tone of the conversation will change and more solutions will ultimately be found over time. To change what a coachee does is to develop the plan on how the solution will be achieved rather than trying to fix what caused the problem in the first place.

In his book “Solution focused therapy” Bill O’Connell highlights ten principles for a solution-focused approach:

1. Use of a non-pathological interpretive framework: problems are not indications of pathology or dysfunction. Rather they indicate a need to try different perspectives or behaviours.
2. Client-based expertise: the idea is that the client rather than coach is the expert in their own life.
3. Coaching is about facilitating solution construction: the coach primarily facilitates the construction of solutions rather than trying to understand the aetiology of the problem.
4. Focus on client resources: the coach helps the client recognise and utilise existing resources.
5. Clear, specific and personalised goal setting: to assist the client in attaining their preferred future, the articulation of that future state should be clear and behaviourally detailed. Because problems and solutions are constructed by the client, coaching interventions should be tailored to each client.
6. Action orientation: there is a fundamental expectation that on the coach’s part that positive change both can, and will, occur, and that the work of change takes place primarily outside of the coaching session.
7. Do what works, and stop doing what does not work: allied to the commitment to an action orientation is a pragmatic focus on identifying what is working for the client and amplifying this. Similarly, if an attempt at problem resolution is not working, then stop and try something different.
8. Change can happen in a short space to time: because the client is already whole, change does not require fixing the client. This stands in contrast to the assumption that change must be worked on over a long period of time.
9. Enchantment: borrowed from the work of Milton Erikson, SF approaches suggest that the coaching process be designed and conducted in a way that is attractive and engaging for the client.

The SF approach constantly seeks to avoid the status quo but instead keep moving forward towards the desired end state. With the focus on solution speak rather than problem speak. The one imperative is not to limit the length or number of sessions needed, but to do only what the client needs to in order to reach their desired end state.