Sample Coaching Tools and Exercises

INTRODUCTION NOTE
The following is a sample draft that you can modify based on your style or client need. Normally we send it to the client who expresses interest in a coaching relationship. It serves to set the stage for the first coaching meeting and to provide a selection of discovery exercises.

February 2, 20XX

Subject: CONFIDENTIAL: Coaching Exercises

Greetings (Name):

It was good to talk with you. I admire your commitment and your desire to be more effective and fulfilled. The possibility of coaching you is an honor I approach with respect. As your coach, I do not see myself as someone who knows how to do life better than you; rather, I see myself as someone who wants to help you do life better than you thought you could. In a trusting relationship I expect us to be honest with each other. As an imperfect person I am grateful for the coaches that encouraged me and held me accountable. In a way, the reason I coach is to return the favor I owe.

Coaching is a purpose driven personal relationship. My purpose is to coach self-motivated professionals who want to improve their personal effectiveness and fulfill their life callings. If this does not meet with your objective please let me know. In addition, it is important that my coaching focus and style meet your needs.

I look forward to interacting with you when we next meet. I value the time we will be spending together. For this reason I would like us to be as prepared as possible. On the following pages you will find some thinking exercises that I would like you to prepare a many of them as you possibly can, and return to me before we meet. Please do not be overly analytical in doing this. Your first impression is all that is needed.

The last two pages provide an example of a simple Progress Dashboard. This is a template that I hope will guide our coaching conversation. I will discuss it with you when we meet. For now, you do not need to do anything with it.

To answer any questions, I will be glad to call you.

Signed

1. How Are You?

How you feel is very important to our coaching relationship. This is a simple tool to help us discuss how you feel. Through the coaching process the average scores can be used to track progress or coaching success.
Please complete all the Gray cells.

To what extent do you agree with the following statements? (copy and paste X for your response) / I TOTALLY
Agree çè Disagree

A. Physical

1. My health is at an optimum state. / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
2. I sleep very well. / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Average Physical Score / (total divided by 2)

B. Emotional

3. My family life is very fulfilling and rewarding. / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
4. My relationships with my co-workers are collaborative and supportive. / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
5. I love my work. At work I feel equipped and empowered to regularly be my best and do what I am best at doing. / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
6. My work-life is totally balanced. / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Average Physical Score / (total divided by 4)

C. Financial And Development

7. My financial affairs are totally under control. / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
8. I feel well rewarded for the work I do. / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
9. My personal growth and development plans support my need for financial stability and/or future objectives. / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Average Physical Score / (total divided by 3)

D. Spiritual

10. My values are clear and are supported by my spiritual faith and beliefs. / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
11. I am fully aware of my character strengths and weaknesses. / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
12. My family, friends, and co-workers support my values and priorities. / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Average Physical Score / (total divided by 3)

Desired Change: If things improve, what would your rating be? Copy and paste C beside your desired score.

2. Defining Core Values

Coach Tony Stoltzfus writes, “Values are the bedrock of behaviors. They define what is important to us, they form the framework we use for making decisions, and they are the driving force behind our work and our passions.” Core values are like the rudder that steers the ship to keep it on course.

This five-step exercise helps you start a process of writing your core values and sharing them with others:

1. List key descriptive words that mean the most to you. Below is a list of words that you can choose from or add to. Most likely you will start with a fairly long list. That is OK. The next three steps you will narrow your list.

2. Which words in your selected list reflect what you are most passionate about or care about the most? Create an A list by placing an A besides these words. Add more words as needed.

3. Copy your A list to a separate sheet of paper for careful examination.

4. Create a (B) list by placing a B beside any word that represents something that is unique about you and/or You are presently engaged in or form a significant part of your present or desired work or personal life.

Coaching Exercises / 7

 Accomplishment

 Accountability

 Achievement

 Advancement

 Adventure

 Artistic

 Authenticity

 Beauty

 Be knowledgeable

 Being known

 Belonging

 Benevolence

 Building

 Caring

 Change

 Changing world

 Character

 Commitment

 Communication

 Community

 Compassion

 Competence

 Concern

 Creativity

 Depth

 Devotion

 Directness

 Diversity

 Duty

 Efficiency

 Emotion

 Enthusiasm

 Entrepreneurial

 Evangelism

 Excellence

 Exploration

 Family

 Finances

 Flexibility

 Focus

 Follow‐through

 Freedom

 Friendship

 Frugality

 Fun

 Generosity

 Gentleness

 Governance

 Harmony

 Healing

 Health

 Heritage

 Honesty

 Honor

 Hospitality

 Identity

 Influence

 Inspiration

 Integration

 Integrity

 Intimacy

 Investment

 Knowledge

 Leadership

 Legacy

 Lifelong learning

 Love

 Marriage

 Mastery

 Meaning

 Motivation

 Movement

 Nature

 New challenges

 Nurture

 Opportunity

 Policy

 Perfection

 Passionate pursuit

 Peace

 Planning

 Practicality

 Precision

 Principles

 Progress

 Purpose

 Rationality

 Reaching out

 Recognition

 Reflection

 Relationship

 Renewal

 Responsibility

 Romance

 Sacrifice

 Security

 Service

 Sincerity

 Spiritual life

 Spontaneity

 Stability

 Starting things

 Stewardship

 Strategy

 Strength

 Success

 Team

 Thoughtfulness

 Travel

 Truth

 Volunteering

 World Issues

 Worship

 Add more

Coaching Exercises / 7

5. Narrow your (B) list by listing your top five core values in order of priority below:

1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5.

3. Strengths Themes:

More than any other personal factor focusing on your strengths will enhance fulfillment and effectiveness. The following two exercises will help you identify and articulate your top five strengths.

A. Adjectives for your Strengths

Below is set of 34 groups of adjectives based on the renowned StrengthsFinder2.0 tool. Carefully examine these groups of adjectives. Place an X beside the five groups that best describe you.

 Achiever: energetic, goal-oriented, hardworking, motivated, self-disciplined

 Activator: impatient, learning, practical, results-oriented, persistent, tenacious

 Adaptability: calm, flexible, productive, reassuring, approachable, responsive

 Analytical: dispassionate, interrogative, logical, impartial, rigorous, objective

 Arranger: adaptable, creative, flexible, ingenious, resourceful, innovative

 Belief: altruistic, dependable, family-oriented, responsible, spiritual, faithful

 Command: clear, confrontational, direct, honest, risk-taking, demanding

 Communication: articulate, captivating, conversational, descriptive, communicative, expressive

 Competition: aggressive, aspiring, challenging, driving, striving, competitive

 Connectedness: accepting, thoughtful, considerate, humble, spiritual, caring

 Consistency: balanced, ethical, even-handed, fair, unprejudiced, dependable

 Context oriented: counterintuitive, experienced, interrogative, perceptive

 Deliberative: careful, contemplative, private, serious, vigilant, intentional

 Developer: challenging, coaching, encouraging, helpful, nurturing

 Discipline: efficient, exact, orderly, predictable, structured, organized

 Empathy: anticipating, appreciative, kind, sensitive, understanding, supportive

 Focus: collaborative, efficient, goal-oriented, independent, impatient, intentional

 Futuristic: energizing, foresighted, inspirational, motivating, idealistic, visionary

 Harmony: agreeable, deferential, non-confrontational, peaceable, personable

 Ideation: abstract thinking, contemplative, conceptual, creative, visionary

 Includer: accepting, connecting, loyal, non-judgmental, sociable, approachable

 Individualization: encouraging, impatient, intuitive, listening, observant

 Input: quick-to-learn, inquisitive, interested, interrogative, studious

 Intellection: inquisitive, introspective, reflective, studious, thoughtful

 Learner: assimilative, energetic, inquisitive, motivated, studious

 Maximizer: demanding, discriminating, focusing, productive, refining

 Positivity: energetic, energizing, enthusiastic, light-hearted, optimistic

 Relator: caring, close, genuine, risk-taking, sharing

 Responsibility: conscientious, dependable, ethical, hardworking, available

 Restorative: analytical, fixing, identifying, rekindling, resuscitating

 Self-assurance: certain, confident, independent, risk-taking, self-confident

 Significance achieving, credible, focused, goal-oriented, independent

 Strategic: intuitive, observant, predicting, problem solving, reflective

 Woo: conversational, friendly, initiating, networking, sociable

In order of priority write the top five themes or adjective groups which best describe you.

1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5.

B. Strengths In Your Own Words

If you have done Gallup StrengthsFinder2.0 survey (SF2.0), you would have a detailed 15-page report to help you will understand that your Strengths are uniquely yours. If you have not done SF2.0, download the description of the 34 Strengths themes from
http://integrity-plus.com/SM/Notes/SF2.0%20Discription.pdf

Examine each description of the strengths themes you selected or were included in your SF2.0 report. In your own words describe each of your strengths. Think back and list the experiences or activities that reflected your strengths.

Strengths / How would you describe your Strengths Themes in your own words? / What life experiences or activities give evidence to these strengths in your own life?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

4. The Power of Verbs:

While adjectives describe who we are or what we like or need to BE, verbs describe what we like to DO. Verbs are also very helpful when we define objectives and goals. The following is a sample verbs list. This is not all-inclusive. Feel free to add more.

A. Think of activities you enjoy the most. In the course of these activities what do you like to DO most?

B. Place an X beside your most preferred five verbs.

Coaching Exercises / 7

 Advise

 Agree

 Analyze

 Announce

 Approve

 Ask

 Assign

 Attack

 Balance

 Challenge

 Clarify

 Clear

 Collect

 Compare

 Correct

 Debate

 Decide

 Define

 Delegate

 Deliver

 Determine

 Develop

 Dictate

 Direct

 Discuss

 Dream

 Educate

 Encourage

 Enlighten

 Evaluate

 Examine

 Exercise

 Explore

 Force

 Gather

 Guide

 Heal

 Help

 Identify

 Imagine

 Impress

 Improve

 Influence

 Instruct

 Insure

 Joke

 Judge

 Learn

 Listen

 Manage

 Measure

 Motivate

 Move

 Object

 Observe

 Order

 Perform

 Plan

 Practice

 Preach

 Present

 Prioritize

 Provide

 Question

 Receive

 Repeat

 Report

 Request

 Review

 Risk

 Save

 Serve

 Share

 Suggest

 Study

 Summarize,

 Supply

 Support

 Surprise

 Tell

 Thank

 Trust

 Unlock

 Unpack

 Warn

 Watch

 Write

 Add More

Coaching Exercises / 7

In order of priority, write the top five verbs you selected.

1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5.

5. Focusing Your Roles

On the stage of life you are often given titles. Embedded in each title are many roles you are expected to play. Some roles you love and others you hate. The roles you love tend to leverage and use your natural strengths, talents, knowledge, skills, and experience. These roles give you a sense of fulfillment and joy.

The following is a sample roles list. This is not all-inclusive so feel free to add other roles that you think are important to you. Place an X beside your most preferred roles.

Coaching Exercises / 7

 Accountant

 Activist

 Administrator

 Advisor

 Advocate

 Analyst

 Arbitrator

 Author

 Baker

 Banker

 Boss

 Builder

 Carpenter

 Catalyst

 Champion

 Change agent

 Chemist

 Cleaner

 Coach

 Commander

 Consoler

 Consultant

 Cook

 Counselor

 Decorator

 Dentist

 Designer

 Developer

 Diplomat

 Director

 Doctor

 Driver

 Economist

 Editor

 Electrician

 Encourager

 Enforcer

 Engineer

 Entrepreneur

 Facilitator

 Farmer

 Firefighter

 Gardner

 Groomer

 Guard

 Guide

 Helper

 Homemaker

 Host

 Hydrologist