Solutions focused coaching

Solutions focus is a bit of a misnomer, as all coaching aims to help people find solutions to issues they explore with a coach. The main difference is that, while many coaching approaches start from the perspective that it’s important to analyse and understand a problem before looking for solutions, Solutions Focus goes straight into solution mode, on the basis that concentrating on the past and what didn’t work tends to limit people’s horizons and actually get in the way of solutions. Better, argue the proponents of Solutions Focus, to identify what has gone right and the coachee’s attention to doing more of that.

Some of the core principles of Solutions Focus include:

• Identifying and amplifying useful change works better than diagnosing the detail of what went wrong
• Understanding a problem and creating a workable solution can often be different activities, without much link between them
• Different perspectives create the potential for different solutions
• Small changes in the right direction create a momentum of their own
• Focusing on the problem rather than on generating solutions tends to require much bigger changes, which are typically more difficult and more costly (especially in terms of time and energy) than changing only what is necessary
• Focusing on the past leaves the door open to blame (either blaming oneself or blaming others), which creates yet another barrier to positive change.

Useful questions using Solutions Focus include:

• What do you want to happen?
• What works for you in other situations?
• When and how do you achieve success?
• What strengths do you have that you could apply (differently) to this situation?
• What’s the simplest thing you could do to address this problem?
• What resources can you call upon here?
• What would help you stop worrying about what happened and be more attentive to what you could do now/ in future?

Critics of Solutions Focus point out that the difference between simple solutions and simplistic ones can be small. Moreover, the fact that someone has brought an issue for discussion does not necessarily mean they are ready to seek or implement a solution – they may need first to understand their own feelings and values in relation to the issue and/ or explore new possibilities in their environment to be clear about what they want and why. Nonetheless, it is a useful approach to have in the coach or mentor portfolio.

Further reading

Jackson, P & McKergow, M (2002) The Solutions Focus, Nicholas Brealey, London

© David Clutterbuck, 2014

Prof David Clutterbuck
Coaching and Mentoring International Ltd
Woodlands, Tollgate,
Maidenhead,
Berks, UK. SL6 4LJ

www.coachingandmentoringinternational.org
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