Main Results

In the entire coded corpus, 3,023 questioning sequences including 3,691 questions have been identified. They make up 83% of the entire coded transcripts, which attests to the centrality of questions in coaching.

Questions (1st position): Wh-questions make up the most frequent question (grammatical) form (1,629), followed by declarative questions (996) and polar interrogative questions (792), i.e., both open and closed questions play a role in coaching. The most frequent question types are “questions topicalizing problematicity” (24%), “questions managing the (working) relationship” (21%) and “questions topicalizing resources” (18%). Overall, solution-oriented questions make up 41% of the questions, problem-oriented questions make up 26%, which showcases the solution-orientation of the interaction. Question types that most often initiate phases are “questions topicalizing problematicity”, “questions managing the (working) relationship”, “questions topicalizing client motivation and/or goal” and “questions evaluating interim results”.

Reaction/Answer (2nd position): Client reactions to all question types are mostly responsive. The reaction types “client does more (responsive)” (i.e., the client provides an answer as well as additionally relevant information) and “client participates” (i.e., the client provides an appropriate answer to the question) together make up 73% (44% and 29% respectively) of client reactions. Such a result attests to the coaching clients’ overall willingness to participate in the coaching process and to actively work towards transformation and change.

Coaches’ Reactions (3rd position): Particular attention was also paid to the third sequence position, i.e., to coaches’ reactions in response to clients’ reactions/answers. The most frequent (descriptive) linguistic category here is “request for clarification or elaboration” (48%), which means coaches most often use the third position to address unclear aspects of the client’s response or to elicit more information. This is followed by “transformation” (15%) by which coaches initiate a decisive change in perspective in relation to the client’s response, e.g., from problem- to solution-orientation (see figure 2). From a psychological perspective (which considers topic, affect and relationship management in 3rd position), coaches are highly responsive and attuned to their clients.

Sequence evaluation: According to the linguistic definition of local effectiveness (i.e., fulfilment of the questioning sequence): 46% of sequences are fulfilled, i.e., successfully completed, 35% are extended, and only 19% are not fulfilled. From a psychological perspective, which evaluated sequences according to a 5-point scale, 52,3% of sequences received 5 points, 31,7% had 4 points, and 16% received 3 points or less. This high percentage of successful sequences points to an overall (local) effectiveness of questioning sequences in coaching, which is both based on clients’ as well as coaches’ responsiveness.