The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever

Bungay Stanier claims the AWE Question, “And what else?” is the best coaching question one could ask because it leads to better decisions, buys time, and continues to rein in a manager’s urge to take over the conversation. The question facilitates a deeper investigation into a topic of conversation, which is important because generally, a person’s first answer is not always the root of a problem. In other words, “And what else?” prompts the employee to be more engaged. Bungay Stanier points to research that shows the relative inefficacy of asking simple binary questions that yield either “yes” or “no.” Asking “And what else?” yields more detailed answers, which ultimately lead to better decisions.

The AWE question preempts the manager from giving advice, which if habitual, will lead to codependency; employees will lean on the manager rather than solve problems on their own. The comfort of offering advice can be enticing for managers, even if their advice is inaccurate. Managers often offer advice out of habit or because this is what feels right to them. Bungay Stanier points to doctor-patient interactions in which doctors can fall into the same interrupting pattern. The AWE question helps curtail this impulse. Bungay Stanier recommends asking the AWE question three to five times at most, recognizing the limitation of asking it too much.