One of the most powerful things you can do to help someone solve a problem is to ask great questions. My new article ”Questions to Explore Problems” (PDF) gives dozens of questions that I’ve found essential in my work as a coach, including questions to explore:

• The problem in general.
• The desired state, the perceived state, and the difference between the two.
• The way the problem is stated.
• The problem’s past, present, and future.
• The way the problem is being solved.
• The way you are exploring the problem.