The Coachable Physician Asks Better Questions
The Coachable Physician Starts With Better Questions
Early in a coaching engagement, a physician will almost always ask some version of the same thing: "How do I fix this?" It is a reasonable question. They have a problem -- a difficult colleague, a stalled promotion, a team that is not performing -- and they want a solution. That instinct to diagnose and treat is what makes them excellent clinicians. But it is not what makes someone coachable.
The coachable physician learns to ask a different kind of question. Not "How do I fix this?" but "What am I not seeing?"
From Answers to Awareness
The shift sounds small. It is not. "How do I fix this?" assumes you already understand the problem. It jumps straight to intervention. "What am I not seeing?" assumes there is more to the situation than you currently perceive. One question seeks a prescription. The other seeks a diagnosis you have not made yet.
Edgar Schein, the late MIT organizational psychologist, called this "humble inquiry" -- the art of asking questions to which you do not already know the answer. In Humble Inquiry, he argued that genuine questions signal a willingness to be influenced, and that willingness is the foundation of real learning. For physicians trained to project certainty, this kind of questioning feels counterintuitive. It also happens to be where all the growth lives.
Better Questions in Coaching Sound Like This
- Instead of "How do I get my chair to support me?" try "What does my chair need from me that I might not be providing?"
- Instead of "Why is this person so difficult?" try "What is this conflict telling me about my own assumptions?"
- Instead of "How do I manage my time better?" try "What am I saying yes to, and why?"
The pattern is the same every time. The first question points outward. The better question turns the lens back on you.
The Skill Behind the Skill
Asking better questions is not a technique. It is a posture. It requires you to tolerate not knowing the answer for longer than feels comfortable. Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey, in Immunity to Change, describe this as the ability to hold complexity without collapsing into certainty. That is the deeper skill coaching develops.
A good coach models this. They sit with you in the question until something real emerges. Over time, you internalize that patience.
One Question to Start With
If you want to test this, try replacing your next "How do I fix this?" with "What might I be contributing to this situation that I have not considered?" Then sit with whatever comes up. Do not rush to solve it.
That willingness to slow down and ask a harder question is the most reliable sign that someone is becoming more coachable. It is not about having the right answers. It never was.
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