Helps the other person clarify what they want and what they're solving for
Moves someone from spinning on a problem to proactively taking action
Examples
Direct report: To be honest, I haven’t been feeling motivated at work. I tend to be bogged down in execution details, and I’m not getting enough exposure to strategy. I look around, and my peers are working on strategic projects that move their careers forward.
Manager: Thanks for sharing that with me. I remember when I was at your level and looking to get promoted. What was most valuable was focusing on execution. I rolled up my sleeves, focused on executing the projects in front of me, and that's what got me promoted to where I am now. You have mission critical projects to execute, so you're already on the right path.
Direct report: But that's exactly the problem I'm facing. I'm spending all my time on execution and not enough time on the strategic problem solving I see other product managers doing.
Manager: Well, if you want a strategic project, there are plenty to go around. I actually need someone to nail down a competitive analysis slide for our upcoming board deck. Why don't you take that on?
Direct report: I’m fine with taking that on to help the team. But I don't want to just fill out a one-time slide. What I’m looking for is a strategic project.
Manager: (getting a bit impatient) I know that Rodrigo is researching a new market vertical and could use some support. That's a strategic project. Why don't you partner with him on that? Will that fix the situation?
Direct report: (exasperated) But that's not what I actually want. I feel like you're not understanding me here.
Here's how the conversation might go if the manager instead uses a coaching approach and employs the Outcome Frame and Options Exploration.
Direct report: To be honest, I haven’t been feeling motivated at work. I tend to be bogged down in execution details, and I’m not getting enough exposure to strategy. I look around, and my peers are working on strategic projects that move their careers forward.
Manager: Gotcha, thanks for sharing that with me. I want to support you in this, are you open to me asking a few questions to learn more?
Direct report: Sure.
Manager: I'm curious: In this situation, what would you like?
Direct report: I want to take on a strategic project, one that allows me to really stretch and grow my strategy skills.
Manager: I see. So you want to take on a strategic project that allows you to stretch and grow your strategy skills. And what will having that do for you?
Direct report: It'll allow me to improve my ability to drive strategic decisions, especially ones that directly impact our revenue goals.
Manager: Gotcha, and growing in your ability to drive strategic decisions that impact revenue goals— what will having that do for you?
Direct report: It'll allow me to explore whether being a COO is the right path for me in the long run. I've been thinking about making a future switch from product management to a hybrid role that's more operationally focused because I love learning about the business.
Manager: Wow, I'm excited for you to explore that career path, and I want to support you in that. Let's brainstorm: What options do you have for starting to explore COO as a longer term career path?
Direct report: That's where I need some help. I guess I could reach out and talk to our COO to hear how she got to that position. This might be a stretch but maybe I could shadow some of her meetings to see what they're like?
Manager: Those are great ideas. Let's keep brainstorming: What other options do you see?
Direct report: There's a three-year business planning initiative spinning up, and I know our COO is spearheading it. I wonder if they could use support from someone on the product team. I'd love to be the product team liaison for that project... but that seems like a stretch. Is that even possible?
Manager: I think you'd be a great fit for it. I have a 1:1 with our COO later today. Would it be helpful for me to ask her about these next steps?
Direct report: That’d be great, and it'd help me a lot in my career exploration. Thank you for helping me think through this. I'm excited to see what comes out of it.