Are you always hearing about developing high potential employees? What about the good employees that are in the middle of the bell curve?  These are the employees delivering day in and day out. Companies need to be thinking about the good performing employees and how to develop them as well.

Try these coaching questions to strengthen your good employee performers:

  1. Coaching_questionsWhat’s your primary reason for staying with this company? Is there something we can do here to progress your career or development?

  2. What criteria are you using in selecting your next career opportunity at our company? What do you do in terms of building your resume over the long term?

  3. How does your current role provide a link to your future career progression?

  1. How would you rate your overall job satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest? How would you grade yourself in terms of doing your best work every day, finding a balance in terms of the company’s needs and your own career and personal development interests, and feeling like you’re firing on all pistons in terms of your overall performance? (Follow up with further questions, such as: Why are you an 8? What would make you a 10?)
  2. Which of the following five categories holds the most significance for you career-wise at this point?
  • opportunities for promotion and advancement
  • rotational assignments to gain a broader understanding of the organization’s operations and key players
  • additional training, certification and acquisition of new technical skills
  • money and other forms of compensation
  • work/life balance

(Follow up with another question: How can I support you on building on that?) 

  1. How can you and I partner as co-leaders to make things better for the rest of the team?
  1. What makes you stand out among your peers? How do you differentiate yourself from your fellow employees or competitors, and how can I help you prepare for your next career move in terms of building up your resume and LinkedIn profile?
  2. What professional or career-related opportunities are you most excited about pursuing? How can we make one of your annual goals about or build your individual development plan around what’s most significant to you at this point in your career?
Reference: Falcone, P (October 24, 2016). The Leader-as-Coach: 10 Questions You Need to Ask to Develop Employees