Helping a client go deeper on a result that surprised them
This is for you if a client reads a line in their results and stops, because it doesn't match how they see themselves. They aren't dismissing it, just curious and a little thrown. You want to help them go deeper without talking them into anything.
A line in their results caught them off guard. Before you interpret anything, know this: the line that doesn't fit a client's self-image is the most useful one in the whole report. It points straight at what they can't yet see about themselves. So the surprise is a door, not a wrong answer to correct.
Open their Discovering Your Strengths together and find the exact line. Then do this.
- Name the surprise precisely. Which strength, and what about it didn't fit? Get their real words ("I don't see myself as the one who reads a room"), not a general shrug.
- Go looking for one recent moment. Not a debate about whether the line is true. One real time in the last few weeks where it may quietly have been true, even in a small way. Let them find it.
- Land it in one line they write down. If a moment surfaced, have them note it in their own words: the specific time the strength was quietly there. If none did, have them write one thing to watch for this week ("next time I run a meeting, notice if this shows up").
Either way, they leave holding something real to look at, not a verdict to accept. The client draws their own conclusion. You keep the surprise open long enough for them to look.
Coaching questions
Remember, this isn't a worksheet to run in order. Pull whatever fits the room, and follow where the client's curiosity goes. Here are some questions that help you do that.
Opening the surprise
- What about that line didn't match how you see yourself?
- If it were true, even a little, where would you expect to see it?
Looking for their own evidence
- When in the last few weeks might this have been quietly true?
- Who in your life would be least surprised to read this about you?
Leaving it open
- What's it like to sit with a line you can't rule in or out yet?
- What do you want to watch for before we talk again?
