Performance coaching is a critical skill in today's workplace, defined as a structured approach to helping individuals develop capabilities, improve performance, and achieve specific goals through targeted feedback, guidance, and accountability. In an organizational context, effective performance coaching transforms potential into tangible results and drives both individual growth and business outcomes.

Organizations increasingly recognize that performance coaching competency is essential across various roles – from managers developing their team members to project leaders guiding cross-functional groups. This competency encompasses multiple dimensions including feedback delivery, goal setting, active listening, observation skills, and progress tracking. What makes performance coaching particularly valuable is its ability to bridge the gap between where employees currently stand and where they need to be, creating sustainable performance improvement rather than temporary fixes.

When evaluating candidates for their coaching abilities, interviewers should focus on specific behaviors that demonstrate this competency in action. The most revealing questions explore how candidates have approached coaching situations in the past, the frameworks they've used, how they've adapted their approach to different individuals, and the measurable results they've achieved. By focusing on behavioral evidence rather than theoretical knowledge, you'll uncover candidates' true coaching capabilities as described in our guide on how to conduct a job interview.

Interview Questions

Tell me about a time when you had to coach someone through a significant performance issue. What was your approach, and what was the outcome?

Areas to Cover:

• The specific performance issue and its impact
• How the candidate diagnosed the root causes
• The coaching framework or approach they implemented
• How they balanced support with accountability
• The candidate's communication style during difficult conversations
• How they measured and tracked improvement
• The ultimate outcome for the individual and organization

Follow-Up Questions:

• What initial resistance did you encounter, and how did you address it?
• How did you determine the underlying causes of the performance issue?
• What specific feedback techniques did you use to ensure your message was received constructively?
• How did you adapt your coaching approach as the situation evolved?

Describe your experience developing a coaching plan for someone who didn't recognize they needed improvement in a particular area. How did you handle their lack of awareness?

Areas to Cover:

• How the candidate identified the skill gap or performance issue
• Their approach to creating self-awareness without causing defensiveness
• The specific techniques used to help the person recognize the development need
• How they established buy-in for the coaching plan
• The structure and components of the coaching plan itself
• The timeline and milestones established
• How progress was measured and communicated

Follow-Up Questions:

• What specific evidence or data did you use to help the person recognize the need for improvement?
• How did you maintain the relationship while delivering potentially uncomfortable feedback?
• What obstacles did you encounter during implementation, and how did you overcome them?
• How did you know when your coaching approach was working or needed adjustment?

Give me an example of how you've helped a high performer reach the next level. What specific coaching strategies did you use?

Areas to Cover:

• How the candidate identified growth opportunities for someone already performing well
• The difference in coaching approach compared to performance improvement situations
• Specific strategies for challenging and stretching high performers
• How they maintained motivation and momentum
• The resources or support they provided
• How they measured success at a higher performance level
• Long-term impact on the individual's growth trajectory

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you ensure the coaching challenged the person without overwhelming them?
• What resistance did you encounter from the high performer, and how did you address it?
• How did you balance pushing for growth with recognizing current achievements?
• What systems did you put in place to sustain the higher performance level?

Tell me about a time when your initial coaching approach wasn't working. How did you recognize this, and what did you do differently?

Areas to Cover:

• The initial coaching situation and approach
• Indicators that suggested the coaching wasn't effective
• How quickly the candidate recognized the need to adjust
• The process of diagnosing what wasn't working
• Specific changes made to the coaching approach
• How they communicated the shift in approach
• The outcome after adjusting the coaching strategy

Follow-Up Questions:

• What specific feedback or data helped you realize your approach needed to change?
• How did you maintain the coaching relationship during this transition?
• What did you learn about yourself as a coach through this experience?
• How has this experience influenced your coaching approach with others since then?

Describe a situation where you had to coach someone who had significantly different working or learning styles than yours. How did you adapt your coaching approach?

Areas to Cover:

• How the candidate identified the style differences
• Their process for understanding the other person's preferences and needs
• Specific adaptations made to their typical coaching approach
• Challenges encountered in adapting their style
• How they monitored the effectiveness of the adapted approach
• What they learned about flexibility in coaching
• The outcome of the coaching relationship

Follow-Up Questions:

• What specific techniques did you use to identify the person's preferred learning style?
• What was most challenging about adapting your natural coaching style?
• How did you maintain authenticity while adapting your approach?
• What insights about diverse working styles did you gain from this experience?

Tell me about a coaching experience where you helped someone develop a skill that you personally find challenging. How did you approach this?

Areas to Cover:

• The specific skill and why it was challenging for the candidate
• How they prepared themselves to coach in this area
• Resources or support they leveraged
• How they established credibility despite their own challenges
• The coaching methods they employed
• How they monitored progress in an area outside their comfort zone
• What they learned about coaching beyond their own expertise

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you gather the knowledge or resources needed to provide effective coaching?
• How did you address questions or challenges that went beyond your experience?
• What did you learn about coaching in areas where you're not the technical expert?
• How did this experience change your overall approach to coaching?

Describe how you've incorporated regular coaching into your management style. What specific routines or practices have you established?

Areas to Cover:

• The cadence and structure of coaching conversations
• How coaching is integrated into regular work processes
• The balance between formal and informal coaching moments
• How coaching priorities are established
• The frameworks or tools regularly used
• How coaching effectiveness is measured
• The evolution of their coaching approach over time

Follow-Up Questions:

• How do you ensure coaching conversations don't get crowded out by operational demands?
• What specific preparation do you do before coaching sessions?
• How do you capture insights and track progress across multiple coaching relationships?
• How do you assess the overall impact of your coaching approach on team performance?

Give me an example of when you helped someone turn a failure into a valuable learning experience. What was your coaching approach?

Areas to Cover:

• The failure situation and its impact on the individual
• How the candidate created psychological safety to discuss the failure
• Their process for facilitating reflection and learning
• Specific techniques used to reframe the experience constructively
• How they balanced empathy with accountability
• The way they helped translate insights into future behavior changes
• The long-term impact on the person's development

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you help the person work through any negative emotions about the failure?
• What specific questions did you ask to facilitate learning without blame?
• How did you help them apply the lessons to future situations?
• How did this coaching conversation differ from your typical approach?

Tell me about a time when you had to coach someone on a behavioral issue rather than a technical skill. What approach did you take?

Areas to Cover:

• The specific behavioral issue and its impact
• How the candidate approached this sensitive topic
• The framework they used for behavioral coaching
• How they created awareness without causing defensiveness
• Specific feedback techniques employed
• The action plan developed
• How progress on behavioral change was monitored
• The ultimate outcome of the coaching

Follow-Up Questions:

• What was most challenging about addressing this behavioral issue?
• How did you separate the behavior from the person during your discussions?
• What resistance did you encounter, and how did you address it?
• How did you ensure the behavioral changes would be sustained over time?

Describe how you've coached someone to develop greater self-awareness about their strengths and blind spots. What techniques did you use?

Areas to Cover:

• The initial level of self-awareness and its impact
• Tools or assessments used to enhance self-awareness
• How feedback from multiple sources was incorporated
• Questioning techniques that prompted self-discovery
• How the candidate created safety for honest reflection
• The process of helping translate awareness into action
• Changes observed as self-awareness improved

Follow-Up Questions:

• What specific questions did you find most effective in prompting self-reflection?
• How did you help them reconcile different perceptions about their performance?
• What resistance did you encounter to feedback or new self-insights?
• How did you help them leverage newfound self-awareness for performance improvement?

Tell me about a time when you had to balance being directive versus allowing someone to learn through discovery in a coaching situation. How did you make those decisions?

Areas to Cover:

• The specific situation and what was at stake
• How the candidate assessed when to be directive versus facilitative
• Their decision-making process about coaching style
• Indicators they looked for to adjust their approach
• How they transitioned between styles if necessary
• The impact of their coaching choices
• What they learned about coaching style flexibility

Follow-Up Questions:

• What factors influenced your decisions about when to be more directive?
• How did you recognize when your coaching approach needed to shift?
• What challenges did you face in finding the right balance?
• How has this experience shaped your coaching philosophy?

Give me an example of how you've used data or metrics to inform your coaching approach with someone. How did this impact your effectiveness?

Areas to Cover:

• The specific performance data or metrics used
• How the data was collected and analyzed
• How the candidate incorporated metrics into coaching conversations
• The way data helped create awareness or motivation
• How progress was tracked using metrics
• Challenges in translating data into coaching insights
• The impact of the data-driven approach on coaching outcomes

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you ensure the metrics focused on the right behaviors or outcomes?
• How did you present the data in a way that was constructive rather than threatening?
• What challenges did you face in gathering relevant performance data?
• How did using metrics change the nature of your coaching conversations?

Describe a time when you needed to provide difficult feedback as part of a coaching conversation. How did you approach this, and what was the outcome?

Areas to Cover:

• The specific feedback situation and why it was challenging
• How the candidate prepared for the conversation
• The structure and setting they created for the feedback
• Specific language and techniques used to deliver difficult messages
• How they balanced honesty with empathy
• The recipient's initial reaction and how it was handled
• How the feedback led to a constructive coaching plan
• The ultimate impact on performance and the relationship

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you prepare yourself emotionally for delivering difficult feedback?
• What specific phrases or techniques did you find most effective?
• How did you ensure the person didn't become defensive or discouraged?
• What follow-up did you provide after the initial feedback conversation?

Tell me about a coaching relationship that developed over an extended period. How did your approach evolve as the person developed?

Areas to Cover:

• The initial coaching needs and approach
• How the candidate assessed development progress
• Specific ways they adjusted their coaching as the person grew
• How the coaching relationship evolved over time
• Transitions in focus from basic to more advanced development areas
• How they maintained momentum and motivation long-term
• The ultimate impact of the sustained coaching relationship

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you keep the coaching fresh and engaging over time?
• What milestones or indicators showed you when to shift your approach?
• How did your role change as the person developed greater capability?
• What challenges did you face in the later stages of the coaching relationship?

Describe a situation where you had to coach a team or group, rather than an individual. What adjustments did you make to your coaching approach?

Areas to Cover:

• The context of the team coaching situation
• How the candidate balanced individual and group needs
• Specific techniques used for team-level coaching
• How they addressed team dynamics in their coaching
• Methods for encouraging peer coaching within the team
• How progress was measured at both team and individual levels
• The impact of the team coaching approach

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you ensure all team members were engaged in the coaching process?
• What challenges did you face coaching at the team level versus individually?
• How did you address conflicts or competing needs within the team?
• What did you learn about the differences between individual and team coaching?

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are behavioral questions better than hypothetical ones when assessing coaching ability?

Behavioral questions reveal actual past performance rather than theoretical knowledge. When candidates describe real coaching situations they've handled, you'll gain insights into their true approach, the frameworks they use, challenges they've overcome, and results they've achieved. Hypothetical questions only tell you what a candidate thinks is the right answer, not what they actually do in practice. As we explain in our article on structured interviews, past behavior is the best predictor of future performance.

How many coaching-focused questions should I include in an interview?

Rather than rushing through many questions, include 3-4 well-chosen behavioral questions about performance coaching with thorough follow-up. This approach, as described in our guide to creating interview scorecards, allows you to dig deeper into each example, uncovering the candidate's true coaching competency rather than just getting surface-level answers. Quality of insight matters more than quantity of questions.

How can I tell if a candidate is just reciting coaching theory versus having actual experience?

Look for specificity and complexity in their examples. Experienced coaches will describe nuanced situations, specific adaptations they made for different individuals, challenges they faced, and measurable outcomes. They'll also be able to answer detailed follow-up questions without hesitation. Those with theoretical knowledge but limited experience typically provide generic answers, struggle with follow-up questions about implementation details, and can't articulate the emotional and practical challenges of real coaching situations.

Should coaching ability be weighted differently for different role levels?

Yes. For entry-level roles, coaching might be weighted as potential rather than demonstrated expertise. For mid-level management roles, coaching should be a key competency with substantial weight in your hiring decision. For senior leadership roles, coaching should be evaluated both as a personal skill and as a cultural value they foster across their organization. Our research on sales leadership shows that coaching ability is one of the strongest predictors of success in management positions.

How do I evaluate coaching ability for candidates who haven't had formal management roles?

Look for coaching experiences in any context – peer coaching, project leadership, mentoring, teaching, or even volunteer work. Effective coaches demonstrate their skills regardless of formal authority. Ask about situations where they helped colleagues improve, guided project teams, or developed junior staff even without direct reports. Focus on the coaching behaviors rather than the title or role, as coaching competency can be developed in many contexts.

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