Questions are one of the most powerful tools in our leadership toolkit, but as highlighted by Abraham Maslow in 1966, when all you’ve got is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

The ‘coaching trap’ isn’t the only pitfall to be aware of.

The ‘research rabbit hole’ shows up when leaders fear making the wrong decision, so they make no decision at all. They mask their fear by using questions as a delay tactic. Seemingly endless questions asked with no clear purpose risk leaving team members more confused and wondering why they bothered to consult in the first place. You’ll recognise the research rabbit hole when the response to a very direct, pointed question is...yes, you guessed it, another question.

The ‘grand inquisition’ tends to bombard our team members with questions, often while we try to show interest and engagement or attempt to demonstrate our intelligence. This can feel like too many questions, inappropriate questions, or both, often masking our own discomfort. A common example of the grand inquisition is a question (or three) that feels overly personal, intrusive, or asked at the wrong time.

The ‘hamster wheel’ is an endless cycle of exploring and choosing, as we pursue a (false) sense of control over a situation.  Often referred to as ‘analysis paralysis, this can look a lot like the coaching trap, and based on my observations of coaching leadership teams, they often co-exist. If you’ve ever presented a series of recommendations only to be asked, ‘but what about...?’ (after multiple revisions), then you’re probably experiencing the hamster wheel.