‘What Did Coaching Tools Ever do For Us?’

(A nod to Monty Python – and a considered look at the role of tools in coaching)

When we train coaches, we are often asked what coaching tools bring to coaching and whether they exist for the benefit of the coach or the client. There isn’t an easy answer to this but here are some ways in which we think about the role of coaching tools in our work.

In our experience, a coaching tool can provide a way for the coach to offer prompts which might help a client think, see patterns, or reflect from a new angle. For the client, a tool can create a sense of safety and focus – something to hold on to (sometimes literally!) while exploring thoughts, feelings, or experiences which might otherwise feel uncertain or overwhelming.

At Barefoot, over the years, we’ve created a wide range of coaching tools, from Coaching Cards for all kinds of different contexts to our 30 Great Coaching Tools booklet. They are all designed to support reflective and meaningful conversations. However, coaching tools often provoke questions about how they are used in practice. Do they deepen the coaching process, or do they risk becoming a crutch for the coach? Can the use of a coaching tool risk shaping the client’s thinking instead of supporting their independent reflection?

When deciding whether to introduce a coaching tool to a client, we like to ask ourselves questions about purpose and discernment: why a tool is being used, when it is introduced, and what it might enable or constrain in the dialogue.

A coaching tool can be a prompt for exploratory conversation – a way of giving form to something that might otherwise remain unspoken. Sometimes clients may find it easier to engage with a card, an image or a model, than to respond directly to a question.

Freud described projection as the process through which we can recognise aspects of ourselves more comfortably when they are externalised. In coaching, something similar happens. Talking about a card or model can provide a safer route into talking about oneself. 

Coaching tools can also act as touchstones in a coaching relationship. A coach might say, “Remember when we used the Picture Cards and you chose the picture of the sunrise – does that still feel appropriate to where you are now?” Returning to a shared memorable moment builds trust and rapport between coach and client and can help the client appreciate what has changed over time.

At Barefoot, we advocate the considered use of coaching tools: knowing when to introduce one, when to abandon it, and when to trust in the conversation alone. Considered use involves holding the coaching tool lightly, staying close to the client’s needs and responses, and remaining flexible to change. A coaching tool may offer new insights, or stimulate reflection, but its effectiveness depends on the sensitivity and self-awareness of the practitioner.

When considering using a coaching tool, it can be helpful to pause and ask yourself:

• What is my intention in introducing this tool?
• Who might benefit from the use of this coaching tool – me, the client or both of us?
• How might the tool shape or limit what the client is able to express?
• What might be gained, or lost, by introducing it at this moment?
• And what might happen if I chose not to use a tool at all?

These questions invite a reflective and ethical stance toward practice. Coaching tools are most valuable when they are used with self-awareness and discernment: as companions to presence, not replacements for it. 

So, what did coaching tools ever do for us?  

Well, they offered structure, generated insights, and helped countless clients find words to describe their thoughts, feelings and experiences. But like all good comedy – and good coaching – the timing matters!