Arete Coach 1178 Severin Sorensen "Exploring Ten Characteristics of Powerful Questions" artwork
Arete Coach: The Art & Science of Executive Coaching

Arete Coach 1178 Severin Sorensen "Exploring Ten Characteristics of Powerful Questions"

  • S1E1178
  • 59:59
  • May 20th 2024

Welcome to the Arete Coach Podcast, hosted by Severin Sorensen. In this episode, "Exploring Ten Characteristics of Powerful Questions," recorded on May 20th, 2024, Severin explores the essential characteristics of powerful questions in executive coaching. Drawing from past podcast episodes and recent scholarly research, Severin delves into the art of questioning and shares valuable insights on crafting questions that inspire transformative change in coaching clients.

Throughout the episode, Severin guides listeners through ten key traits of powerful questions, providing examples and practical applications for each characteristic. From open-endedness and thought-provocation to fostering self-awareness and encouraging ownership, Severin emphasizes the importance of intentional questioning in the coaching process. By sharing quotes from notable figures and weaving in personal anecdotes, Severin illustrates the profound impact that well-crafted questions can have on a client's personal and professional growth. The episode also features clips from past guests, offering diverse perspectives on the art of questioning in coaching. Severin's deep commitment to empowering coaches with the tools to ask transformative questions perfectly aligns with the Arete Coach Podcast's mission to explore excellence in executive coaching.

The ten characteristics of powerful questions explored in this episode are: open-endedness, provoking thought and reflection, challenging assumptions, fostering self-awareness, encouraging ownership and responsibility, facilitating exploration of values and beliefs, eliciting emotional responses, stimulating imagination and creativity, providing clarity and focus, and facilitating action. These traits, when skillfully incorporated into coaching questions, can lead to profound insights, personal growth, and transformative change for clients.

Throughout the episode, Severin emphasizes the importance of crafting questions that invite expansive responses, challenge clients to think critically, and encourage them to take ownership of their actions. By asking questions that explore clients' values, beliefs, and emotions, coaches can help them gain a deeper understanding of their motivations and behaviors. Additionally, powerful questions can stimulate imagination and creativity, enabling clients to envision new possibilities and generate innovative solutions to their challenges.

Severin also shares valuable insights from past podcast guests, highlighting the diverse approaches and philosophies that successful coaches employ when asking powerful questions. From focusing on open-ended inquiries that evoke reflection to using scaling questions to gauge progress and explore potential, these expert coaches demonstrate the versatility and impact of well-crafted questions in the coaching process. Ultimately, this episode serves as a comprehensive guide for coaches seeking to master the art of questioning and elevate their coaching practice to new heights.


The Arete Coach Podcast seeks to explore the art and science of executive coaching. You can find out more about this podcast at aretecoach.io.

This episode was produced on May 20, 2024.

Copyright © 2024 by Arete Coach™ LLC. All rights reserved.

Arete Coach: Exploring the Art and Science of Executive Coaching

“Arete Coach Podcast" Explores the "Art and Science" of Executive Coaching hosted by Severin Sorensen. The “Arete Coach Podcast" is for executive coaches and anyone considering becoming an executive coach. The podcast is especially valuable to executive coaches who are lifetime learners with deep curiosity about the "art and science" of coaching. In this podcast, the ‘art of coaching’ is explored through engaging interviews with leading executive coaches from diverse backgrounds sharing their individual coaching journeys, learnings, methods, best questions, and situational approaches to executive coaching. Beyond best practices, the podcast will regularly mine research on the ‘science of coaching’ and explores ongoing scientific discoveries and studies looking for what works and why, with an aim to improve the core body of knowledge for executive coaches and the industry. Severin Sorensen has provided over 7,500 hours of paid executive coaching sessions and he holds the following coaching certifications: ICF/ACSTH Certified Executive Coach (CEC), Certified Organizational Development Coach (CODC), Certified Life Coach (CLC); and the IAC: Coach Masteries Practioner. Severin Sorensen has an M.Phil in Economics at King's College, Cambridge University, and undergraduate degrees in Economics and Political Science from the University of Utah.

The Arete Coach Podcast is the copyright of Arete Coach LLC.

Severin Sorensen avatar
Severin Sorensen
Host, Arete Coach Podcast

Severin Sorensen is host of the Arete Coach Podcast, where he interviews executive coaches and researchers with the aims to celebrate and explore the art and science of executive coaching today.

Severin is a senior executive coach, serial entrepreneur and lifetime learner with a passionate curiosity about people and businesses. Severin is the CEO of ePraxis LLC, a premier level retained search firm that provides executive headhunting, talent selection, and executive coaching. (www.epraxis.com)

Severin is a certified coach with an IAC Masteries Practitioner designation and 800+ hours of ICF/ACSTH and other advanced training in Executive Coaching, Organizational Development, EOS, Life Coaching, Emotional Intelligence (EQ), and Positive Intelligence (PQ). Severin has over 7,500+ hours of paid executive coaching working with high performing executives, owners, and operators of public and private companies throughout North America.Severin's coaching clients include boards of directors, CEOs, Presidents, GMs, COO, CFO, CTO, VP Engineering, VP Talent, and many other positions.

Severin lives in Park City , Utah and his virtual coach practice includes clients throughout the Americas.

From 2010-2018 Severin was a Vistage Chair where he coached three CEO and Key executive groups. In 2011, Severin received the "Rookie of the Year Chair Award" from Vistage. Since 2013, Severin has added international speaking for Vistage, CEO conferences, executive peer groups, and corporations on the topic of identifying and hiring difference making top talent.

In terms of the types of clients coached, Severin has coached new CEOs (with less than 2 years experience), large company executives (e.g., Managing Director of Rio Tinto), numerous high-growth entrepreneurs operating INC 5000 businesses, multi-generational family owned businesses, and primary-equity business owners who are still actively managing their companies. Severin has experience coaching both private and public company executives and their executive teams.

Severin's own coaching practice is tool based, using diagnostics, surveys, and Socratic questioning to get to root issues. You can learn more about Severin at epraxis.com (insights), LinkedIn, Quora, and Twitter. If you think you might be a good fit for executive coaching with Severin, he is happy to give you a free test drive coaching session to see if this would be good for you and your team. You can book a free test-drive 30 min coaching huddle at: calendly.com/epraxis.