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© 2009, Coert Visser Steve De Shazer, an American therapist and co-developer of the solution-focused approach, once, in the nineteen-seventies, talked with a client who came for his second session. He asked the client what was better now. The client had spontaneously replied: “I’ve almost reached 10 already!” De Shazer began to play with the idea of using numbers to describe one’s situation. This started the development of the scaling question used in solution-focused therapy (Malinen, 2001). Today, scaling questions have developed into the most well known and most frequently used solution-focused techniques. Scaling questions are relatively easy to use and extremely versatile. Nowadays, many therapists, coaches and managers use them. Even many people who know little about the solution-focused approach know the scaling question. 1. Basic steps when using the scaling question Asking the scaling question is usually done by following a few basic steps. These basic steps consist of a serie...

Adopting solution-focused views and tools © 2004, Coert Visser & Kirsten Dierolf As coaches and career counselors, we have developed a way of career counseling we have found to be more realistic, more effective, and more fun. One inspiration is the work of INSEAD professor Herminia Ibarra, whose findings on career development collide well with our own experiences and preferences. Another very important inspiration has been the solution-focused approach, an approach to consultancy we have been using for several years now and which was originally developed by therapists Insoo Kim Berg and Steve de Shazer and their co-workers. We have experienced that this approach is highly applicable in career guidance, too, which was recently confirmed by a thesis written by Barbara Steiner (2004). In this article, we would like to explain how. We hope this will provide you with some useful new views and tools. This article is built up around four statements. 1. Careers are voyages of discovery It ...

An Effective Approach to Individual and Organizational Development © 2003, Coert Visser and Gwenda Schlundt Bodien In an earlier article we outlined a highly effective approach to coaching, the solution focus. We use this approach not only in management coaching but also in organizational consultancy and training. It is highly simple, respectful and effective. This article is not intended to replace some of the fine books there are about solution-focused consultancy (see below). Instead, we have searched for a very simple and brief description of the solution focus that is accessible and easy to remember. We came up with acronym POWERS, which stands for: P - problems are acknowledged but NOT analyzed O - outcomes desired are specified W - where are you now on the scale? E - exceptions to the problem are keys to solutions R - relationships are enhanced and made productive S - small steps forward leads to larger change Below we explain the POWERS acronym letter by letter. P - problems a...

© 2002, Coert Visser & Gwenda Schlundt Bodien John is a 35-year-old project manager who was offered external coaching. John performed generally well but was said to communicate rather bluntly. The goal of the coaching was to help John improve his communication skills, to communicate more tactful and aware. John and his coach tried to find situations in which john had already done this. Together, they explored these situations and identified which behaviors of John helped to make his communication more effective. Doing this they identified some things that worked really well (taking some time before responding, asking other peoples help, etc.). In the following few weeks John started to apply these solutions consciously. It worked fine. John even applied his new skills in applying for a new job within his organization. He got the job. Nowadays many managers and employees are assiduously looking for ways to lessen their problems or to increase their work pleasure. The market for exte...