What Is One Skill You’ve Been Practicing That You Can’t Imagine Life Without Now?
Coaching Question of the Week
The Coaching Question
“What is one skill you’ve been practicing that you can’t imagine life without now?”
When to Use This Question
When someone is doubting the value of ongoing, slow growth.
When a teacher or leader feels stuck and needs to reflect on how far they’ve come.
When someone is struggling with delayed gratification or the discomfort of learning something new.
As a booster during moments of discouragement, especially when transformation feels slow or invisible.
The Problem This Question Aims to Solve
In the grind of school life, growth often hides in plain sight. People forget how far they’ve come or fail to notice how deeply a once-difficult skill has become part of their default behavior. This question reconnects them with the power of deliberate practice: the intentional, feedback-rich effort that transforms competence into fluency and…fluency into freedom.
But this question is only effective if you have been deliberately practicing with the people you coach.
The Research Behind It
Anders Ericsson’s Theory of Deliberate Practice (2007) – True mastery doesn’t come from repetition alone, but from focused, intentional practice with feedback. Deliberate practice pushes learners just beyond their current abilities and rewires their performance through repetition and refinement.
Daniel Coyle’s The Talent Code (2009) – Deep practice builds myelin in the brain, increasing speed and accuracy. The emotional discomfort of struggle is a biological signal that learning is happening.
Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset Research (2007) – When people recognize progress in themselves, it strengthens their belief that they can continue improving. This reflection builds resilience and motivation.
Example Application in Coaching
Scenario: A teacher is feeling discouraged because their classroom management still feels shaky, even though they’ve made measurable gains in lesson planning and student feedback.
Coach’s Prompt: “What’s one skill you’ve been deliberately practicing that you can’t imagine teaching without now?”
Teacher’s Reflection: “Honestly? Narration. I didn’t even know what that was six months ago. Now I use it every single period without even thinking.”
Next Steps: The coach affirms the growth, then uses the success to build momentum: “Let’s think about what the ‘narration’ moment could be for your classroom transitions.”
Additional Questions to Deepen the Conversation
“What used to feel difficult that now feels automatic?”
“What made the difference in that skill sticking?”
“How can you apply the same kind of practice to the next challenge?”
Final Reflection for Coaches and Leaders
Deliberate practice is invisible until it’s not. By asking this question, you help educators trace their own transformation and reclaim the confidence that often gets buried in the day-to-day. Growth always build something that wasn’t there before but you have to notice it.
The EduCoach Subscriber Chat
Today I’m encouraging subscribers to take advantage of a key feature of my Substack publication: EduCoach by Jo Lein subscriber chat.
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