CLC Goal Setting & Performance Accountability 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which model is MOST commonly associated with structured goal-setting conversations in leadership coaching?
- DISC model
- GROW model (Correct answer)
- Johari Window
- Hersey-Blanchard model
Correct answer: GROW model
The GROW model (Goal, Reality, Options, Will/Way Forward) provides a structured framework for goal-focused coaching conversations.
Question 2: A coaching client achieves their goal but reports feeling unfulfilled. This MOST likely indicates:
- The goal was too easy and lacked challenge
- The goal was not aligned with the client's deeper values or intrinsic motivations (Correct answer)
- The coaching relationship was too short
- The client needs more ambitious goals in the next cycle
Correct answer: The goal was not aligned with the client's deeper values or intrinsic motivations
Fulfillment comes from value alignment; achieving an externally driven or misaligned goal often leaves clients feeling hollow.
Question 3: What is the PRIMARY purpose of a 'pre-mortem' exercise in goal setting?
- To celebrate past achievements before starting new goals
- To proactively identify what could cause the goal to fail before execution begins (Correct answer)
- To analyze a previously failed goal in detail
- To assign blame if a goal is not reached
Correct answer: To proactively identify what could cause the goal to fail before execution begins
A pre-mortem asks the client to imagine failure and work backward to identify risks, enabling proactive mitigation.
Question 4: When a client sets a goal primarily to please their supervisor rather than from personal conviction, this is an example of:
- Intrinsic motivation
- Extrinsic motivation (Correct answer)
- Achievement orientation
- Self-efficacy
Correct answer: Extrinsic motivation
Extrinsic motivation is driven by external rewards or approval rather than internal desire, which typically reduces long-term commitment.
Question 5: A coach notices a client regularly overpromises and underdelivers on their commitments. The MOST appropriate coaching intervention is to:
- Set all future goals on the client's behalf
- Explore the client's relationship with commitment and what drives over-promising (Correct answer)
- Advise the client to set only one goal at a time going forward
- Have the client report progress to their team publicly for accountability
Correct answer: Explore the client's relationship with commitment and what drives over-promising
Overpromising is often a pattern rooted in people-pleasing or fear, which requires reflective exploration rather than a structural fix.
Question 6: Which of the following is an example of a PROCESS goal rather than an OUTCOME goal?
- Increase sales revenue by 15% this quarter
- Complete two leadership development books per month (Correct answer)
- Earn a promotion to senior director within 18 months
- Reduce team turnover by 10% annually
Correct answer: Complete two leadership development books per month
A process goal focuses on the behaviors and actions (reading books) rather than the result, giving the client direct control.
Question 7: In performance accountability coaching, 'acknowledging without rescuing' means:
- Praising client effort while ignoring poor results
- Recognizing the client's struggle without taking over or solving the problem for them (Correct answer)
- Acknowledging that some goals are impossible to achieve
- Celebrating partial progress as full goal completion
Correct answer: Recognizing the client's struggle without taking over or solving the problem for them
Coaches support clients emotionally while preserving their ownership of the challenge, avoiding dependency.
CLC Goal Setting & Performance Accountability 3
Which model is MOST commonly associated with structured goal-setting conversations in leadership coaching?