OSKAR Coaching Model
A solution-focused coaching model by Paul Z. Jackson and Mark McKergow. Instead of analysing the problem, it starts from the desired outcome and builds on what already works, which makes it brisk and encouraging for regular one-to-one conversations.
When your sessions feel disjointed or participants lose focus
Your meetings or sessions need better pacing, clearer transitions, or more engaging sequences to keep participants engaged.
Manager one-to-ones, coaching and development conversations where you want progress, not a long problem analysis.
Outcome
Agree what the person wants from this conversation and what better would look like.
Scaling
On a scale of 0 to 10, where are they now, and what puts them there rather than lower?
Know-how & Resources
Explore skills, past successes and people that already help, and when the problem was less present.
Affirm & Action
Acknowledge what is going well, then agree the next small step, often one point up the scale.
Review
In the next conversation, look at what got better and what helped.
Creates natural rhythm and momentum that keeps energy high throughout.
Use the five steps as the running order of a one-to-one, coaching or development conversation; the review step opens the next meeting. In a group session, run it in pairs as a peer-coaching block.
- 1Vary the pace between high and low energy activities
- 2Use clear transitions between sections
- 3Build complexity gradually throughout
- 4End with actionable takeaways
- One-to-ones
- Coaching conversations
- Development and performance conversations
- Peer coaching
- Focus on the desired future
- Build on what already works
- Use the scale to make progress visible
- Small next steps
- The person is the expert on their situation
- Can feel too upbeat when someone first needs to be heard about a problem
- Scaling questions need practice to avoid sounding like a survey
- Less suited to delivering hard performance messages