The Coaching Funnel

Definition

The Coaching Funnel is a conversation shape built from two funnels joined at their mouths: it starts narrow (a one-sentence statement of the goal), widens dramatically (open questions that surface what's really going on, internally and externally), and then narrows again as the client evaluates options and commits to specific action steps. Unlike GROW, it deliberately front-loads exploration before any options are generated.

In the Book

Stoltzfus describes the model visually — "two funnels joined at the mouth" — and walks through its three phases: state the goal (using the S.M.A.R.T. format from a separate tool), widen the conversation with open questions to get "more information out on the table," then narrow again as the client evaluates the surfaced options and chooses steps of action. He is explicit about when to reach for it instead of GROW: "The Coaching Funnel puts more emphasis on exploration than models like GROW, so it works well for self-discovery issues, decision-making, or processing what's going on in life." The two models are presented as a matched pair with a shared vocabulary (goal, options, action) but an opposite bet about where the conversation's real work happens — GROW assumes the problem is basically well-defined and needs a plan; the Funnel assumes the problem itself hasn't surfaced yet and needs room to emerge before any plan is possible.

Why It Matters

Not every problem is ready for a plan — some need to be understood before they can be solved, and rushing to options before the situation has been fully explored produces action steps aimed at the wrong target. The funnel shape gives a name to a general move: deliberately widening a conversation or investigation before narrowing it, so the width of exploration is proportional to how well-defined the problem actually is, rather than defaulting to the same amount of discovery every time.