{"id":2814,"date":"2026-04-24T15:11:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T13:11:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.zeiss.com\/digital-innovation\/en\/?p=2814"},"modified":"2026-04-24T15:11:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T13:11:41","slug":"systemic-questioning-techniques","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.zeiss.com\/digital-innovation\/en\/systemic-questioning-techniques\/","title":{"rendered":"Systemic\u00a0Questioning Techniques"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An effective coaching approach for Scrum Masters<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me start with a question: Why do you need another coaching technique? Is it perhaps because many techniques do not have the desired impact with some team members and in certain situations? If so, why is that? Alongside many well-known causes, my new hypothesis is the lack of mandate clarification between team member and Scrum Master. You can find further details on this here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, I would like to introduce you to the underlying attitudes associated with systemic questioning techniques. In my experience, this coaching technique can partially compensate in practice for the difficulty caused by missing mandate clarification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aim of this article is to give you an overview of the attitudes and questioning techniques so that you can decide whether it makes sense for you to engage more deeply with this topic. To do this, I will highlight attitudes and the core of some key types of questions (there are certainly more), and provide practical examples that can be immediately helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the article, all person-related terms such as \u201cScrum Master\u201d are used in a gender-neutral way and always include all genders equally.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. Where do systemic questioning techniques come from?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Systemic questioning techniques have their roots in systems theory1<\/a><\/sup> and family therapy2<\/a><\/sup>. The development of systemic questioning techniques reflects a shift in psychotherapy away from a problem-focused approach toward a solution-oriented and resource-oriented one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The questioning techniques are designed to promote self-reflection and enable clients (in a project setting: team members and other people being questioned) to broaden their perspectives and thereby discover new options for action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To widen the clients\u2019 scope for action and ensure the effectiveness of specific questioning techniques, therapists (in a project setting: coaches or Scrum Masters) adopt various attitudes. The more authentically these attitudes are lived, the more likely it is that a process of insight will be triggered in clients using systemic questioning techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. What are the helpful attitudes?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

2.1. Constructivism<\/strong><\/strong>3<\/a><\/sup><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This attitude states that people construct their own reality through experiences and interpretations. Everyone sees the world from their own experience and perspective. Multiple truths are therefore normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In practice: Explore the other person\u2019s world by not knowing and not understanding<\/strong><\/strong>4<\/a><\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n