The Wheel Exercise

I was introduced to this technique earlier in the year, since then I have used it with many clients, helping them see what area(s) of their life is not in balance.


You first draw a circle (wheel) and ask the client what they feel is important in their life at the moment? Employment, Family, Health, Money, Friends, Having Fun, etc
Ask they give you their answers you add them to the wheel (with every answer being a spoke -The Wheel will then look like a pie chart)


With each answer (Employment, as an example) you ask them to scale how happy they currently are with this element on a scale of 1-10 (1 being the lowest – the centre of the wheel and 10 being the highest - the outer edge of the wheel)


Ask the client why they are at that particular number on the scale (The number is not important, as all clients see a scale numbers as different values-some people would never give themselves a ten even if everything was perfect)


Once they give you an answer, ask “anything else” they will often give you two more answers.
Then ask, “What do you need to do to be the next number up the scale?” Clients will often give you (and themselves) 3 new steps or actions to complete. This can be a real eye opener for the client.


Do this for all the “spokes” elements of the Wheel-you may want to re-word the question for the different spokes to ensure the session does not become repetitive.


You and hopefully the clients will often notice a Patten emerging from this exercise and often a priority action or actions will come from this-something the client needs to do first to move forward.


You can also join all the figures on the scale up to visual show the client which areas of the client’s life are positive and which areas the clients would like to improve.


This is a great exercise to start with a new client, as it looks at the clients strengths, areas of development and the client will give themselves Actions to complete. As a coach you can use this exercise to plan what you sessions/coaching techniques would help move your client forward.


You can also use this exercise on one element of their life (Employment as an example) and break the chosen subject down into smaller sections.