What is the Solution-Focused Circle Technique?
Sources and links:
Huibers, Arnoud and Furman, Ben (2022) “The Solution-Focused Circle Technique: A Visual Tool for Discovering Strengths and Facilitating Change in Therapy and Counseling,” Journal of Solution Focused Practices: Vol. 6: Iss. 2, Article 6.
Arnoud’s website https://www.solutions-centre.org/ and LinkedIn profile
Recently I stumbled across a technique in the Journal of Solution Focused Practices that I thought was flat-out brilliant, in a ‘Why didn’t I think of this myself?’ kind of way. So I thought I’d better share it with you, as it deserves to be more widely known – and it’s something you could easily use in a related approach like my own specialism, Appreciative Inquiry.
According to the journal article by Arnoud Huibers (who developed the technique) and Ben Furman, it’s ‘a visual tool for discovering strengths and facilitating change in therapy and counseling’. Like every other technique from solution-focused therapy that I’ve come across, it would also work in a coaching context – with individuals and even with groups.
How It Works
The practitioner draws two concentric circles on a sheet of flipchart paper or whiteboard. They ask the client about things that are going well in their life and also some of the things they would like to see changed. If it’s a first session, you could frame these questions as ‘to get to know you better.’
The practitioner writes keywords from the client’s answers, using their language. Successes, positive qualities, strengths, skills, things going well, and sources of support go in the inner circle, and goals, ambitions, aspirations for improvement, skills that the client wants to improve or learn in the outer circle. If the client talks about a problem being gone or solved, the practitioner asks “What would you want instead?” and only writes down the keywords once the client has positively reframed the problem language so that they are talking about what they want, rather than what they want to get away from.
It’s important to note that the practitioner accepts whatever goal the client presents, regardless of whether they think it is worthwhile, and does not impose their own ideas about what goals the client should have. What matters is that the goals are meaningful to the client.
For each resource identified, the practitioner will ask one or two follow-up questions, validating and clarifying what the client has said.
The article doesn’t specify which of the circles you go for first – indeed, the authors say that you can ask questions alternating between the inner and outer circle. From an Appreciative Inquiry point of view, I’m guessing that focusing more on the inner ‘resource’ circle at first will get better results, as goals and aspirations will feel more achievable to the client if they are based on a solid foundation of resources, skills, and strengths.
Follow-up Questions
When the circles are as populated as they can be in the time available, you can encourage the client to select one or two goals in the outer circle that they want to work on reaching. You can ask the client for a fuller description of what that goal means to them in practice, or how they would know that they have achieved it. Then ask a scaling question, “On a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is the furthest you’ve been from achieving the goal, and 10 is where you will be when you achieve it, whereabouts are you now?”
You can also go back into the inner circle to ask about signs of where the goal or aspiration is already happening, even if only partially.
Applications
The authors point out that the technique is particularly useful when working with clients with short attention spans, or who aren’t big talkers. The visual aspect helps them to stay focused on the process and keep track of where they are. They also add that some practitioners use it when working with children (you can use pictures in place of keywords), and with groups, including in a business context.
The authors point out that the technique may seem a bit ‘scattered’, but interconnections and patterns will usually emerge when resources and goals are arranged in the circles. It’s certainly a contrast with more ‘laser-focused’ coaching techniques where the client is asked right at the start of the session what they want to work on, but very often the ‘presenting problem’ that the client comes in with is not the real issue anyway. If this is the case, then the ‘Solution Circle’ might actually get the result for the client sooner.
I could definitely imagine using this technique when coaching a senior leadership team, for example. Again, you could use pictures in addition to keywords to help them get out of linear thinking and more in touch with their creativity. And of course you could use an online whiteboard in place of a flipchart if you are facilitating an online coaching session, where virtual sticky notes, icons, or images uploaded from a computer make it really easy for participants to build a rich visual representation of their resources and goals.
Also, you could use it as a self-coaching technique, particularly if you are feeling a bit stuck.
Have you used the circle technique? Let us know how it went in the comments!