A good coaching quiz asks three to five questions about the ideas your clients need to apply, framed as situations from their own work, with an explanation for every answer. Below are 30 questions you can adapt, grouped by program type: leadership, accountability, wellness and business coaching. Each has a note on the right answer, and each group has a worked example.
This post is a question list. For where quizzes fit, single vs multiple choice and setup, see how to add quizzes to a coaching program.
Leadership coaching quiz questions
For new managers, team leads and senior leaders.
- A team member misses a deadline for the second time. What do you do first? (single) Right answer: ask what got in the way before setting a new date.
- Which of these belong in a one-to-one agenda the team member owns? (multiple) Worked example below.
- You disagree with a decision your manager made. What is the best next step? (single) Right answer: raise it with them directly, with your reasons, before it goes to the team.
- Which of these are signs that a team member is disengaging? (multiple) Right answers: the changes your program names, such as going quiet in meetings.
- In the feedback model from this program, what comes right after describing the situation? (single) Right answer: the next step of your own model, word for word.
- A strong performer asks for a promotion you can’t give yet. What do you say first? (single) Right answer: what they would need to show, and by when you will talk about it again.
- Which of these are decisions you should delegate rather than make yourself? (multiple) Right answers: decisions the team member is closest to and can reverse if they get it wrong.
- Two people on your team are in conflict. When should you step in? (single) Right answer: when it starts to affect the work or the team, after they have had a chance to sort it out.
Worked example (multiple choice): “Which of these belong in a one-to-one the team member owns?” Answers: their questions for you (correct), progress on their goals (correct), a status update on every open task, your feedback on last week’s presentation (correct). Explanation: “A one-to-one is their meeting. Status updates belong in a channel or the team meeting, so the time goes to what only a conversation can do.”
Why the wrong answer is there: new managers fill one-to-ones with status updates. The option shows you who still does.
Accountability coaching quiz questions
For accountability groups, pods and goal-setting programs.
- Which goal is small enough to finish or measure in four weeks? (single) Right answer: the one with a clear finish line, such as “send ten proposals”, not “grow my business”.
- Which of these make a goal measurable? (multiple) Right answers: a number, a date, and a way for the group to see that it happened.
- You missed this week’s commitment. What do you report on the call? (single) Worked example below.
- What should the pod do when a member misses a commitment? (single) Right answer: ask what got in the way and help choose a smaller next step.
- Which of these belong in a pod agreement? (multiple) Right answers: each member’s goal, the weekly report, and what happens after a missed week.
- You can’t make this week’s call. When do you tell the pod? (single) Right answer: as soon as you know, by the deadline in your pod agreement.
- Which next step is specific enough to check next week? (single) Right answer: the one with an action and a day, such as “draft the first page by Tuesday”.
Worked example (single choice): “You missed this week’s commitment. What do you report on the call?” Answers: skip your turn this week; what you said you’d do, what you did and what you’ll do next (correct); a reason it wasn’t your fault; a bigger goal for next week. Explanation: “Every member reports the same three things, every week, whether it went well or not. A missed week is still a report, and a smaller next step usually beats a bigger one.”
Why the wrong answers are there: skipping, explaining it away and overcommitting are how people avoid a missed week.
That three-part report is the call format in the free Accountability pod kickoff training. For running the group itself, see how to run an accountability group.
Wellness coaching quiz questions
For habit, stress, sleep and lifestyle programs. Base the right answers on your program, and keep medical questions out of a quiz.
- Which change is the best first step for the habit we worked on this week? (single) Right answer: its smallest version, attached to something done daily.
- Which of these are triggers we covered in this module? (multiple) Right answers: the triggers from your module.
- You missed three days of your new routine. What does the program suggest? (single) Worked example below.
- Which of these are part of the evening routine from module 2? (multiple) Right answers: your routine’s steps, with one from another module as a wrong answer.
- How small should the first version of a new habit be? (single) Right answer: small enough to do on your worst day.
- Which of these count as a recovery day in this program? (multiple) Right answers: the options your program defines, so clients stop treating rest as failure.
- Where should you record your daily rating? (single) Right answer: the place your program uses, such as the daily check-in.
Worked example (single choice): “You missed three days of your new routine. What does the program suggest?” Answers: start again tomorrow at the smallest version of the habit (correct); double the routine to catch up; wait until next Monday; drop the habit and pick a new one. Explanation: “A missed stretch is normal. Restarting small the next day keeps the habit alive; waiting for a fresh start or catching up makes the gap longer.”
Why the wrong answers are there: catching up, waiting for Monday and starting over are what clients do after a lapse.
Business coaching quiz questions
For founders, freelancers and consultants.
- Which of these is the clearest statement of who you serve? (single) Right answer: the one that names a specific person and a specific problem.
- Which of these are signs your price is too low? (multiple) Right answers: the signs your module teaches, such as most prospects saying yes without asking about price.
- A lead says “I need to think about it.” What do you ask next? (single) Right answer: what specifically they want to think through.
- Which numbers should you check every week? (multiple) Right answers: the few your program tracks, such as leads, sales conversations and cash in.
- Which offer from this module is the easiest to say yes to? (single) Right answer: the one with the smallest first commitment and a clear result.
- A client asks for work outside the scope you agreed. What do you do first? (single) Right answer: name that it is outside the scope, then offer how it could be added.
- Which of these belong on a one-page plan for the next quarter? (multiple) Worked example below.
- Which task should you hand off first? (single) Right answer: the one you repeat every week that someone else could do with a short checklist.
Worked example (multiple choice): “Which of these belong on a one-page plan for the next quarter?” Answers: one revenue goal (correct), the two or three projects that get you there (correct), every idea you had this month, the weekly number you’ll track (correct). Explanation: “A quarter plan is a short list you can check every week. Ideas go in a parking lot, not the plan.”
Why the wrong answer is there: founders put every idea on the plan, then judge themselves against a list nobody could finish.
Question patterns to reuse
Most of the 30 questions follow one of five patterns:
| Pattern | Type | Example from the list |
|---|---|---|
| ”What do you do first?” | Single choice | 1, 25, 28 |
| ”Which of these are signs of…?” | Multiple choice | 4, 24 |
| ”Which of these belong in…?” | Multiple choice | 2, 13, 29 |
| ”Which is the clearest / most specific…?” | Single choice | 9, 15, 23 |
| ”In our model, what comes after…?” | Single choice | 5 |
To adapt one:
- Pick the questions for your program type that match the module’s key ideas.
- Rewrite them in your model’s words, with your own steps and examples.
- Swap in the wrong answers your own clients give.
If you want open-ended reflection rather than right and wrong answers, use a worksheet instead. For self-assessments and personality instruments, see coaching assessment tools.
Coaching quizzes on upcoach
In upcoach, you can turn any of these questions into a quiz inside a module, with single and multiple choice questions, points and an explanation for each one. Participants see their score as soon as they submit, and you see every score in the quiz’s Results tab and in Program Reports. For where to place a quiz and every setting, see how to add quizzes to a coaching program and the quizzes help article.
To try these questions on your own program, start a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
Frequently asked questions
What should a coaching quiz ask?
It should ask about the few ideas your program needs people to apply, framed as situations from their own work. Ask what they would do first, which option fits the model you taught, or which of several signs point to a problem. Leave out trivia and definitions.
Which quiz questions suit a leadership program?
Questions about the situations new and senior leaders face every week: a missed deadline, a one-to-one agenda, feedback, a promotion request, delegation and conflict. Questions 1 to 8 above cover those.
Should every quiz question have one right answer?
No. Eleven of the 30 questions here are multiple choice, with several right answers, such as the signs of a problem or the parts of a plan. What every question needs is answers you can mark right or wrong in advance.
How do I adapt a question from this list to my own program?
Keep the situation and change the details: use the names of your own steps and tools, a situation your clients bring to sessions, and wrong answers from their real mistakes. Questions that mention ‘this program’ or ‘this module’ are written to take your own model as the right answer.
Can I use these questions in a check-in instead?
Not as they are. A check-in asks the same questions on a regular rhythm about what people did, so turn each question into its reflective version. Question 1 becomes ‘When a deadline slipped this week, what did you do first?’ Use the quiz to check understanding and the check-in to see behaviour over time.