Is it really helpful or are we just talking in circles?
Is it that Useful?
Let’s face it: the concept of brainstorming and its usefulness has had a stellar reputation. Most of us have grown up in a culture that praises the classic “group brainstorm” as an essential way to spark innovation and solve problems. But is it really the holy grail of idea generation—or just a big, distracting time sink? A way to pat ourselves on the back to feel like we've contributed?
According to some leading thinkers—like the Harvard Business Review’s Why Group Brainstorming Is a Waste of Time and Fast Company’s Here’s Why Most Brainstorming Sessions Are a Waste of Time—we often get brainstorming dead wrong.
The big question for today is: should coaches and clients embrace or ditch brainstorming?
Today on CLCI Live Jen Long (PCC), Anthony Lopez (MCPC), Brooke Adair Walters (ACC), Jerome LeDuff (MCLC), and Lisa Finck (MCC) explore the ups, downs, and potential pitfalls so you can decide whether brainstorming is a champion tool or a time-waster in your coaching practice.
The Case Against Brainstorming
So when is brainstorming not the ideal solution? Turns out most of the time! To be fair, brainstorming can be very effective if it is done in the correct manner and with the correct intent, but not every client is an expert at brainstorming or as focused as they might be in a workplace or academic environment. It's even possible that brainstorming might work far better as an exercise that's done outside of the coaching session, rather than in it with the coach. Here are some other reasons why brainstorming may not be as effective as we think it is:
Groupthink and Conformity Pressure
Group brainstorming is supposed to unlock creative, out-of-the-box ideas, but it can actually narrow your thinking. The more a group rallies behind a certain direction, the harder it is to introduce radical alternatives—and that’s before you even add in a strong-willed team leader, whose preferences can eclipse everyone else’s. In a coach-client dynamic, a client may already be inclined to conform to their own biases.
Social Loafing (a.k.a. The Bystander Effect)
You know the drill: in a group setting, one or two people do most of the talking while everyone else zones out or waits for “their turn.” Sound familiar? Social loafing kicks in when team members assume others will carry the creative load, while they hang back. While we all contain varying amounts of creativity, some clients maybe want the coach to also participate in the brainstorming so they can hear your opinions and ideas. We highly discourage the coach to be the main driver of the brainstorming session as it disempowers the client and their own creativity.
Evaluation Apprehension
Ever hesitated to share an idea for fear of being criticized or ridiculed? This tendency—evaluation apprehension—can throttle creativity. The pressure to be correct often means you’ll keep your best, or most creative ideas locked up. While as coaches we always emphasize that our sessions are a safe, non-judgmental space, that doesn't always mean the client is ready to share in an open, creative, and free manner.
No Execution = No Value
A brainstorming session is only as good as what happens after. If the client does not follow through or sets action steps, the ideas—however brilliant— are forgotten or just float away. This is a major criticism and the reason so many people call brainstorming “worthless”—the group (or client) fails to convert concepts into action.
When Brainstorming Works Wonders
So, are we doomed to churn out mediocre ideas whenever we use brainstorming as a tool with our clients? Not necessarily. When done well, brainstorming sessions can yield incredible results—especially in the context of coaching. Here is how we can make brainstorming more fruitful for our clients when used in coaching:
Incorporate the Session Contract: Every coaching session should ideally be related to the long-term goal of the client, but it also needs to have a clear focus of what is being worked on (in this particular 30-60 minute session) and what the clients wants to achieve by the end of the session. In turn, every idea the client comes up with should be related to this goal. This is where we can tease out information and ask open-ended questions of how the new ideas are related.
Short & Focused Sessions: Keep it shorter than the actual length of the whole coaching session to maintain intensity and to ensure you have time to set the session contract, coach any blocks, explore the ideas being generated, and then close the session.. Marathon brainstorming activities often breed fatigue, not creativity.
Encourage Individual Idea Generation First: If the client wants to, they can brainstorm in between sessions so they can jot down their ideas before the next discussion. Then the coaching sessions can focus more on exploring individual ideas.
Foster Psychological Safety: Make it crystal-clear that all ideas are welcome, no matter how off-beat. Client-led judgment, critique, and evaluation can wait until after the brainstorming.
Follow Through: Don’t let this conversation live in a vacuum. Ask the client to outline next steps, responsibilities, and deadlines—especially crucial if you’re coaching a team.
Final Verdict: Is Brainstorming Worth It?
Yes—but only if you do it right.
Wrong Way: A two-hour free-for-all where the loudest voices prevail, no one feels safe sharing outside-the-box ideas, and there’s zero plan for follow-through.
Right Way: A structured, time-bound session with clear aims, space for individual ideation, diverse perspectives, and a strategy to implement or refine the best ideas.
As a life coach, your job isn’t just to throw out random suggestions or hold space while clients talk in circles. You’re there to provide a safe, energizing framework. Facilitate your sessions in a way so that your clients can effectively generate ideas, then challenge them to do something with what emerges. That’s how coaching—and yes, brainstorming—truly become game-changers.
Thank you,
Jen Long (PCC), Anthony Lopez (MCPC), Brooke Adair Walters (ACC), Jerome LeDuff (MCLC), and Lisa Finck (MCC)
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