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Coaching approaches

OSKAR coaching model

OSKAR is a five-step solution-focused coaching model, set out by Paul Z. Jackson and Mark McKergow in their book The Solutions Focus. As this page outlines them, the steps are outcome, scale, know-how and resources, action, and review. No outcome study of OSKAR itself turned up in the sources checked, so its evidence is research on solution-focused work in general, and the grade is P.

What it is

OSKAR gives a coach or consultant a solution-focused sequence for a conversation about change. It begins with the outcome the person wants, moves to where things stand on a scale, looks at the know-how and resources the person already has, turns to the next action, and ends with a review of what changed.

The publisher's listing for the third edition describes the book as covering the OSKAR coaching framework. This page could not read the book's own account of the five steps, so the sequence above is this page's outline, not a quotation from the book.

Where it comes from

The model appears in The Solutions Focus by Paul Z. Jackson and Mark McKergow, published by Nicholas Brealey. A 2024 review of the third edition appeared in the Journal of Solution Focused Practices (Principe, 2024). Its abstract praises the book and does not mention OSKAR.

A 2024 chapter, Career Coaching Sessions Using the OSKAR Model, by Julie Samuel, describes career coaching sessions that use the model. It is an example of use, not a test of the model.

The principles underneath

Start from the outcome

The conversation begins with the result the person wants, rather than with the history of the problem.

Scale where things stand

The current position is rated on a scale, so the next small move can be named and progress can be seen.

Use what is already there

The person's know-how and resources are treated as material for the next step, not as something missing.

Act, then review

The conversation ends with a concrete action and a review of what changed, so the next conversation starts from evidence.

How a session runs

  1. Agree the outcome: what the person wants to be different.
  2. Place the current position on a scale, and name what one step up would look like.
  3. Identify the know-how and resources the person already has for getting there.
  4. Acknowledge what is already in place, then agree one action to take next.
  5. Review what changed, and decide what to do with that.

When it tends to fit

  • You know where you want to end up, and the conversation keeps going back to the problem instead of the next step.
  • You want a short sequence you can run in one meeting or session.
  • Something is already working in a small way, and you want to build on it.

What the research shows

Evidence: Practitioner tradition — little or no outcome research

No outcome study of OSKAR itself turned up in the sources checked on 2026-10-15, so no trial or review of the model is reported here. The research below is on solution-focused work, which the model draws on. A meta-analysis of solution-focused brief therapy reported small positive effects (Kim, 2008). A review of controlled outcome studies found that 32 of 43 reported significant positive benefit (Gingerich & Peterson, 2013). In coaching, a randomized study compared solution-focused with problem-focused coaching questions (Grant, 2012). None of these studies tests the five-step sequence.

Where the evidence is thin: The solution-focused studies are of therapy, or of coaching questions as a whole. None isolates OSKAR's sequence, so they cannot show what the five steps add.

Sources

  1. Jackson, P. Z., & McKergow, M. (2024). The Solutions Focus: Transforming change for coaches, leaders and consultants (3rd ed.). Nicholas Brealey.
  2. Principe, J. (2024). The Solutions Focus: Transforming Change for Coaches, Leaders and Consultants by Paul Z Jackson and Mark McKergow (Third Edition). Journal of Solution Focused Practices, 8(2).
  3. Samuel, J. (2024). Career Coaching Sessions Using the OSKAR Model. In Solution Focused Coaching in Asia.
  4. Kim, J. S. (2008). Examining the effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy: A meta-analysis. Research on Social Work Practice, 18(2), 107–116.
  5. Gingerich, W. J., & Peterson, L. T. (2013). Effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy. Research on Social Work Practice, 23(3), 266–283.
  6. Grant, A. M. (2012). Making positive change: A randomized study comparing solution-focused vs. problem-focused coaching questions. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 31(2), 21–35.

Where it stops

OSKAR is a way of structuring a conversation about change. It does not show that a given outcome will follow, and the sources checked do not measure what happens after the conversations.

A solution-focused conversation can move past a problem too quickly for someone who first needs it heard. In that case, a conversation with a qualified professional is the better fit.

Where a problem is driven by trauma, a mental health condition, or a crisis with money or in a relationship, scaling and next steps are not enough on their own.

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