The GROW model is a simple and intelligent coaching method devised in the 1980s by Sir John Whitmore and his colleagues. They designed the model to help managers unleash the individual potential of their staff. It is widely used because it is very pragmatic and result-oriented.
GROW is an acronym for Goal, Reality, Options, Will.
Questions form the foundation of the dialogue between coach and client.
According to John Whitmore, there are four headings in the series of questions: the purpose of the coaching session.
- Goal– An examination of the current situation. What do you want?
- Reality -Is the search for possible options. Where are you now?
- Options- The possible actions to be taken What could you do?
- Will How will you implement your goal? What will you do?
The GROW model is beneficial for coaching, and …I have seen through my practice that the GROW model needs revisiting. Therefore I have added to the GROW model + ING. The GROW + ING model deepens the learning, application, and integration to go forth! This is how it goes and flows 🙂
GROW + ING.
I – Inquiry
Here, you would reinforce through questions the goal or objective, the steps needed to reach that goal and the time frame needed to reach each step. Here re-explore and re-identify the purposes well; they help their employees explore the options. What do you REALLY want to achieve?
Inquire more because change starts with small actions that allow us to get to know ourselves, re-adjust, and change course if it was not the right one. With deeper Inquiry, we can retrace our steps and re-experiment. This may allow the coachee to make changes they genuinely need to make. Before launching ourselves into the action, and without romanticising our objectives that seem impossible to achieve, Inquiry gets us closer to our ultimate goal without even realising it! In the worst case, you fail, get back up, and say that at least you tried it, with no regrets. With over 10,000 hours of coaching experience, I encourage you to play with it and try it out; trust me, it works!
Coaching is unlocking people’s potential to maximize their own performance.
N – Notes
What are the benefits of using a notebook? First, the reflective ritual has been examined as a method that could assist coachees in digging into their judgments and experiences to improve their performance and governance. Second, note journals feed a more diligent and engaged commitment to their coaching. Third, note journalling has allowed me to develop myself as a practitioner and has been the foundation of my professional learning journey. Fourth, it can contain any significant happenings from your sessions – favourable or otherwise. Finally, it permits you to investigate your goals and entrusts you to scrutinise them more deeply in your context. Reflecting on your sessions and past experiences can make your coaching approach more effective.
G – Go Forth
Going Forth is very effective when implementing your first actions to achieve your goals. But be careful not to rush things by trying to go too fast, for example. Instead, take the time to define everything. This requires active listening, empathy and open questioning. This will require you to re-define how to action your goals in real-time. To become aware of your reality, to take stock of all the options available, allowing you to go from action, implementation to integration.
Whether we coach, advise, counsel, facilitate, or mentor, the effectiveness of what we do depends in large measure on our beliefs about human potential.
So how can you make the GROW +ING model work for you as people managers and leader coaches?
I have seen in organisations that leaders’ greatest failure is when they do not take the time! So be committed to spending time on their “coaching time”. . Like anything, practice is essential, so I encourage you to practice. The more conscious you become of yourself and your actions, the more skilled you will become at getting out of your own way and helping others too!
- Be prepared to spend time on “coaching time”.
- Having a strategy or structure is rudimentary to the coaching approach.
- Rushing into the model will not guarantee the best results and could lead to total demotivation.
- Take time – at least an hour. It may take less time depending on the topic or problem under consideration. It may also take more time.
For more information on how to implement GROW+ING in your organisation, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at sunita.sehmi