Use this when you want to help people to make better decisions and solve problems related to their career.
John Whitmore suggests that the GROW model is a simple but powerful way of structuring a coaching session. He likens it to thinking about planning a journey in which you decide where you are going (the Goal), establish where you are at present (the Reality), explore the various routes (the Options) and be committed to reaching your destination (the Will to succeed). The model can be depicted as:
The various constituents of the model can be summarised as:
Establish the Goal: Look at the behaviour that the other person wants to change and express this in terms of a goal that they want to achieve.
Examine the current Reality: Encourage the individual to avoid trying to solve problems before considering where they are at present.
Explore the Options: After exploring the reality, turn the person’s attention to determining what is possible.
Establish the Will: Now that the options are clear get the individual to commit to specific actions in order to move forward towards achieving their goal.
Whitmore stresses the importance of the coach not considering themselves to be an expert in the other person’s predicament and not trying to solve their problems for them. He describes the ultimate role of the coach as being a facilitator who helps the person to select the best options.
The metaphor of organic growth is a good way of thinking about the model. The essence of good coaching, using this model, is asking good questions. Here are some useful questions that you could ask your client in each stage:
Notice that all of the questions asked are open questions. Make sure that when the person you are coaching responds to your question you listen in an attentive and non-judgemental manner. In this respect your body language may be more important than what you actually say.