The GROW model is the central part of most coaching and mentoring practises. It allows the coach to structure the session to ensure that all the bases are covered.
Goal, this can be both a long term goal as well as a session goal. By working out where we intend to end up, it makes for a solid foundation to a coaching session.
Reality, during the early stages of the coaching relationship, a lot of time is spend discussing what the current situation is. What does it mean to be where you are right now? What have you already done to change the situation? Later in the coaching relationship this time is used to review progress made by discussing previous actions and ensuring real evidence of progress can be tracked.
Options, providing a time and space where free thinking is positively encouraged, the options section become your creative space. By bouncing around ideas increases the clients ingenuity and often results in strikingly simple solutions.
Way forward / Will, from all the options discussed, the client finds their is often an obvious and simple step that can be carried out to progress to the next level. During this time agreements are made on what exactly needs to be done and how it will be measured, who can help achieve this, when will it be completed, what are the pit falls that should be mitigated and what will be the results upon completion.
It’s the coaching GROW model that stops the session turning into a GROAN
Gripe, constantly focusing on what’s wrong without thinking about solutions
Reminisce, trapped in a sense of how things used to be better, even when they weren’t
Obstructive, refusal to assist in creating a solution
Antagonistic, arguing the downsides no matter how small
Negative, lack of owning a problem allows people to take a victim mentality stance