“Coaching is unlocking people’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is about raising awareness and responsibility- helping them to learn rather than teaching them.” John Whitmore
Coaching for performance is when a manager, through a dialogue with an employee, helps him or her learn their way in achieving a specific personal or professional goal that leads to increased performance on the job. In the coaching relationship, a manager suspends for a moment her supervisory function, and acts as a sounding board and a lighthouse for the employee to discover, through their own introspection, the solution to their challenge or problem they face. A manager does not give advice or share their experience or opinions, and strictly focuses on the employee’s process of learning and discovery.
The GROW model is based on the principle that everyone has the potential to develop and improve themselves, but just needs help to unlock that potential. It encourages people to take responsibility for their own actions, which results in commitment, and therefore optimizes performance. It uses questions rather than giving instructions.
The acronym GROW stands for Goal, Reality, Options and Will. It provides a relatively simple framework for structuring a coaching session and has been adopted by many of the world’s major organizations. It is a step-by-step model whose steps should be followed in sequence.
The following description of the GROW Model is drawn from <https://www.performanceconsultants.com/grow-model>
Step 1: What are your Goals? Identify and clarify the type of goal through an understanding of ultimate goals, performance goals and progress goals along the way. Provide an understanding of principal aims and aspirations. Clarify the desired result from the session.
You might ask:
What is the aim for this discussion? How would you like it to be?
What does that look like?
What will that enable you to do?
What will you have that you don’t have now?
Imagine 3 months from now, all obstacles are removed and you have achieved this: What is different?
Step 2: What is the Reality? Assess the current situation in terms of the action taken so far. Clarify the results and effects of previously taken actions. Provide an understanding of internal obstacles and blocks currently preventing or limiting progression.
You might ask:
What is happening at the moment?
On a scale of 1–10, if an ideal situation is 10, what number are you at now?
What number would you like to be at?
How do you feel about this?
What impact is this having on you?
How does this impact other areas of your life?
What are you doing that takes you towards your goal? What are you doing that is getting in the way of your goal? Who else does it affect?
Step 3: What are your Options? Identify the possibilities and alternatives. Outline and question a variety of strategies for progression.
You might ask:
What could you do? What alternatives do you have?
If there were anything else, what would it be? What has worked in the past?
What steps could you take?
Who could help you with this?
Step 4: What Will you do? Provide an understanding of what has been learned and what can be changed to achieve the initial goals. Create a summary and plan of action for implementation of the identified steps. Outline possible future obstacles. Consider the continued achievement of the goals, and the support and development that may be required.
You might ask:
What will you do? How will you do that? When will you do it?
Is there anything you need to put in place before that? What will it take for you to commit to that?
Have you used the GROW model to coach for performance?
