What is the GROW coaching model?

The GROW coaching model is a framework involving four steps. Its name is an acronym representing four key stages:

• Goal – the desired outcome
• Reality – the current situation
• Options/Obstacles – possibilities and challenges
• Will/Way forward – the actions to achieve the desired outcome.

These stages provide a structure for coaching sessions, forming an effective coaching framework. This model is tried and tested, having been used for nearly 40 years since being developed by business coaches Graham Alexander and John Whitmore in the ’80s.

The simple reasons that the GROW coaching model continues to be used are because: a) it’s easy to understand and apply; b) it can be applied in different situations; and c) it works.

The four stages of the GROW model

Each stage in the GROW model represents a step in the coaching process, designed to guide individuals and teams towards clarity and actionable strategies. The GROW model easily applies to coaching sessions to enhance personal development and build new skills.

The sequence of Goal, Reality, Options (Obstacles) and Will (Way forward) captures a journey from the desired outcome to action and achievement. This sequence ensures that the pursuit of goals, through employee coaching, is grounded in a practical and motivational framework.

Let’s take a closer look at each step.

Step 1: Goal

It can be easy to have a coaching session or conversation but to overlook the goal. It can also be easy to set too many goals, to set goals that aren’t realistic, to set goals that aren’t relevant or to set goals that won’t actually impact the outputs that you want to see. Goal setting is the most important part of coaching. Without a goal, coaching simply becomes a nice chat. The GROW model ensures that goals are considered upfront.

Working out what goals to set involves a discussion with your employee. Managers and team leaders play a crucial role in this discussion to ensure that outcomes align with overall organisational objectives. Coaching questions to ask include:

• What are we looking to achieve?
• What would success look like?
• What areas need to be addressed to reduce a capability gap?
• What are the behaviours that need to change to close the identified gaps?

Let’s work through an example. A contact centre agent wants to increase their chances of getting a promotion. With the coach, they identify that one of the challenges for them has been a longer-than-average average handle time (AHT). So together they set a goal to reduce the AHT within the next quarter.

Step 2: Reality

In the reality phase of the GROW model, a coach and coachee can discuss the current reality of the situation and explore how the employee is feeling about the situation. Is it a long-term issue or something new that has happened? Does your employee have ideas for addressing the situation? What are they motivated to change?

Coaches can use open-ended questions and active listening here to really understand how the employee is feeling about the current situation.

This phase can help the coach understand what the employee is experiencing and this can shed light on the areas needing improvement. The key here is to avoid jumping to solutions.

Coaches should try to understand what their employee’s own awareness is of the reality of the situation and explore strengths and motivations.

Coaching questions to ask include:

• What is the current situation?
• What actions have you taken so far to address the issues?
• What are the challenges you’ve faced when you’ve tried to address the current issue?

Let’s continue with our contact centre agent example. It is identified here that the agent has tried to decrease their AHT by trying to get to the main issue that customers are experiencing earlier. However, this seemed to only increase the AHT. The manager here plays a crucial role, as they can see that by attempting to reduce the AHT in this way, the employee is pre-empting what the customer is saying and it’s taking longer to actually surface what the customer’s issue is. The coach motivates the employee by saying: ‘Don’t worry, there are plenty of ways we can look at addressing this’.

Step 3: Options/Obstacles

With a clear understanding of the current situation reality, the coach can then help the coachee to explore the options for next steps.

Consider this a creative time to workshop potential solutions and explore the pros and cons of various pathways without the pressure of immediate decisions.

This time can also be used to dig deeper into the obstacles identified in the previous phase and also to dig into potential obstacles ahead.

Asking ‘What are the options available here?’ can lead to a list of potential solutions.

Let’s return to our contact centre agent and their manager. When asking what options are available, they come up with a list including:

• asking other team members with good AHTs how they handle customer queries
• participating in role-playing with other team members and their coach
• practising active listening to understand what the customer’s problem is so they can help them more efficiently
• having their calls monitored and observed for feedback on where they can make changes.

At this stage, it is useful to ask what the advantages and disadvantages are for each solution. It’s also a good idea to try to capture potential obstacles. Doing this can help make the viable options clearer.

Step 4: Will/Way forward

In a coaching session, you often want to get to this step quickly – moving forward. Once you’ve determined the practical, viable solutions, you’re ready to work out the next steps – or way forward.

Creating an action plan involves detailing:

• the specific actions that the coachee will take
• when they will take those steps
• who else might be involved in those steps
• any resources required
• when the actions will be reviewed.

A detailed action plan involves agreeing on the solutions and breaking them down into manageable chunks. It should also include accountability measures and check-ins to ensure that progress is monitored and to help support motivation.

Here, you can revisit the goals and match them to the actions you’ve agreed the employee will take.

Returning to our contact centre agent who wants to reduce their AHT, they and their coach decide to focus on behaviours that need to change, particularly practising active listening. The coach suggests focusing on this behavioural goal in bite-sized chunks. So, together, they create the following goal: ‘I will reduce my AHT by using active listening skills with five customers each day this week’.

This goal now adheres to the SMART model:

• Specific – for example, ‘using active listening skills with five customers each day’
• Measurable – for example, ‘five customers each day this week’
• Achievable – for example, ‘five customers each day’ not all customers
• Relevant – for example, ‘reduce my AHT’
• Time-bound – for example, ‘five customers each day this week’.

The coach has agreed to have a daily check-in with their employee and at the end of the week they’ll assess how it went and if there has been any change to the AHT.

The benefits of the GROW coaching model

By engaging in GROW model coaching sessions, coaches and their team members navigate obstacles and come up with ways forward together.

This leads to more successful coaching conversations. Whether you’re coaching for performance or lifting technical capability, the GROW model provides a great framework.

The GROW model means that the coach doesn’t have to do all the talking and that the team member is empowered to adopt a coaching mindset. It also helps to create a supportive and collaborative environment, fostering a healthy coaching culture.

Team leaders and managers can incorporate GROW model principles into their everyday practices, providing a structured coaching environment that effectively addresses goal setting and employee growth.

An additional benefit of the GROW model is that it is easy to understand and use. It can help a coach build their coaching skills while improving the process for the person being coached. This can help to achieve both professional and personal development goals.

GROW model coaching tips

Let’s look at some tips for how you can effectively apply the GROW model to your next coaching session:

• Create meaningful goals – focusing on the behaviour that is going to change the output will be positive for the individual and the organisation. Looking at the behaviours that need to be demonstrated allows the employee to change what they’re doing to get a result.
• Monitor progress – once a goal is set, it’s equally important to track and measure progress via regular observation and feedback to ensure the team member is lifting capability. Are they demonstrating the new behaviour? Are they demonstrating the behaviour consistently? Is the new behaviour having a positive impact on the desired output?
• Take notes – when a team member sees their coach taking notes, especially during coaching sessions, it communicates that their team leader values them. Team members should also take notes, so prompt them to do so, especially at goal-setting time.
• Focus on one goal at a time – it can be tempting for leaders to try and fix everything at once but tackling one goal at a time will mean that your employees will be able to make the changes you want to see. You might even find that one shift in behaviour changes performance in multiple areas.
• Be consistent – build a regular coaching cadence and commit to it to keep motivation up and people accountable. Keep focused on the goals for as long as it takes to drive the change.
• Listen – it can be tempting for team leaders to do the talking, but actively not talking and really listening lets your employees communicate what they’re feeling from their perspective. This helps to build rapport and get to solutions that will actually make a difference.

How YakTrak helps

YakTrak’s employee coaching software helps you to get the most out of your coaching programs and sessions by:

• documenting and reporting on your GROW coaching conversations
• setting and tracking goals on the YakTrak dashboard
• ensuring accountability by giving ownership over goals to team members and additional support to leaders to provide immediate, real-time feedback
• making it simple to set reminders and notifications to build a coaching cadence.

GROW is one methodology that can help improve coaching conversations. YakTrak can support any coaching methodology you choose.

Get in touch today to find out how YakTrak can help you build a coaching culture in your organisation.

Read more

Want to be a better coach? Read Mastering essential coaching skills for managers. Curious about the difference between a mentor and a coach? Read Coaching versus mentoring: what are the differences?

Frequently asked questions

What does the GROW in the GROW coaching model stand for?

The GROW coaching model stands for Goal, Reality, Options/Obstacles and Will/Way forward, representing the key steps of the coaching model. This acronym reflects the essential components of the GROW model.

Can the GROW coaching model be used for team coaching?

Yes, the GROW model can be effectively used for team coaching to enhance team performance and collaboration. It can help teams solve problems and even improve team meetings by building a culture that’s engaged and focused on solving problems. 

How does the GROW model differ from other coaching methods?

The GROW model differs from other coaching models by offering a structured yet flexible approach, allowing for non-linear navigation tailored to individual needs. This fosters a more personalised and effective coaching experience.

Are there any advanced variations of the GROW model?

Yes, there are advanced variations of the GROW model, such as TGROW, IGROW and CIGAR, each incorporating additional components to the process:

• TGROW adds ‘Topic’ before the goal stage to establish context and focus.
• IGROW adds ‘Issue’ before the goal stage to address any specific challenges or problems the coach has identified.
• CIGAR focuses on Current reality, Ideal, Gaps, Action and Review.

There are also other models, such as GRIST’s ACDC model, which offers a behavioural alternative. ACDC is a model for tactical behavioural coaching:

• A – Agenda (build buy-in for the conversation)
• C – Current state (create awareness and ownership of the current behaviours and results)
• D – Desired state (focus on the new behaviours that need to be demonstrated to achieve the desired result)
• C – Commitment (gain commitment on demonstrating the behaviours).