How To Use The G.R.O.W Coaching Model For Getting Things Done

We've all struggled at some point on getting things done. As part of your life coaching techniques arsenal, a coaching model helps by providing structure and a process for helping your clients achieve results.

G.R.O.W is actually an acronym that stands for:

Goals

Reality

Options

Will

As a coach you're using this framework to help your clients discover new ways of solving problems.

It consists of the following four steps:

Goals: breaking things up, your way to mastery

If you were to imagine that solving complex problems and achieving predictable results were part of a process where do you think is the best place to start would be?

Would you start by trying to solve the big, much more complex challenge? Or, would you perhaps focus on breaking the complex problem into achievable mini goals?

Knowing how to establish goals is a key part of achievement. A good strategy is by learning to create SMART goals - specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound.

• Specific: few people understand how setting specific goals works. It's very easy to be vague, we try to improve our "focus" for example when this can mean many things. It's much more effective to work on specific actions e.g. tossing the ball correctly if we're looking to improve our free throw
• Measurable: how do you know that you're making progress? If you can't measure and receive clear feedback against your established goals, improvement is at best good luck.
• Attainable: part of breaking things down into mini goals, is that it makes it easier to complete much bigger goals. When we work and complete many attainable goals, our success builds up and our ability to solve more complex problems improves.
• Relevant: goals should be established to improve behaviors or processes rather than outcomes. We can't really control the outcome, but we can continually learn a great deal about new and vital behaviors that improve our outcomes.

• Time-bound: goals have a habit of not getting done if there's no time-frame behind them. If we're not accountable to getting things done in a certain time, we tend to put things off; search for ways for keeping yourself accountable.

Reality: the second step is figuring out where you stand

This second step in the GROW coaching model, consists in determining where you are in respect to your goals.

In other words, you constantly evaluate how you've progressed in your abilities, motivation, skills and knowledge taking your goals as a rule of measurement. Are you able to accomplish your goals?

Coaching is effective as this point, because it's very hard to determine what you may need help or further training in by yourself. You frequently need an outside point of view to get a good idea of where you may need to improve.

You could also ask yourself the following questions:

• Are there any roadblocks getting in the way? Is anything slowing you down?
• What have you tried so far, that you could try differently?
• What resources do you have at your disposal, are there other people that can help you?
• What is the situation that you are currently in?
• What other things can you learn?

Options: the third step is about figuring out what to do

It helps if you begin by understanding what your unique strengths are. When you understand what your strengths are, it makes choosing your options simpler.

You're more likely to achieve growth and do better by learning how to use your strengths and you'll probably feel happier as well.

Ask yourself:

• What makes you feel strong?
• What do you love to do?
• How can you have more of this?

Will: the final step is the driving force of the process,

The final step in this model is to get your client to commit to specific action. In so doing, your client can establish his or her motivation.

Ask:

What will keep you motivated in the long run?

You can figure this out by asking:

• What would reaching your goals do for you?
• What actions can you take right away?
• What will move you along when things are slow?

That's it, in a nutshell.

Keep in mind, that these steps aren't sequential, they're not meant to be followed one after the other rather, the key is to remain flexible, so you can review your perceptions, make adjustments, course correct, and tune things up a little if needed.

This way, you make it a constant process of improvement. One that's grounded on your values, uniqueness and wants.

In essence, the GROW coaching model is a very simple, powerful and effective tool to have in your coaching toolbox.

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Article written by Jean Paul Cortes.
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