Managers and leaders in organisations have enormous demands placed on their time.

They are often being asked to wear more hats, juggle more projects, deliver on budgets, whilst being an effective leader and develop their talent of their people.

I do not wish to add to their already very long to do list.

However I would like to encourage them to consider how they can leverage the power of coaching in developing the talent of their people.

No, I am not recommending they become coaches, rather I would like to encourage them to leverage the power of a coaching approach.

What is coaching?

At the core of building human relationships is the art and science of having a conversation.

Coaching at its heart is focused on having a conversation.

It is a conversation focused on facilitating insight.

  • Coaching facilitates insight through asking questions.
  • The questions are open, i.e. they coach does not have the answers.
  • The questions are generally asked in the context of a model or framework.
  • The model or framework gives structure, focus and purpose to the questions.

I do not believe managers leading teams need to become a coach to use some of the models or frameworks used by coaches.

I believe managers leading teams can adopt a coaching approach by learning how to use one or two key models or frameworks.

To this end, I would like to share the model G-R-O-W

G-R-O-W

The G-R-O-W model or framework is used extensively by coaches.

It enables you to adopt a coaching approach, to structure a coaching conversation and deliver a meaningful result.

Its aim is to through conversation help someone:

  1. Identify a goal
  2. Understand the reality of the facts and issues related to the goal
  3. Identify options for moving closer to and/or delivering on the goal
  4. Be clear on actions and next steps to make progress after the conversation

The model:

  • G is for GOAL.
  • R is for REALITY
  • O is for OPTIONS
  • W is for WAY FORWARD

Using G-R-O-W

  • GOAL: the aim is to facilitate clarity about the goal they wish to achieve/deliver, the value from achievement or delivery and indicative timing for delivery.  Ask them to imagine the goal as if it has been successfully delivered.
  • REALITY: the aim is to facilitate their insight into key facts and the reality of their situation.  Facts that bring insight to context, doability, challenges, assumptions, value etc. about the goal, the current or future reality in which the goal can or will be delivered.
  • OPTIONS: the aim is to facilitate options available for them to move forward, to progress their journey towards the goal.  As the saying goes, there is always more than one way to skin a cat.  And hence there are many approaches or paths to achieving a goal.
  • WAY FORWARD: the aim is to ensure the conversation for the day is finished with facilitating insight into their next steps.  What will they do after today, to take steps towards delivering ont their goal.

3 Principles

In using a coaching approach, in using a model such as G-R-O-W,  I encourage you to focus on doing three things:

  1. Listen
  2. Observe
  3. Question

Stay focused on a conversation seeking to facilitate insight.

ciao Jan