Method · Coaching and interviews

GROW coaching model: how to run it

A four-step coaching conversation — Goal, Reality, Options, Way forward — that helps someone find their own answer instead of being told one.

30 minutes4 stepsCoaching and interviews
Other methods

When it helps

Use it in one-to-ones and coaching conversations when someone is stuck on a problem they can solve, and you want them to own the plan.

When to use something else

Skip it when someone needs information or a direct instruction — a safety issue, a deadline today — or is too upset to plan; listen first.

How to run it, step by step

  1. Goal5 min
    • What do you want to get out of this conversation, and what would success look like?
  2. Reality10 min
    • What is happening now? What have you tried?
  3. Options10 min
    • What could you do? What else? What would you advise a friend?
  4. Way forward5 min
    • What will you do, by when, and how will I know?

What comes out — an example

Made up, to show the shape.

Goal. Get my team to stop missing sprint commitments.

Reality. We commit to 40 points and finish 28; urgent support work comes in mid-sprint.

Options. Commit less; keep a support buffer; rotate one person onto support each sprint.

Way forward. Rotate one person onto support next sprint and commit to 30 points; report back in two weeks.

Where it comes from

GROW was developed in the UK in the 1980s by Graham Alexander, Alan Fine and Sir John Whitmore, who made it widely known in his book Coaching for Performance.

Questions

What does GROW stand for?

Goal, Reality, Options and Way forward (sometimes Will).

Who created the GROW model?

Graham Alexander, Alan Fine and Sir John Whitmore, in the UK in the 1980s.

Can managers use GROW in one-to-ones?

Yes — it is widely used by managers to help people solve their own problems.

Other methods

STAR methodA way to ask and answer interview questions about past behaviour: the Situation, the Task, the Action the person took, and the Result — so answers are specific, not general claims.Lean CoffeeA meeting with no agenda until it starts: everybody writes topics, the group votes, and you talk about the most popular ones in short, timed rounds.Fishbowl discussionA few people talk in an inner circle while everyone else listens from around them; listeners can step in by taking an empty chair, so a large group can hold one real conversation.1-2-4-AllEveryone thinks alone, then in pairs, then in fours, then the whole group shares — so every person contributes and the best ideas rise in about twelve minutes.Six Thinking HatsThe group looks at one question from six angles in turn — facts, feelings, risks, benefits, new ideas and process — so everyone thinks the same way at the same time instead of arguing.Start, stop, continueA quick retrospective in three columns: what we should start doing, stop doing, and keep doing — ending with two or three changes to try.

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