A Simple Tool To Help You GROW

Are you a supervisor, manager or leader who is responsible for people in your organization? Are you a parent, volunteer or support person who wants to help others succeed without "acting like a boss"? If you fall into either of these groups, there is a simple but very effective tool that you can use to get the most out of people by improving decision-making and problem-solving skills in a quick, but meaningful way. It is called the GROW model and it is a well-proven technique that was originally developed by Mark Landsberg.

The GROW model is an acronym for the words Goal, Reality, Options and Wrap-up. When used as a series of questions, the GROW model can help give structure to a conversation that enables a person create the deep and clear awareness needed to understand their challenge. It can also inspire the responsibility for personal choice as well as the focused next steps needed to improve the situation.

Here's an example of using the GROW model: Tim is a young professional who is very successful in his job as a financial analyst. The skills that help him to offer great service to his clients, namely decisiveness, attention to detail and commitment to analytical research, proved not to be so helpful in his role as a volunteer recreational soccer coach. After getting some disappointing feedback from a few of the parents, Tim wanted to sort through his approach to coaching the team and make sure that being a great role model was always his number one priority. We used the GROW model to frame the conversation and it went something like this:

- Jesse: Tim, what's on your mind?

- Tim: I'm frustrated because I'm trying hard to be a good coach for these kids. I never wanted to be seen as someone who pushes too hard and loses sight of fun and good teamwork.

- Jesse: (Goal) Okay, let's talk about your approach to coaching the team. What are your specific goals for our conversation today? What would you like to be different as a result of what we discuss?

- Tim: Well, I would like to find a way to remind myself about what's important to me. I don't want to let the competitive juices distract me. And, I'd like to interact more with parents to gain their trust.

- Jesse: (Reality) Alright, let's take a look at the reality of the situation. Focusing on the last game, what happened? What effects did this behavior have on the kids, parents and other spectators?

- Tim: It was a tied game and I yelled at a player because she fell down but didn't get up quickly. I just wanted to encourage her, but it came out as real negative. One of the parents started yelling to her 'that's okay; if you're hurt take your time'. It was like we were competing with our comments.

- Jesse: (Options) What alternative choices do you have in this situation? What do you think will be your challenges with doing things differently?

- Tim: I need to remember that safety, fun and good teamwork come first and that the tone and words I chose should always reflect that. The challenge will be to not let the adrenaline take over.

- Jesse: (Wrap-up) Okay, what are the next steps you would like to commit to? What support do you need to help you stay focused on them?

- Tim: I'll ask my assistant coach to help me stay positive by letting me know that we need to take a time out when things get too tense. I'm also going to start a new tradition, after each game I'm going to give out a "game ball" to the player that showed the most sportsmanship. I'm going to invite the parents to get in the circle with us so they are a part of this positive experience.

Following this discussion, Tim reported that his new approach to coaching has also helped him maintain better balance during the work week too. Using the GROW model proved to be a simple, but very useful tool to help him understand the challenge and find ways to improve the situation. Imagine what's possible when we take steps to GROW!