Introduction to the GROW Coaching Model and Performance Wheel

What Is the GROW Coaching Model?

The GROW Coaching Model is a systematic approach to decision-making that helps determine where you want to go and how to get there. It maps the way you think about decisions to make decision-making systematic. Think of it as a framework to consider actions to take.

The model was developed in the 1980s by three collaborators: Alan Fine, Graham Alexander, and Sir John Whitmore. Over the last 30 years, it has become one of the world’s most recognized and influential coaching models. Today, it’s considered by coaches worldwide to be the gold-standard framework for structuring coaching conversations.

What Does GROW Stand For?

GROW is an acronym for the four components of any decision-making process: Goal, Reality, Options, and Way Forward.

All action stems from decisions. Using the GROW model for coaching, a coach helps a performer organize their thinking around these components and learn to make decisions in a logical, productive formula proven to lead to better actions and results.

Goal

TThe cornerstone of effective decision-making is setting clear goals. It provides focus, direction, and a visual representation of improved performance. Distractions often arise when we fail to focus on the goal or misunderstand it.

Reality

Reality refers to your perception of the factors in your environment that could impact your goal achievement. When faced with making a decision, take time to reflect on the problem, your previous attempts and their outcomes, and the obstacles you currently face.

Options

At this stage, use your reality to generate solutions — or options — for achieving your desired goals. Favor quantity over quality here. 

Way Forward

Your way forward is the specific action plan selected from all of the available options. It should be detailed and actionable, fostering a sense of ownership over the performance outcomes you seek. 

GROW Coaching and the Performance Wheel

Within the GROW model of coaching lies the Performance Wheel, which keeps performers moving through the decision-making process. The wheel comprises the four key elements of performance: Knowledge, Faith, Fire, and Focus.

• Knowledge represents the rim of the wheel. An important element of performance, the rim must be complete for the wheel to move forward.
• Faith, Fire, and Focus are the gears that keep the performance wheel moving. When one is out of place, none of the elements move effectively.

Focus is considered the lever of the Performance Wheel because it combats interference, which is anything that gets in the way of higher performance. We can’t affect the existence or magnitude of our focus, but we can affect what we choose to focus on. Knowledge, Faith, and Fire may change over time, but Focus is an immediate driver of our performance.

As Tim Gallwey, creator of the Inner Game Model, said, “There are many ways of allowing your thinking to get in the way of your performance and learning, but they all amount to conversations you are having with yourself within your own head.”

The GROW Coaching Model is constructed upon a deceptively simple insight: breakthrough performance is usually not about what you know. It’s about removing interference that allows you to focus and act on what you already know. 

We can’t eliminate interference completely, but we can overcome it by choosing to focus on the things that progress us closer to our goal.

The Performance Wheel and Decision Velocity

TThe Performance Wheel helps people think through decisions more efficiently so they can make better, faster decisions. And good decisions lead to effective actions which lead to productive results. This is called decision velocity — the speed and accuracy of decisions that drive individual and organizational performance.

The GROW Coaching Model in Action

GROW enables you to help people solve problems, commit to action, and produce results — at home or at the office. Here’s an example of how a coach used the GROW model to help a friend make an important decision. 

For the past decade, friends Greg and Joel have discussed going back to school to work toward MBA degrees. Greg took the plunge first and started a graduate program, with Joel often asking Greg how he liked it. Their conversations typically ended with Joel feeling like he needed to go to grad school too to achieve the goals he had set for himself.

For years, the conversations continued. Greg would encourage Joel to get his MBA, but his motivation would fizzle out and nothing would change.

Eventually, Greg decided to try a different approach. Using the GROW Coaching Model, he asked Joel some questions to help him get clear on what his next steps should be toward applying for his MBA. Here’s what they uncovered through their conversation:

• Goal: While Joel’s ultimate goal was to get his MBA, he realized his more urgent goal was to take the steps needed to simply apply for a program.
• Reality: Greg encouraged Joel to share what he had done to prepare himself for the decision and the obstacles that might stop him from achieving his goal. Despite the stress of his current job, a wife pregnant with their first child, and the worry about getting back into “school mode,” Joel still felt like his goal was realistic.
• Options: Realizing that there was more than one way for Joel to achieve his goal, the friends brainstormed several options and nailed down the one they thought would work best.
• Way Forward: With excitement, Greg and Joel created an action plan for the option they chose.

The GROW Coaching Model got Joel to take action when Greg’s encouragement hadn’t been able to. After meeting with the school’s admissions department, Joel eventually received an acceptance letter to the MBA program.

Get Ready, Get Set, GROW

Coaching using the GROW model offers a powerful framework for facilitating growth and development in individuals. 

By guiding the coaching process through Goal setting, exploring the current Reality, generating Options, and establishing a clear Way Forward, coaches can empower performers to unlock their potential and achieve their desired outcomes. 

Learn more about the GROW Coaching Model and how InsideOut Development can help you pave the way for transformative coaching experiences and lasting positive change.