The GROW Model
Self awareness is the key to being aware of others and being able to empathise with them. Self awareness is also the key to being able to manage and modify our behaviour. So, as a stepping point to awareness of others and self management, self awareness allows us to make choices about our behaviour. For example, I am aware that when I am angry I feel as if my head is going to explode, I have a knot in my stomach, I feel tense and I frown. Being in a state of anger has an effect on my behaviour and thoughts as I find it difficult to focus on other things and to communicate. I am liable to extend my anger to other people and situations. Recognising these feelings empowers me to make choices about my behaviour so that I manage how I feel and think and do not feel compelled to jump in the car and drive at 90 mph to dispel my anger. Recognising these feelings also helps me identify how others are feeling by noticing their body language, tone of voice and the words they are using, and probably most significantly, their facial expressions.
As a driving coach it is my role to work with my customers to raise their self awareness and help them take responsibility for their behaviours. In order to do this they need to understand how their thoughts and beliefs, feelings and emotions impact on their behaviour; and that they have the power to modify their behaviour. For learner drivers this is about identifying their goals and recognising what skills they have to achieve these goals. It is about understanding their on-road risks and learning how to manage their behaviour so that they minimise these risks. For trainee driving instructors, it is about knowing themselves so that they can establish rapport with their learner drivers and work with them to raise their self awareness, take responsibility and develop their self evaluation skills.
With both my learner drivers and trainee driving instructors I am going to practise working around the GROW model to help me structure and focus my coaching conversations. GROW is a four-stage problem solving model that focuses on behaviour. It stands for Goal, Reality, Options and Way Forward and is referred to by both Sir John Whitmore (1998) and Graham Alexander (2006)*. At each stage there are a number of questions the coach can ask to ensure the coachee is able to achieve the outcome.
GROW - Goal
In order to clarify and define the Goal and to help the coachee achieve a SMART (Specific, Measured, Appropriate, Realistic, Timed) objective, the coach might ask:
What would you like to get from today’s session?
Which particular area would you like to develop today?
What has to happen today for you to get some benefit from the lesson?
When you have done it what will that enable you to do in the future?
GROW - Reality
In order to explore the reality of the proposed Goal the coach might ask:
What do you know so far?
What is the potential gain / loss?
What barriers could there be to achieving this?
GROW - Options
It might be helpful to split the Options stage into two parts. Firstly, to generate a list of possible options and secondly, to take each option at a time and evaluate it.
List generation questions:
What options have you considered so far?
What might the examiner / pedestrian / parent etc. suggest?
Let’s draw a mind map of this.
Evaluation questions:
How / why did these options work / not work?
What might be the benefits / consequences of each one?
Let’s rank the options.
When considering the Options it might be necessary to measure them against the Reality and then clarify and redefine the Goal.
GROW - Way Forward
The final part of the GROW model is to establish and agree a Way Forward. One way to do this is to ask the coachee to summarise their plan. Questions that the coach might consider asking are:
Could you summarise for me the actions you are going to take?
How will you make this happen?
What are you going to take away from this session?
What do you need from me to achieve this?
Used in driver training the GROW model can raise self awareness and develop responsibility, making newly qualified drivers at reduced risk of being involved in a crash.
*Alexander, G. & Renshaw, B. (2006)In J. Passmore Excellence in coaching. Kogan Page. ; Whitmore, J. (1998) Coaching for Performance.
Self awareness is the key to being aware of others and being able to empathise with them. Self awareness is also the key to being able to manage and modify our behaviour. So, as a stepping point to awareness of others and self management, self awareness allows us to make choices about our behaviour. For example, I am aware that when I am angry I feel as if my head is going to explode, I have a knot in my stomach, I feel tense and I frown. Being in a state of anger has an effect on my behaviour and thoughts as I find it difficult to focus on other things and to communicate. I am liable to extend my anger to other people and situations. Recognising these feelings empowers me to make choices about my behaviour so that I manage how I feel and think and do not feel compelled to jump in the car and drive at 90 mph to dispel my anger. Recognising these feelings also helps me identify how others are feeling by noticing their body language, tone of voice and the words they are using, and probably most significantly, their facial expressions.
As a driving coach it is my role to work with my customers to raise their self awareness and help them take responsibility for their behaviours. In order to do this they need to understand how their thoughts and beliefs, feelings and emotions impact on their behaviour; and that they have the power to modify their behaviour. For learner drivers this is about identifying their goals and recognising what skills they have to achieve these goals. It is about understanding their on-road risks and learning how to manage their behaviour so that they minimise these risks. For trainee driving instructors, it is about knowing themselves so that they can establish rapport with their learner drivers and work with them to raise their self awareness, take responsibility and develop their self evaluation skills.
With both my learner drivers and trainee driving instructors I am going to practise working around the GROW model to help me structure and focus my coaching conversations. GROW is a four-stage problem solving model that focuses on behaviour. It stands for Goal, Reality, Options and Way Forward and is referred to by both Sir John Whitmore (1998) and Graham Alexander (2006)*. At each stage there are a number of questions the coach can ask to ensure the coachee is able to achieve the outcome.
GROW - Goal
In order to clarify and define the Goal and to help the coachee achieve a SMART (Specific, Measured, Appropriate, Realistic, Timed) objective, the coach might ask:
What would you like to get from today’s session?
Which particular area would you like to develop today?
What has to happen today for you to get some benefit from the lesson?
When you have done it what will that enable you to do in the future?
GROW - Reality
In order to explore the reality of the proposed Goal the coach might ask:
What do you know so far?
What is the potential gain / loss?
What barriers could there be to achieving this?
GROW - Options
It might be helpful to split the Options stage into two parts. Firstly, to generate a list of possible options and secondly, to take each option at a time and evaluate it.
List generation questions:
What options have you considered so far?
What might the examiner / pedestrian / parent etc. suggest?
Let’s draw a mind map of this.
Evaluation questions:
How / why did these options work / not work?
What might be the benefits / consequences of each one?
Let’s rank the options.
When considering the Options it might be necessary to measure them against the Reality and then clarify and redefine the Goal.
GROW - Way Forward
The final part of the GROW model is to establish and agree a Way Forward. One way to do this is to ask the coachee to summarise their plan. Questions that the coach might consider asking are:
Could you summarise for me the actions you are going to take?
How will you make this happen?
What are you going to take away from this session?
What do you need from me to achieve this?
Used in driver training the GROW model can raise self awareness and develop responsibility, making newly qualified drivers at reduced risk of being involved in a crash.
*Alexander, G. & Renshaw, B. (2006)In J. Passmore Excellence in coaching. Kogan Page. ; Whitmore, J. (1998) Coaching for Performance.
|
Call 0800 058 8009
Mobile 07740174893 Email info@tri-coachingpartnership.co.uk |
|