GROW Method: The Secret of Good Leadership – Online Psychologists

The GROW method is a technique that can help companies achieve their goals effectively and step by step. This method of coaching business is born from the hand of John Whitmore, Graham Alexander and Alan Fine during the last third of the 21st century.

John Whitmore included the GROW method in his book Coaching: The method to improve people's performancewhich is still considered one of the best books on business topics. It is not surprising, since Whitmore's manual and the GROW method more than fulfill what they promise: «to help learn the art of good management and understand its importance for Unlocking people's potential and maximising their performance.»

When faced with the need to explain the process that should be carried out by a coach businesswomanTo guide their clients toward improved results, Whitmore, Alexander, and Fine came up with an acronym that perfectly structured their method:

Whitmore, Alexander and Fine were able to understand the importance of coaching business at a time when the vast majority was unaware of its value.He coaching makes it possible to unlock the potential that allows each person to give their best. «It's not about teaching them, but about helping them learn,» said John Whitmore, who would publish five books on the subject throughout his life. coaching and leadership that would sell millions of copies worldwide.

We can define the coaching business as the set of techniques aimed at improve all aspects related to the human team of a company: from efficiency to satisfaction, including important aspects such as interpersonal communication.

However, one of the many advantages of the GROW method (whose acronym means «grow» if translated into Spanish) is that You don't need to be a coach to apply itAny leader can guide their team towards a goal using the GROW method. Even if you are an individual looking to achieve your personal goals, following the steps suggested by this technique can be of great help.

You may be wondering why the GROW method works so well? The answer is simple: because It is based on human nature. None of the parts of the GROW method are alien to us, because we all have goals, we are all part of the reality that surrounds us, we all have different options to achieve what we set out to do, and finally we all choose a path to follow.

Thus, following the teachings of the GROW method is relatively easy, since we are familiar with all its parts.

When implementing an action plan, it is not only important to set a goal. You must also take into account the qualities of a good target. A smart goal will be concretewill have indicators capable of measure its effectivenesswill be realisticwill have one or more responsible assigned and finally will be registered in a a certain period of time.

Whitmore, however, was not only committed to the growth of his clients. He also firmly believed that The objectives they set had to be positive, ethical, environmentally friendly, legal and, of course, they had to be a challenge.

Although reaching a goal capable of bringing together all these characteristics may seem complicated, it is possible to simplify the process if it is divided into affordable and short-term goalsTherefore, it is advisable to discern what are those intermediate steps that will take you to your final goal.

Some questions that can help you set your goals are:

Just as important as your future goal is the reality that surrounds you at the time of implementing the action plan. The tools, time, budget and personnel you have available to achieve your objective will depend on your current situation.

For this reason, it is essential that you analyse the reality in which you or your company find yourself. To do this, it is necessary to have an objective view that allows you to describe what surrounds you, without falling into value judgements that could jeopardise your impartiality.

At this stage, it is important to ask questions such as: What tools do I need? What obstacles might arise? Is there a conflict between my goal and my other objectives? Have I already taken any steps towards my goal? What have been the consequences of taking these steps?

In everyday life Even the smallest decision involves a choice that will affect, to a greater or lesser extent, our future.o. Sometimes the consequences of what we choose are so insignificant that we do not even establish a relationship between cause and effect. However, in the business world it is essential to keep in mind that absolutely Everything we decide can influence the final result.

When you outlined your goal, you may have only considered one possible path. And perhaps taking that path will lead you to the objective you want to achieve, but it is worth considering the rest of the options. Outlining different methods able to get you to the same point can be useful for many reasons:

First of all you should keep in mind that Your first choice may failr. Failure is often debilitating and prevents you from analyzing the situation with a cool head. If you have several plans in mind from the beginning, you will have an ace up your sleeve and you will not need to invest more time in getting out of the blockage.

Also, by looking at other alternatives you may discover that there are most effective methods to carry out what you had originally proposed from another perspective.

For this, it is convenient to have different opinions. Therefore, it can be of great help. create a space for dialogue in which the entire team can participate. Dialogue and plurality will be your allies in this phase of the GROW method. John Whitmore explains that “the purpose of the options stage is not to find the right answer, but to create and list as many courses of action as possible. In this phase, the quantity of options is more important than the quality and feasibility of each one.”

Although there are hierarchies in the company, in this part of the process all team members should be equal. To encourage creativity, it is essential that everyone feels at home. safe environmentfriendly and free of prejudice.

Once the assumptions have been considered, it is essential to move on to the playing field. In the last stage of the GROW method, an action plan is drawn up in which all the assumptions must be considered and each of the steps that will be needed to reach the goal.

When preparing the action plan you must take into account:

This is, without a doubt, the most complicated part of the GROW method. Although having worked through the previous phases will help you when deciding which path to follow, John Whitmore formulated some questions that may be useful to you in building an action plan:

If the idea of ​​making an action plan scares you, remember that absolutely All phases of the GROW method are flexibleIn the future, you can modify the timeframes, budgets, reverse the order and even eliminate actions. The action plan is not a fixed formula that can magically take you to your goal, but rather a guide that will help you feel the ground that separates you from the goal.

In a world where trends come and go in a matter of weeks, it can be difficult to understand how this technique has managed to survive the test of time without losing its relevance.

John Whitmore published his first edition of Coaching: The method to improve people's performance in 1992. Almost three decades later, his theory continues to find followers around the world. And One of the secrets of its success is dialogue.

However, the GROW method is not based on any kind of dialogue. Whitmore, Alexander and Fine promoted a dialogue based on respect, in the healthy debatea product of empathy towards other people's positions, in flexibility and, above all, in creativity.

In addition, the GROW method has many other qualities that explain the model's survival. First of all, it helps to clearly see the intricacies of the business environment, because turns large problems into small pieces that employees are able to handle.

On the other hand, it is a technique that covers all phases of creating a business projectfrom its conception to its implementation. As if that were not enough, the flexibility of the method and its ability to adapt to the values ​​of each company, team or individual allows the best results to be extracted from its application.

When John Whitmore, Graham Alexander and Alan Fine They devised the GROW method with the goal of helping businesses achieve their goals. However, these three geniuses of the coaching business were able to create some guidelines that can be really useful in a wide variety of fields.

For example, using the GROW method…