When acting as a consultant, coach, reflective-friend, or mentor, one of my favourite tools is the GROW model. It has served me well since I learned through the delivery management community of practice while working at the UK’s Government Digital Service around 2014.

A relative of “Visualise, standardise, optimise” it capitalises on the value of clearly understanding the desired end-state, the current reality, what specific options are available and might help, and a commitment to move forward with one of them.

GROW 🌱

G - The goal

What ideal end state are we trying to achieve? How will we know when we’ve arrived? How does it look, smell, feel and taste? Take the time to make your vision as detailed and compelling as possible. Having a clear goal will make it easier to evaluate if your interventions are making a difference. An inspiring goal will give you the energy and tenacity to make it happen.

Example: I’d like to be able to sprint up the hill behind my house without breaking a sweat while holding a natural conversation with someone.

R - Reality

What is the current situation, really? How far are you from that goal? What’s working well? What’s broken? Where are the quick wins and the “heavy lifts”? Be as specific as you can here and identify what’s ripe for change and what may be out of your control. Useful tools include journaling, interviews, and Circles and Soup.

Example: I can walk up the hill behind my house at a steady pace but I’m out of breath when I reach the top.

O - Options

What different options are available to you? Be clear on what they entail. What’s the cost? The risk? How much leverage will they give you? How much will you learn by trying them? How will you know if they’re making a difference? Do they require any agreement or help from others? How might you start things moving in the right direction?

Brainstorm and don’t be too critical at this stage. Look for ideas that instantly give you a spark of energy. These are the things you’re most likely to actually do and the ones most likely to create a positive shift in outcomes. You don’t need a long list, just enough to give you a few clear starting points so you can choose one and take action.

Example: I could join a gym, hire a personal trainer, go jogging three times a week, or try to climb to the top of the hill at least once per week.

W - What will you do?

Now that you’ve come up with a list of options, consider a ranking system like How? Now. Wow! Ciao! to decide which one(s) to take on. Once you’ve identified one or two that are realistic and impactful, commit!

If you’re working with a coach or mentor, communicate your intention to pursue this action and ask them to keep you accountable. You can also write your intention down somewhere that you or your entire team will see frequently. Consider creating a poster, putting a sticky-note on your screen, or adding this action to your backlog, team charter, or standard ways of working.

Example: I’ve decided to hike the hill behind my house at least every week and jog as much of it as I can. And now I’m telling everyone who reads this blog 😉

Try it and grow!

The GROW model is very simple and can be adopted by anyone, anytime, for personal, professional, team, or organisational growth. I hope you find it useful, too!