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Carl Welte is the principal of Welte Associates, a consulting firm whose purpose is to help organizational leaders and teams gain greater clarity, confidence, and skill to head in desired directions. If you would like to send a response to Carl Welte personally, write him at carl@welte.com

Coaching for Commitment and Results, Part 3

Focus

Part 1 looked at what coaching is. In Part 2 I discussed the process of coaching.

To review, the process of coaching involves the following steps:

Establishing a relationship

Identifying an opportunity for coaching;

Enrolling the coaching client; and,

Engaging in coaching conversations.

In the remaining three articles in this series we will talk about where the actual coaching takes place--coaching conversations.

Before shifting the focus to coaching conversations however, I would like to reinforce the importance of the first three steps in the coaching process--relationship, opportunity, and enrollment--to the success of a coaching interaction. Nothing of significance is going to happen in coaching conversations unless a relationship of mutual respect, trust, and confidence exists; the coaching client has a priority that she or he would like to work on; and, the coaching client has committed to work with the coach on the priority.

The GROW Model--a Useful Framework for Coaching Conversations

The GROW Model has proven to be a practical framework for a coaching conversation or a series of conversations related to a specific coaching topic.

The title of the model--GROW--is not only an acronym for the steps in the process, but also serves as a constant reminder of one of the primary objectives of the coaching relationshipžto help the coaching client learn and grow.

I have put my own spin on the original model developed by Max Landsberg*. The steps in the process and the kinds of questions that can guide effective conversations in each of the steps are outlined below.

The GROW Model
Purpose		Inquiry(Potential Questions)
Goals	Defining the Desired State	What is the objective? What are you trying to achieve? What are the desired outcomes? How will you know success when you see it?
Realities	Describing the Current State?	What is going on now? What have you tried? How has it worked? What obstacles exist? What kinds of support exists?
Options	Chosing a path (to achieve the Desired future State)	What are the relevant alternatives? What is the best alternative or combination of alternatives? Why? What will it take to succeed? What are the implementation challenges?
Wrap-up	Traveling the Path	What are the appropriate strategies? What are the related steps and timing? What are you willing to commit to? What support will you need? What are the next steps? When should we next meet?

Preview

Next month we will discuss the flow of coaching and appropriate patterns of conversation the coach can employ in helping guide the coaching client through the GROW Model.

In our final article in this series, we will discuss the importance of designing appropriate implementation strategies for helping the coaching client successfully travel the path.

* Max Landsberg, The Tao of Coaching: Boost Your Effectiveness by Inspiring Those Around You, Knowledge Exchange, Santa Monica, CA

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