# GROW Coaching

Pairs take turns serving as coach and coachee using the four-stage GROW framework: Goal, Reality, Options, and Will. Each person explores an active goal or challenge through open questions, resulting in an individual next-step commitment.

**Time:** 35 minutes. Source recommends 30 to 60 minutes. This 35-minute plan allocates 5 minutes for setup, two 12-minute coaching turns, and a 6-minute debrief.
**People:** 4 to 24. Pairs; odd participants form one triad where the third person acts as an observer and timekeeper.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Practice structured peer inquiry and commit to a concrete action plan using the GROW framework.
**Use it when:** Use during skill-building workshops, team planning sessions, or leadership programs where individuals need structured peer support to move a live challenge forward.
**Skip it when:** Skip when participants are dealing with acute personal crises requiring professional counseling, or when the team lacks psychological safety for individual disclosure.

## Materials and tools

- One GROW Coaching Reference Card per participant
- One notebook or sheet of scratch paper per participant
- One pen or pencil per participant
- One central visual timer or bell for the room

## Before participants arrive

1. Print or distribute copies of the GROW Coaching Reference Card.
2. Arrange room chairs into scattered pairs with adequate physical distance between them to minimize cross-talk.

## Say this to open

Welcome. Today we will practice peer coaching using the GROW model: Goal, Reality, Options, and Will. In a moment you will pair up. One person will present a current work objective or practical challenge, and the other will act as coach. Coaches do not give advice or fix problems; they ask open questions to help their partner think clearly. After twelve minutes, you will switch roles.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce GROW model and assign pairs (5 minutes)

Walk through the four GROW stages printed on the reference card: Goal (what you want), Reality (where you are now), Options (what you could do), and Will (what you choose to do). Instruct participants to pair up. If there is an odd number, create one trio where the third person acts as a silent timekeeper and observer. Have each pair decide who is Person A (first coachee) and Person B (first coach).

### 2. Run first coaching round (12 minutes)

Person B coaches Person A using the reference card questions. Coachees describe a real goal or challenge; coaches listen actively and ask open questions without offering direct solutions. Give a time call at 6 minutes to suggest moving toward Options and Will. Person A writes down their own chosen next step before time expires.

### 3. Run second coaching round (12 minutes)

Sound a chime and have partners swap roles. Person A now coaches Person B through their goal or challenge. Remind coaches to avoid giving advice and to stick to guiding questions. Give a midpoint prompt at 6 minutes. Person B records their specific next step.

### 4. Conduct group debrief (6 minutes)

Bring the full room back together. Ask two to three volunteers to reflect on their experience using the debrief prompts. Focus the discussion on the coaching technique rather than the private content of the conversations.


## Debrief questions

- What made it easy or difficult for the coach to avoid giving advice?
- Which specific question unlocked the most progress for you as a coachee?
- How did structuring the conversation into stages change your thinking compared to an unstructured chat?

**Finished output:** Each participant completes a personal notes sheet listing their chosen action step, target date, and accountability check.

## Remote

Distribute digital reference cards via chat or a shared link. Run the introduction in the main room, then place participants into two-person breakout rooms (or one three-person room for odd numbers) for 12 minutes per round. Send broadcast messages at the midpoint and end of each round to signal role changes, then close breakouts for the main room debrief.

## Hybrid

Pair in-person participants with in-person partners and remote participants with remote partners in digital breakout rooms. If an uneven count forces a mixed pair, have both people join a private video link using laptops and headsets to keep background noise low.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may choose any scope of goal, from a minor daily routine adjustment to a project milestone, and are free to keep private details unsaid.
- Participants who prefer not to discuss a personal challenge may use a provided neutral scenario to practice the question flow.
- Anyone may pass on speaking during the final group debrief without explanation.

## If the session gets stuck

**The coach starts giving direct advice and prescribing solutions.**

Remind the room at the midpoint that coaches should only ask questions starting with 'what', 'how', or 'where', redirecting solution-finding back to the speaker.

**The coachee finishes their topic in five minutes and conversation stalls.**

Direct the coach to deepen the Will stage: ask what potential obstacles might appear, how to test the plan, and who else needs to be informed.


## Terms used here

- GROW: An acronym for Goal, Reality, Options, and Will, representing a four-stage conversational coaching structure.
- Open-ended question: A question that cannot be answered with a simple 'yes' or 'no', prompting detailed reflection.

## Participant material: GROW Coaching Reference Card

Stage 1: Goal (Clarify the target)
- What do you want to achieve?
- How will you know you have succeeded?
- By when do you want to reach this outcome?

Stage 2: Reality (Assess current status)
- What is happening right now regarding this goal?
- What steps have you already taken?
- What internal or external obstacles are in the way?

Stage 3: Options (Generate alternatives)
- What could you do to move forward?
- What would you do if time or resources were not a constraint?
- Who else could support you or provide input?

Stage 4: Will (Commit to action)
- What exact action will you take first?
- When will you do it?
- On a scale of 1 to 10, how committed are you to this step, and what would move it to a 10?

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in the Participatory Methods library under the title 'GROW Coaching'. The underlying GROW framework is widely attributed in literature to executive coaches in the late 1980s, but the supplied source does not state original authorship.

Retained the core four-stage GROW peer coaching sequence and suggested questions from Participatory Methods. Established a definite 35-minute agenda with balanced 12-minute coaching rounds, explicit trio rules for odd numbers, and guardrails to prevent advice-giving.

[Participatory Methods](https://participatorymethods.com/activities/grow)

[Participatory Methods](https://participatorymethods.com/activities/grow-coaching/)

[Participatory Methods](https://participatorymethods.com/activities/grow-coaching/#)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/grow-coaching/