To GROW or not to GROW? Is the choice CLEAR?

GROW also gets critiqued on the basis it places too much emphasis on the early formation of a goal. Don’t goals sometimes take a long time to crystallise? David Drake suggests that a focus on goals is often counterproductive, because:

1. It can place to much emphasis on the end-state, such that other considerations get forgotten – such as ethical issues.
2. It can lead to an over-emphasis on short-term outcomes and deliverables.
3. Many people in organisations are already goal-fatigued, working in an environment chock-full of ever-shifting KPIS.

Sir John Whitmore, who co-created the GROW model in the first place, effectively counters this perspective by pointing out that goals don’t have to be short-term. He wrote:

Goals are broader than the old meaning of the word, and I think more and more people are beginning to look at things that way.

Anthony Grant, on the other hand, suggests that beginning with a goal is always appropriate, even if it is only to agree what the coachee would like to have achieved by the end of a conversation.

The two main criticisms of GROW then, are that it may be used too linearly and that it places too much emphasis on the initial formation of a goal. If we agree with Peter Hawkins, that it is important for managers to have simple models for structuring coaching conversations, then whatever model we use, we must be careful to warn against using a model linearly. In our programs we cover models toward the end of the program, so that people don’t confuse coaching with following a formula. We teach coaching skills first, and position GROW explicitly as a potentially useful structure for having a coaching conversation.

The second criticism remains however, and when we get into role plays we do often find new coaches, working inside organisation, move from G to W, barely acknowledging the value of R or O. The temptation to move through a ‘coaching’ conversation so quickly is always likely to be there, given how busy people always seem to be. So, is there a better model, at least to use with leader/coaches?