GROW Model: The Coaching Framework With Questions and Examples

By Tara Minh · Updated Oct 10, 2026

The GROW model is a four-stage coaching framework: Goal, Reality, Options, and Will (sometimes called Way Forward). A coach asks questions in that order so the person being coached defines what they want, sees where they stand, weighs choices, and commits to a next step. It's one of the most common coaching structures managers learn.

If you've ever left a one-on-one having handed out advice that nobody followed, GROW is the fix. It moves you from telling to asking, and it gives the conversation a shape so it doesn't drift into a status update.

Where the GROW model came from

Sources credit three people with developing GROW in the 1980s: Graham Alexander, Alan Fine and Sir John Whitmore. Mind Tools describes it that way, and EBSCO's research overview adds that the trio built on techniques from tennis coach Tim Gallwey, whose first book, The Inner Game of Tennis, came out in 1974.

Whitmore is the name most people connect with it. Performance Consultants, the firm he co-founded, says he and his colleagues devised the model in the 1980s and that his book Coaching for Performance introduced it. The Institute of Coaching's tribute says the same. Alan Fine, meanwhile, founded InsideOut Development in 1985, and that firm credits him with developing GROW.

So the honest answer to "who invented it" is a small group working in the same decade, not one author. That's useful to know when someone quotes a single originator in a training deck.

Key Facts

Key Facts

• GROW stands for Goal, Reality, Options, and Will (or Way Forward, or What Next) (Mind Tools).
• It was developed in the 1980s by business coaches Graham Alexander, Alan Fine and Sir John Whitmore (Mind Tools).
• It builds on the Inner Game techniques of tennis coach Tim Gallwey, whose The Inner Game of Tennis was published in 1974 (EBSCO).
• Whitmore's book Coaching for Performance introduced GROW to a wide audience (Institute of Coaching).
• Alan Fine defines the W as the specific action plan chosen from the available options (InsideOut Development).
• GROW is a conversation structure, not a validated measurement tool. Its value comes from how well the coach asks questions.

The four stages of GROW

Each stage has one job. The mistake most new coaches make is skipping ahead, usually to Options, because that's where advice lives.

G: Goal

Start with what the person wants. Mind Tools frames this stage as defining a clear, measurable objective for the change, and checking that it fits the person's career and the team's objectives.

Two goals are in play. There's the session goal ("what do you want out of the next 30 minutes?") and the bigger goal behind it ("what are you trying to achieve this quarter?"). Name both early. A vague goal makes every later stage mushy.

Questions you can use:

• What would make this conversation worth your time?
• If this went really well in three months, what would be different?
• How will you know you've got there?
• Is this goal yours, or one someone handed you?
• What's the deadline, and what's the cost of missing it?

R: Reality

Now look at where things stand today. Per Mind Tools, this covers what's happening, what effect it's having, and what's already been tried. The aim is a shared, honest picture, not a verdict.

Stay curious and specific. "Things are rough with the client" isn't reality yet. "Three renewal calls this month ended without a next step" is.

Questions you can use:

• Walk me through the last time this came up. What happened?
• What have you already tried, and what happened?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, where are you now, and why not a 2?
• What's getting in the way, inside you and outside you?
• What do you know for sure, and what are you assuming?

O: Options

Here the person generates choices. Your job is to widen the field, not to pick the winner. Mind Tools describes this stage as brainstorming possible paths and weighing the pros, cons and obstacles of each.

Ask for more than two. The first idea is usually the obvious one, and the second is its opposite. Real thinking starts around the third.

Questions you can use:

• What else could you do?
• If you had no constraints on budget or time, what would you try?
• What would someone you admire do here?
• What's the smallest version of this you could test next week?
• Which option gets you closest to the goal, and what does it cost?

If they truly run dry, ask permission before offering your own: "Would it help if I shared a couple of things I've seen work?" Then offer them as options, not instructions.

W: Will (Way Forward)

This is where talk turns into commitment. InsideOut Development's definition is the specific action plan selected from available options. Mind Tools adds planning for obstacles and scheduling a progress review.

A plan with no date and no owner isn't a plan. And if the person's confidence is low, the plan is probably too big.

Questions you can use:

• Which option will you go with?
• What exactly will you do first, and by when?
• What could get in the way, and how will you handle it?
• What support do you need from me or anyone else?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how committed are you? What would make it a point higher?
• When should we check in on this?

GROW vs other coaching and feedback frameworks

GROW isn't the only structure on the shelf. The others solve slightly different problems, so the table below is about fit, not winners.

A simple way to think about it: GROW is the structure of a coaching conversation, a leadership style is the habit that makes you hold those conversations, and feedback is what you do when the person needs your view, not just good questions. The situational leadership model helps you decide when each is right. Someone new and unsure of the task often needs direction before coaching.

How to run a GROW session, step by step

Here's a practical sequence for a 30 to 45 minute one-on-one.

Step 1: Prepare lightly

You don't need a script. Know the person's current goals and what they've asked for help with. Decide who will take notes, and let the person own the notes if you can.

Step 2: Open with the session goal

Ask what they want from the time. Write it down in their words. If the topic is something you want to raise instead, say so openly. Coaching works best when the person chose the topic.

Step 3: Make the goal specific

Push gently for a clear outcome and a timeframe. "Get better at delegating" becomes "hand off the weekly pipeline report to Sam by the end of next month."

Step 4: Explore reality before solutions

Spend real time here. Many people jump to fixes because the fix feels productive. A few extra minutes on what's actually happening often changes the goal itself.

Step 5: Generate at least three options

Ask "what else?" until the list is longer than comfortable. Don't evaluate yet. Then ask which two or three look most promising and why.

Step 6: Agree one action with a date

Get one concrete next step, a date, and a check-in point. Ask what could derail it. Then confirm the person, not you, owns it.

Step 7: Follow up

The next conversation starts with the last commitment: "How did it go?" Without this, GROW becomes a pleasant chat that changes nothing.

Template: GROW session sheet

Copy this into your one-on-one doc. The person being coached fills in as much as they can.

Examples by business function

These scenarios are hypothetical, written to show the shape of a session.

Sales. A sales manager's rep keeps losing deals at the pricing stage. Goal: close two more mid-market deals this quarter. Reality: in recent lost deals, the discount conversation started in the first call. Options: wait until value is agreed, bring in a solutions engineer earlier, or change how pricing is introduced. Will: the rep tries the first option on the next three deals and the pair reviews them in two weeks.

Operations. A shift lead wants fewer late handoffs between teams. Goal: cut late handoffs by half within six weeks. Reality: most delays happen when paperwork isn't ready at shift change. Options: a ten-minute prep checklist, an earlier cutoff, or a shared board. Will: the lead pilots the checklist this week and shares what they learn.

HR. A recruiter feels overwhelmed by too many open roles. Goal: feel in control of the workload by month end. Reality: every role is marked urgent, and none has an agreed order. Options: ask hiring managers to rank, batch screening time, or pause two low-priority searches. Will: the recruiter sets up a priority conversation with the hiring leads on Thursday.

Product. A product manager struggles to say no to feature requests. Goal: decline or defer requests with a clear reason. Reality: requests arrive by chat and email with no shared way to compare them. Options: a scoring sheet, a weekly triage slot, or a public "not now" list. Will: the manager drafts a simple scoring sheet and tests it on the current backlog.

Customer support. A team lead wants a newer agent to handle escalations alone. Goal: the agent resolves tier-two tickets without help within two months. Reality: the agent is competent but hesitates to make refund decisions. Options: clear refund limits, shadowing a senior agent, or a quick approval channel. Will: the lead agrees refund limits and the agent handles the next five escalations on their own.

Managers who coach often also benefit from a healthy team climate. If people won't admit what's not working, the Reality stage stalls. Our guide to psychological safety covers how to build that.

Do's and don'ts

Common mistakes with the model

Coaching when the person needs training. GROW assumes the person has some of the answers. If they've never done the task, they may need instruction first, then coaching. Match your approach to their skill, the way the Hersey-Blanchard model suggests.

Treating it as a rigid script. The four letters are a map, not a checklist. Conversations loop back. A new option might change the goal, and that's fine.

Running it as an interrogation. A stack of rapid-fire questions feels like a cross-examination. Pause, listen, and let silence do some work.

Skipping the follow-up. The Will stage only works if somebody checks. Put the review in the calendar before you leave the room.

Ignoring the power gap. A manager's questions carry weight. If you ask "what are you going to do about it?" in the wrong tone, it lands as pressure. Make it clear the session is for their benefit.

Making GROW a habit

Start small. Use GROW in one one-on-one this week, with one person, on a topic they bring. Stick to the four stages and resist the urge to fix. Afterward, ask yourself how much of the talking you did. If it was more than a third, try again next time.

Over a few weeks the questions become second nature, and you'll find yourself using them in hallway conversations, not just scheduled sessions. That's the point. GROW isn't a meeting format so much as a way of asking.