GROW Model Coaching Worksheet

Client presents a situation they have analyzed extensively — a team dynamic, an organizational obstacle, a career decision — and can describe the problem with precision. They are stuck at the transition from understanding to doing. The GROW structure is useful here because it externalizes the gap between where they are and where they want to be, and makes the Options and Will steps impossible to skip.

Frame this as a structured path from diagnosis to commitment. 'You've spent a lot of time understanding the situation. Let's use the GROW model to move from that analysis into what you actually want to do about it. I'll walk you through four questions — some will feel familiar, some won't.' The resistance here is that analytical clients often want to return to the Reality section because examining options feels premature. Name this: 'We're going to spend less time on what is and more time on what you want and what you'll do.'

Watch the transition from Reality to Options. If the client produces only one option — especially the option they were already considering — they have not truly engaged the Options step. Push for a minimum of three, including one that feels too radical and one that feels too small. The radical option often contains information about what the client actually wants. Also watch the Will section: a commitment framed as 'I should' rather than 'I will' is not a commitment.

Start with the Will section. Ask the client to read their commitment aloud, then ask: 'On a scale of one to ten, how confident are you that you'll actually do this?' Anything below a seven is worth examining. The question that opens this up: 'What would need to be different for this to be an eight?' This reveals the obstacle that has not yet been named.

Client is a people manager who wants to coach rather than direct their direct reports. They understand the GROW model conceptually but have not practiced it enough to use it without the structure in front of them. The worksheet serves as both a practice tool and a rehearsal space for conversations they plan to have with their team.

Frame this as rehearsal, not training. 'Let's use this worksheet to work through a conversation you actually need to have with someone on your team. You'll be practicing the questions on yourself first, which will make them easier to hold in the room with someone else.' Some managers resist this because they assume they already know the model well enough. Name that: 'Understanding the steps is different from knowing how it feels to sit in each section. Let's find out what comes up for you.'

Watch how the client frames the Reality section when imagining a team member's situation — do they describe the situation as the manager sees it, or as the team member might see it? Managers who can only occupy the observer position in Reality will struggle to use GROW effectively because they will fill in the team member's answers rather than ask for them. This is visible in language: 'Their reality is...' versus 'I'd ask them what their reality is.'

After completing the worksheet as their own coaching client, ask: 'Which of the four sections would be hardest for you to hold open with someone else — meaning, hardest not to jump past or fill in for them?' That question identifies where the manager will default to directing rather than coaching. Then explore what they would do differently in the Will section with a team member who commits to something they do not believe will happen.

Client has found that between sessions they lose momentum on goals and do not have a structure for self-coaching when obstacles appear. They are not stuck on a single issue — they need a format they can apply independently when something comes up mid-week. GROW is well-suited here because it is short enough to complete in under 30 minutes and produces a concrete commitment at the end.

Frame this as a tool for self-directed sessions, not a homework exercise. 'The value of GROW between sessions is that you can run it yourself when something comes up — you don't have to wait until we talk. It works on small decisions as well as large ones.' Resistance here comes from clients who want the coach to be the holder of the process. Name the dependency gently: 'Part of what we're building is your ability to ask yourself the questions I would ask. This is one way to practice that.'

When the client returns with a completed worksheet from between sessions, read the Goal and Will sections first. If the Goal they chose between sessions is low-stakes and the commitment is easy, they may be using the worksheet to practice rather than to do real work. That is not wrong — but it is different from self-coaching on a real obstacle. Ask directly: 'Is this situation representative of what actually comes up for you mid-week?'

After reviewing a completed between-session worksheet, start with what surprised them about filling it in alone. The Options section often lands differently without the coach present — clients generate fewer options or default to options the coach has previously offered. 'Where did you get stuck, and what did you do about it?' That question builds the client's capacity to diagnose their own coaching process.