The GROW Coaching Model: Stages, Questions and Notes
GROW is a four-stage structure for a coaching conversation: Goal, Reality, Options and Way Forward. First you clarify what the person wants, then look honestly at where they are now, then generate possible routes, then choose an action. It is popular because it is easy to remember and works in a single session or across a program. This guide describes each stage, gives example questions and shows a way to take notes in the same order.
The four stages at a glance
| Stage | Question it answers | Aim of the stage |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | What do you want? | A clear target for the session and beyond |
| Reality | What is happening now? | An honest picture of the situation |
| Options | What could you do? | Several possible routes |
| Way forward | What will you do? | A chosen action with a date |
Goal: what does the client want?
Start by finding out what the person wants from the session, and how it connects to a longer-term aim. A fuzzy goal makes the rest of the conversation drift.
Example questions:
- What would you like to focus on today?
- What do you want to have by the end of this session?
- What would that look like if it were in place?
- How will you know you have reached it?
- On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you want this?
Listen for the client's own words, and write them down. If the goal sounds vague, ask for the smallest version.
Reality: what is happening now?
Here you explore the present. The aim is facts, feelings and context, not blame or solutions yet.
Example questions:
- What is going on, in your own words?
- What have you tried so far, and what happened?
- What worked, even a little?
- What is getting in the way?
- What are you tolerating?
A common mistake is to jump to options too soon. If the client keeps adding detail, they may need more time in this stage.
Options: what could they do?
Now widen the field. The client generates ideas first; the coach may add some, marked as offered rather than recommended.
Example questions:
- What could you do?
- What else?
- What would you do if you had no fear?
- What would someone you admire do?
- What is the easiest first step?
"What else?" is among the most useful questions in coaching because the first answer is rarely the best. Finish by asking which option the client is drawn to and why.
Way forward: what will they do?
Turn the chosen option into a commitment. This stage deserves enough time, since a good conversation without an action often fades.
Example questions:
- What will you do, and by when?
- What might get in the way, and how will you handle it?
- How will you remember?
- Who can support you?
- How confident are you, from 1 to 10? What would make it a 7 or 8?
- How would you like me to hold you accountable?
Record the action, the date, the reminder method and the client's confidence. If confidence is low, shrink the action rather than pressing on.
A worked mini-conversation
Goal: "I want to stop dreading Sunday evenings." Reality: "I check my email, find a problem and then can't relax." Options: "Turn off email after Friday; plan Monday on Friday afternoon; take a walk on Sunday." Way forward: "I'll plan Monday's top three on Friday at 4 p.m. for the next two weeks. Confidence: 8."
The client did the thinking; the coach asked the questions.
Taking notes in GROW order
Notes that match the structure make it easy to follow up. A simple layout has:
- a header with client, session number, date and length;
- Goal: the topic in the client's words, what they want by the end and the longer-term goal it connects to;
- Reality: what is going on, what has been tried and what is in the way;
- Options: ideas the client generated, ideas you offered and the option they are drawn to;
- Way forward: a table of action, by when, how they will remember and confidence from 1 to 10;
- Your observations: repeated phrases, when energy rose and fell, and what to do next time.
For more on notes, see the coaching session notes template guide. A bank of ready questions by purpose is in powerful coaching questions.
Tips for using GROW well
- Spend time where the client needs it. Some conversations are mostly Reality; others jump quickly to Options.
- Return to the goal. If the client wanders, ask: "How does this connect to what you wanted at the start?"
- Hold back on advice. Offer an option only after the client has generated their own, and mark it as yours.
- End with a number. A 1-to-10 confidence score on the plan shows whether it is realistic.
- Start the next session with the action. "How did it go?" is the easiest opening, and it builds accountability.
When GROW is not the best fit
- If the client needs space to tell a story and find meaning, a looser structure may suit better.
- If the topic is a crisis or a health matter, step out of the model and suggest a qualified professional.
- If the client wants to be told what to do, explain how coaching differs; see what a life coach does.
No model replaces listening.
The ready-made version
The ReadyCoach Kit includes this structure as Session Notes Layout A in its Session Toolkit: Goal, Reality, Options and Way Forward, with the header table, fields for each stage, an action table with confidence scores, a place for your observations and a scale for the client's confidence in the plan. Layouts B and C offer a story-and-insight format and a one-page quick-notes format. The toolkit also has a Coaching Questions Bank with 70 open questions, a Client Action Plan, a Weekly Check-In and Monthly and 90-Day Reviews. Documents are editable in Word and Google Docs, with PDFs.