3 Frameworks for coaching and personal growth
An introduction to GROW, CLEAR and OSCAR
Everyone faces challenges in their lives. Some of these challenges can feel overwhelming, and people may feel like they don’t know where to start in overcoming them. Coaching models, when applied with the support of a coach, act as tangible growth lattices to help people grow through those pesky challenges.
In one of our first blog posts, we wrote about the foundational elements that underpin the coaching process. In this post, we take a closer look at three models (or frameworks) that apply those foundational elements and act as tangible guides for coaching conversations.
We believe that by spreading the word on how these models are applied in coaching, we can help people understand that there is support available to help them through whatever challenges they might be facing.
GROW: Goal, Reality, Options, Will
Developed by Sir John Whitmore and colleagues in the 1980s, the GROW model is widely known, and one of the more popular models in use today. The GROW model’s power is in its simplicity.
Here’s one way you could apply it to your coaching journey:
Start by deeply understanding the goal of your coaching journey. It helps if the goal is inspirational, and is true to the coachee’s deeply held values.
Assess the current reality. Think about, and discuss what is currently happening, and what kind of impact it’s having.
Come up with options for things that can be done to change the current reality and make progress towards the goal. At this step, it helps to think about the ‘what‘ as well as the ‘how‘ i.e., how would these options work?
Decide on what you will do. Using both open and closed questioning, listening and reframing from your coach, decide on an action (or a set of actions) you commit to doing to help you reach your goal.
CLEAR: Contract, Listen, Explore, Action, Review
Also developed in the 1980s by Peter Hawkins, the CLEAR model incorporates two of the most crucial elements of coaching: active listening and reviews.
Thinking of applying this to your coaching journey? Here’s how you might go about it:
Start by defining a contract for the coaching journey, together with your coach. This includes things like defining expectations, clarifying the roles of the individuals involved, as well as establishing desired outcomes.
Employ active listening to create a shared understanding of the current situation, and contributing factors.
Then, explore the different reasons for the challenges being faced and the various pathways towards achieving the desired outcomes. Let your imagination take flight here, and think about all the possibilities!
Post the exploration, discuss and decide on the actions or next steps that resonate the most, in collaboration with your coach.
Finally, and very crucially, review the key points from the previous steps, and also review the outcomes of the actions on a regular basis. Then repeat the entire process, as needed.
OSCAR: Outcome, Situation, Choices, Actions, Reviews
The OSCAR model was first described by Andrew Gilbert and Karen Whittleworth in 2002. It builds on the GROW model, and puts more emphasis on solutions.
To apply this model:
Similar to the other models, start off by understanding the desired outcomes. Thinking about long term outcomes at this step could be a great way to shift perspectives when faced with particularly tricky challenges.
Create awareness around the current situation. Deep dive into understanding the context surrounding the situation, and the causes for it.
Consider all the choices available to make progress towards the desired outcomes. Try and be as comprehensive and exhaustive as possible. This step can be a lot of fun!
Through the newly developed understanding of the situation and the choices, pick some of the most promising actions that you plan to take to get to the desired outcomes. It might help to ensure that these actions are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound (SMART).
Last but not the least, organise regular reviews with your coach to help yourself stay on track, and adjust your unique coaching journey as necessary.
Parting thoughts
While these models share many similarities and foundational elements, they use different frames and language to facilitate coaching journeys. We believe that framing and language are powerful factors in personalising the best conditions for growth, and different models work for different people, and different situations. Therefore, each of these models are incredibly valuable in their own right!
Do you have any particular favourite? Let us know!
At Medoo, our mission is to help people design and live intentional lives.
We are making our first step towards this mission by bringing to life a purpose-built coaching companion tool, to empower every coaching and personal growth journey.
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