We all love a sacred cow, especially those involved in training and coaching, and I’m one of those.
When coaching, the coachee or client has all the answers. So ask questions around some structure like GROW, and the client must answer. That way, they own their ideas and will create action.
Makes sense until you come across the client/coachee/person who doesn’t have an answer.
At that point, GROW no longer works unless you provide a context or a subject to base your question around. A bridge won’t work without a headland to span from. A football team won’t compete without a manager and a league to play in. Everything needs a link or context as does coaching.
So give your client lots of context with the question before you ask it. Give a mini-training session if you have to, an idea, some background. Then ask a question to see how they’re going to use it.
“So Brian, with that in mind, what would you do with it?”
If you’re not sure whether to provide context use “or would you like me to provide some background first?”
I love debunking a holy cow, don’t you? I’ll work on the ridiculous Mirabian 7:37:55 next.
