🌳 GROW – G is for Goal 🌳

Ruth Harrowfield – BA/BSc, MSc Hons, PGDip I/O Psych, PGDip Science (Cl. Psych)

Leaders ask their people good questions right?! What questions are most helpful?

A good place to start is to ask about the endgame. When someone raises a challenge or an issue, find out: What’s the outcome they’re wanting to achieve? What is their GOAL?

GOAL is the G in GROW model.

G  Clarify their GOAL – the end point they want to get to
R Spell out their REALITY – where they are at now
O List their OPTIONS – all the ways they could get to their end point
W Decide what they WILL commit to – exactly what they will do

My favourite GOAL questions from the G.R.O.W. model:

🌱 How would you like things to be different?
🌱 What is the end result that you want here?
🌱 What problem do you want to solve?
🌱 If we could wave a wand and have things sorted, what would that look like?

Next time one of your staff brings you an issue or a problem, try asking one of these questions before you jump into solve mode.

The idea is to leave the ownership with them. You might be part of the solution, but don’t assume it from the outset.

Side note: this also works great with kids! 🙂

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I’m Ruth Harrowfield, an organisational psychologist based in Auckland, New Zealand. Together with my partner, Sam, we run Harrowfield People Development, a strategic learning agency. We help business leaders who are unsure how to grow the people they want to hold on to, for the purposes of engagement, productivity and organisational growth.

Working to a specific client brief, we draw on the disciplines of organisational and behavioural psychology to determine and execute strategic and tactical programmes for personal and team development. We help business leaders to bring out the potential that they see in their people by shaping habits of thinking, communication and action in the workplace. Talk to us today.