Tools - The GROW Model

The GROW Model is a excellent framework for coaching, a key technique for project managers.

The acronym GROW stands for:

Goal (What is your goal?)
Reality (What is the current reality?)
Options and Obstacles (What are your options?  What is stopping you?)
Way Forward (How will you proceed?)

I've covered the GROW model before.  Today I cover the GROW model in the context of our new Tools Tuesday series by demonstrating the technique.

Coach:  What are your current goals

PM:  I want to relocate to the west part of the state where I hope to retire, and find a project management challenge to keep me excited and engaged up to retirement.

Coach:  What is your current reality?

PM:  I just finished a contract and am looking for my next challenge.

Coach:  What are your options?

PM:  I've been approached about a couple of opportunities in my desired location.

Coach:  What are your current obstacles?

PM:  Nothing is standing in my way.  I do need to land my next gig fast for cash flow purposes.  Thank G*d that I am in a good position financially.

Coach:  How will you move forward?

PM:  Continue to pursue opportunities in my desired locations - if I haven't landed well in three weeks, open a national job search.

Observations:

This model makes coaching sessions easy - and helps the coach to step back and allow the person being coached to do most of the talking

1. The GROW model works just fine for self-coaching sessions
2. Documenting a GROW session allows for easy follow up
• Illustrates changing goals
• Tracks progress against goals
• Identifies obstacles that the coach may be able to help eliminate

I recommend this model to any PM for use with project team members.

AboutProjectManagement's Anki Project - Part 3: Shared Decks

Continuing to explore the Anki Flashcard system, today's post introduces shared card decks.

Anki is a great tool to start with. Active recall testing and spaced repetition make Anki more efficient than traditional study methods. Anki's repository of shared decks makes Anki that much more valuable by allowing me to browse decks that others have created and download those that I wish to study.

To find shared decks (including our AboutProjectManagement.com decks - subject of a later post) select download in Anki and search by the desired deck's name/subject.



As you can see, I just uploaded AboutProjectManagement.com's deck - only 14 facts so far. More about this in part 4 of our continuing series.

Teaser: I'm thinking of doing a series of posts covering my favorite tools for Project Managers, Anki will certainly be one of those tools.