GROW for Difficult Conversations™
From avoidance to action. Difficult conversations training that gives managers the skills and confidence to drive measurable performance.
The conversations leaders often avoid are the ones that define performance and culture.
Most managers are never taught how to have difficult conversations well. When a challenge arises (underperformance, tension, a safety concern, a failing relationship), the default behaviours are to avoid, to fix, to tell, or to rescue. None of these work.
GROW for Difficult Conversations™ is a game-changing program built on over 40 years of Performance Consultants’ coaching and leadership expertise. Managers learn the mindset, language and framework they need, then practice difficult conversations with an AI avatar until it feels natural. Difficult conversations that really matter become moments of genuine growth.
What avoidance actually costs
When managers avoid difficult conversations at work, the impact shows up everywhere – in dashboards, turnover, and the bottom line.
Proven at scale
What’s included
GROW for Difficult Conversations™ is a blended learning journey designed to build real skill not just understanding. It can be delivered as a standalone program or as a module within a broader leadership development journey.
Performance Studio – practice difficult conversations in private
Before the conversation that could change everything, there is a place to rehearse it safely. Performance Studio is our AI-powered practice space built on the GROW framework, not a generic chatbot, where managers can repeat scenarios privately, without peer pressure, until they have the instinct and confidence to handle the real moment.
- Built on GROW – not a generic LLM
- Enterprise-grade privacy by design
- Fully immersive AI avatar
- Private practice for the real conversation
- Runs inside Performance Hub – no new platform
- Measurable retention and skill development
Built for the managers who carry the culture
GROW for Difficult Conversations™ is designed for organizations that want their people managers equipped to handle the moments that matter, not just instructed on what to say but skilled in how to think, listen, and lead.
WHAT PARTICIPANTS GAIN
Learning outcomes
GROW for Difficult Conversations™ training equips managers to:
- Shift from avoidance to confident engagement with difficult situations
- Hold performance, behaviour, and relationship conversations without damaging trust
- Apply the GROW framework to open conversations rather than close them
- Lead with curiosity instead of judgement under pressure
- Help their people take ownership, so the behaviour change actually sticks
- Use instinct not just insight to deal with difficult conversations
Simple, scalable licensing
Includes access to the Performance Studio.
Book a demo for a tailored quote.
per cohort INTRODUCTORY OFFER 50-seat starter cohort licensed annually. Get your first cohort started at launch pricing.
per seat ENTERPRISE & SCALE Pricing scales down as your rollout grows. Organization-wide deployments and custom enterprise agreements.
Frequently asked questions
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Is GROW for Difficult Conversations™ a standalone program or part of a broader journey?
Both. It can be delivered as a focused standalone program for organizations with a specific and immediate need. For example, a team navigating a period of change, or a manager population that needs to strengthen their feedback and performance conversation skills. It also integrates seamlessly as a module within a broader GROW Leader Coach journey. We will help you scope the right approach during your demo.
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How is this different from a general communication skills training?
Most communication skills training builds awareness – it tells you what to do differently. GROW for Difficult Conversations™ builds instinct through structured practice. The program is grounded in the GROW framework and 40+ years of coaching methodology. It includes AI-supported practice so that managers can rehearse the specific conversation ahead, not just a generic scenario. The result is behaviour change, not just insight.
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What is Performance Studio and is it included?
Performance Studio is our AI-supported practice environment – a private space where managers can rehearse difficult conversations with a fully immersive AI avatar before the real moment arrives. The Performance Studio is included in the program. It runs inside our Performance Hub platform, so there is no separate tool for your L&D team to manage.
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How long is this difficult conversations training?
The program is designed to flex around your organization’s needs. The self-paced digital modules are short and accessible, designed to be completed in the flow of work. Live workshops can be run as a half-day or full-day session. The full blended journey, including Performance Studio practice, typically spans four to six weeks. We will work with you to design a timeline that fits your context.
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How is success measured?
We measure impact at multiple levels: completion and engagement within Performance Hub, skill development tracked through AI avatar interactions, and – where agreed at the outset – downstream KPIs such as engagement scores, retention data, or safety incident rates. Our track record includes a 34% effectiveness improvement on retention KPIs and a 46% reduction in recorded incidents in comparable deployments. We can scope a measurement approach as part of the pilot design.
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What is the GROW Model?
The GROW coaching framework, co-created by Performance Consultants founder Sir John Whitmore, is one of the world’s most widely used coaching and performance frameworks. The name stands for Goals, Reality, Options, Will. Its power lies in its simplicity and in its pairing with Leader Coach skills. GROW for Difficult Conversations™ applies this proven framework specifically to the moments managers find hardest: the conversations they most often avoid.
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I am an individual, can I access this program?
GROW for Difficult Conversations™ is designed for enterprise deployment. It is built for organizations looking to develop coaching capability at scale, and is not available as an individual licence.
If you are an individual coach looking to deepen your skills we teach these capabilities, and much more, in our Performance Coach Certification program, which is designed specifically for coaches at all stages of their professional development. We would love to welcome you there.
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How much does the program cost?
GROW for Difficult Conversations™ is a coaching program licensed per-seat on an annual basis. Pricing depends on cohort size and delivery options. Organization-wide deployments and custom enterprise agreements start at $45/£35 per seat. For a limited time we are offering a 50-seat starter cohort for $9,995/£7,500, licensed annually. Please contact us or book a demo to receive a scoped proposal for your organization.
Bring a real conversation. We’ll show you what changes
Not a pitch. A 45-minute working session on your situation, with a real scenario from your organization, handled live.
WHY PERFORMANCE CONSULTANTS
The pioneers of the GROW Model
The GROW model was co-created by our founder Sir John Whitmore and is the most recognized coaching framework in the world. Everything we build is grounded in that methodology and four decades of experience transforming leadership in organizations such as IKEA, Mastercard, LVMH, Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, and many more.
We are the authors of Coaching for Performance, the global best-seller that is the foundation of modern coaching practice.
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