GROW Model: Options – Creating Alternative Courses of Action
In GROW’s Options stage, new possibilities replace old limitations and doubt surfaces. Explore ways to expand choices in coaching
In coaching, the Options stage of the GROW Model is when new possibilities start to replace old limitations. This is also when familiar doubts often show up:
- It can’t be done.
- They’d never agree to that.
- We don’t have the time or budget.
Each of these thoughts might sound reasonable, but they quietly block creative thinking. Good coaching holds off on judgment just long enough for new options to appear.
One simple but powerful way to help is to ask:
What if there were no obstacles – what would you do then?
As new obstacles come up, the coach keeps asking, “What if…?”
What if you had the budget?
What if you already knew the answer – what would it be?
By setting aside self-criticism for a moment, the coachee can think more freely. Obstacles often seem less rigid and easier to handle, especially when others share their ideas too.
Challenging Hidden Assumptions: The Nine Dots Exercise
The well-known nine dots exercise shows how our own assumptions can limit our choices. Most people eventually notice the hidden rule they made up: you have to stay inside the square.
Once you let go of that assumption, the problem can be solved. If you try again with fewer lines, new assumptions pop up, showing how easily we create invisible limits.
This is just like the Options stage: noticing our assumptions and making a conscious effort to widen our choices.
Expanding the Field of Options
You can expand your options by:
- Thinking from the mindset of someone the coachee admires
- Stepping into a rarely used sub-personality
- Creating and exploring a metaphor for the situation without mapping it back too soon
When coachees run out of ideas, a coach can offer to brainstorm in a relaxed way, helping the coachee feel more creative and resourceful.
The goal in the Options stage is not to make a decision.
It’s to open up possibilities.
All Performance Consultants programs use the GROW model as well as other proprietary IP like the Performance Curve (TM). Our approach gives leaders and coaches practical tools to improve performance, build accountability, and create lasting change.
- GROW Essentials™ is a digital coaching skill course for frontline managers who want to build confidence and use coaching in daily work conversations.
- Transformational Leader™ is our flagship leadership development program for professionals who want to embed coaching in their leadership style, build and sustain a coaching-led culture, and achieve sustainable high performance.
- Coaching for Safety Performance™ and GROW Safety™ are our pioneering specialist programs for Health & Safety leaders and HROs.
- Looking to become a certified coach? Performance Coach (Certification) is a professional coaching qualification for both aspiring and experienced coaches who want depth, credibility, and real-world impact.
See our next dates and find the program that best fits your goals, goals, and desired impact.
