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5–GROW – Business Meditation 1
30 Plays3 months ago
In this first business meditation of the Unfolding Thought series, Eric Pratum introduces the GROW framework, a simple yet powerful tool for clarifying challenges and taking actionable steps forward.
GROW—an acronym for Goal, Reality, Options, and Way Forward—is widely used by coaches and managers to empower individuals, foster accountability, and generate meaningful solutions. Through a guided exercise, you’ll have the opportunity to apply GROW to your own challenges, uncover new possibilities, and identify your next steps.
Whether you’re a leader, manager, or simply looking to gain clarity in your personal or professional life, this episode will help you unlock the power of focus and intentionality.
Mentioned in the Episode:
- The four phases of GROW: Goal, Reality, Options, and Way Forward.
- How GROW empowers individuals and fosters commitment to solutions.
- Practical questions to uncover challenges, explore options, and commit to action.
Links:
- Learn more about GROW on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GROW_model
Start at the beginning of the series:
- On the website: https://unfoldingthought.com/unfolding-thought/
- YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-WyDzPVJzUqWSGGIM0lSxqk4T-TBmsrQ
- Or by searching for Episode 4, titled Unfolding Thought, in your podcast platform of choice.
Visit the Unfolding Thought website: https://unfoldingthought.com/
Join the Conversation:
Have thoughts or questions about this episode? Reach out to Eric at eric@inboundandagile.com or connect on social media.
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Transcript
Welcome to Unfolding Thought
00:00:05
Speaker
Welcome to Unfolding Thought. I'm Erik Priem. If this is your first time listening to one of these business meditations, I encourage you to go back to the very first episode of the series. There, I explain the purpose and structure of these episodes and how you can get the most out of them. Look up episode four of the Unfolding Thought podcast titled Unfolding Thought in your podcast player, or check the link in the show notes.
Introduction to the Grow Framework
00:00:33
Speaker
Thank you for joining me.
00:00:35
Speaker
Today, I'm going to guide you through a focusing tool called Grow, which is one of the most valuable ways I've found to help people get unstuck and feel empowered without requiring me to get deep into the details of their work or projects. Grow is an acronym that stands for goal, reality, options, and way forward.
00:01:03
Speaker
It's a simple yet powerful framework that coaches and managers use to help others clarify challenges and take action. For this session, I'll act as your mentor or manager, asking you the same questions I would ask if we were working together.
00:01:24
Speaker
As we go, I'll pause so you can really think about the questions I'm asking you and reflect on your answers. If you'd like, feel free to write your thoughts down or actually speak them back to me.
00:01:39
Speaker
Obviously, I won't be able to hear your responses and that's okay. If you really take this 10 minutes seriously, you might come to realize how helpful this framework is, whether you use it on yourself or others.
Visualizing Challenges
00:01:57
Speaker
Now let's begin. it
00:02:01
Speaker
Imagine you've just knocked on my office door at work or called me and asked if I have a few minutes to talk. I want you to envision yourself coming to me to help you find solutions to a challenge you're currently facing. Maybe you have a client that is being problematic. Perhaps you have a direct report that is not delivering.
00:02:30
Speaker
It could even be a challenge outside of work. Pick something specific, however, something you'd like to make progress on, but feel stuck with.
00:03:00
Speaker
Okay. Have you got it? Let's move forward to the first step.
Defining Immediate Goals
00:03:06
Speaker
Goal. Take a minute to answer these questions. What do you want to achieve? This is not the long-term outcome, but the immediate result you're seeking from the situation. What's the problem or challenge you came to me about today?
00:03:42
Speaker
For the sake of illustration, let's say your firm was recently acquired. There are a lot of challenges that can arise there, but why are we talking today? Is your new owner exerting pressure on you you're not comfortable with and you don't know what to do?
00:04:05
Speaker
Were you just told you have to eliminate staff members you've grown to think of as friends or indispensable allies? Whatever your challenge is, answer this question. What is the goal of this conversation with me right now?
Analyzing the Current Situation
00:04:32
Speaker
Let's explore reality. What's been going on? Why is this a problem?
00:05:00
Speaker
What have you tried so far?
00:05:20
Speaker
What were the results?
00:05:41
Speaker
How might others describe this situation?
Brainstorming Actions
00:06:00
Speaker
Now, let's move to options. What could you do to move forward? Think of as many possibilities as you can, even if they seem small or unconventional.
00:06:35
Speaker
If anything were possible, what might you do?
00:06:44
Speaker
If others are involved, what might they need in order for this problem to get their attention?
00:07:10
Speaker
If you were watching this conversation, what recommendations might you make for yourself?
00:07:30
Speaker
Finally, let's focus on the way forward.
Specifying Next Steps
00:07:35
Speaker
What will you do next and be specific? What's the first action you will take to make progress toward this goal?
00:07:55
Speaker
When will you take this action? I need you to commit to a timeline in your mind.
00:08:11
Speaker
How will you go about it?
00:08:25
Speaker
What might get in the way? And how might you overcome that?
Benefits of the Grow Framework
00:08:47
Speaker
Okay, let's step out of the practice portion of this. I hope you got at least a little sense of what Grow can do. It is deceptively simple, but incredibly effective. It's a framework that helps people focus. Let me briefly explain why each of the four phases matters.
00:09:14
Speaker
The goal phase helps you narrow your focus. By defining what success looks like, you create clarity and direction. Everyone's temptation at this stage will be to talk about the larger goal of the project. Don't let yourself fall into that trap. Restrict your thoughts to what the goal today is.
00:09:38
Speaker
The reality phase grounds you in the present. By understanding what's working and what isn't, you can approach the challenge with honesty and insight. As a manager, reality is important so that you can evaluate if your direct report is not seeing some of the best options and also whether they have a realistic goal in the first place.
00:10:06
Speaker
But don't let yourself or your direct report fall into the trap of wallowing in the present. There's only so much that it helps to lament how difficult things are, but you and they need to get specific on what's been going on.
00:10:27
Speaker
The options phase empowers you. And this is where most grow practitioners make their biggest mistake. If you are a manager, parent, or mentor or advisor of some kind, you will be tempted to just make your own recommendations. After all, they came to you looking for advice. Don't they want your suggestions? But don't let this happen.
00:10:57
Speaker
The people closest to a problem often understand it best, know what might work and know what they would be willing to do. So not only should they have the most relevant and most effective solutions, they will also be more convinced of an options value if it came from them rather than from someone else. As Blaise Pascal once said,
00:11:27
Speaker
We are generally the better persuaded by the reasons we discover ourselves than by those given to us by others.
00:11:38
Speaker
Generating solutions ensures your direct report stays proactive and choosing their own path increases their commitment to seeing it through. Finally, the way forward ensures action. It's one thing to have ideas, but without a clear next step, those ideas often go nowhere. Don't let anyone leave this conversation without getting clear what you're going to do and when you're going to do it.
00:12:13
Speaker
When you use grow, you empower yourself and others to take meaningful action without becoming dependent on someone else to solve the problem for them. It's a tool that builds clarity, confidence, and accountability.
Closing and Additional Resources
00:12:31
Speaker
If you'd like to learn more, I've placed links in the show notes. I also encourage you to email me ah eric at.com or to reach out to me on social media. Thank you for your dedication to this. I hope you found it valuable and hope you will join me for the next business meditation.