You want to help a colleague achieve her goal. You need a process and a list of key skills. You need GROW LIFE.

GROW is a time-tested, user-friendly process you can use to help your colleague achieve her goal. Your role in using the process is to ask questions, move your colleague through the process, and get your colleague to commit to taking 1-2 doable action steps.

So, what does GROW stand for and what should you ask?

• Goal: What’s your goal?
  
• Reality: What’s going on?
  
• Options: What can you do?
  
• Will do: What will you do?

Take 2 minutes (yes, a full 120 seconds) and memorize what GROW stands for and 1-4 of the questions you should ask. (Did you take a full 120 seconds?) Now, please recite out loud the GROW process and 1-4 of the questions. Thanks. Please keep reading.

In addition to a process (GROW), you need a list of skills. You need LIFE:

• Listening
  
• Inquiring
  
• Focusing
  
• Encouraging

What’s involved in each of these 4 skills?

• Listen fully to your colleague, not to the thoughts in your head. Listen to really understand. And listen at least 80% of the time. Remember, “listen” respelled is “silent.”
  
• Inquire through questions and inviting statements. If you listen a minimum of 80% of the time, you have a maximum of 20% of the time for asking questions (“What’s your goal?”) and for making inviting statements like, “Please talk more about that.” Don’t use the 20% for telling your story or giving advice.
  
• Focus your colleague on achieving her goal through SMART action steps. Move your colleague through the GROW process so that she ends the conversation with 1-2 action steps that she is committed to taking. Don’t let your colleague wander.
  
• Encourage your colleague. How? By paraphrasing, clarifying, and acknowledging progress.

Take action:

1. Memorize what GROW LIFE stands for. Recite out loud what GROW LIFE stands for.
   
2. Explain GROW LIFE to a colleague. Print out and use this article as necessary.
   
3. Use GROW LIFE to help your colleague achieve her goal.

Be a coach. GROW LIFE. Today.

You want to achieve your goal. But it’s just not happening. So many things are going on that you’re having trouble focusing on your goal. You think that if you could get some help, you could get to work on your goal. And with regular doses of support, encouragement, and accountability, you could even achieve your goal.

You don’t need counseling or mentoring. What do you need? Someone to listen to you, ask you good questions, and focus you on your goal. If someone would do this, you could:

• Get organized.
  
• Finish that key project.
  
• Manage your e-mail more effectively.
  
• Reduce your busyness by saying “no” to some requests.
  
• Spend time reflecting on what God is calling you to do.

To achieve your goal, get a coach. Coaching is a relationship in which you receive the support, encouragement, and accountability you need to achieve the goals God has given you. Coaching is different from counseling and mentoring:

• In counseling you focus on healing the past; in coaching you focus on improving the present.
  
• In mentoring, you draw from your mentor; in coaching your coach draws from you.

Does coaching work? Yes!

• Martie Tarter (director of choral music): “Coaching has helped me focus on the most important of the many things that I do.”
  
• John Houlette (mission field director): “Coaching helped me realize that I am not alone in ministry—that someone cares about me and is willing to ask me questions and hold me accountable.”
  
• Ruth Spalink (Student Support Team coordinator): “Coaching helped me lead meetings more effectively.”
  
• Stephen Willson (facilities manager): “Coaching helped me to manage my calendar better.”
  
• Scott Ponzani (communication coordinator): “Coaching has helped me define my goals (like getting a publication done) and keep focused on them.”

To achieve your goal, get a coach. Today.

Good question. Particularly since coaching is different from counseling and mentoring.

• In counseling you focus on healing the past; in coaching you focus on improving the present.
  
• In mentoring, you draw from your mentor; in coaching your coach draws from you.

So, who does what in coaching?

Both the client and the coach:

• Pray.
  
• Attend each coaching session.
  
• Come prepared to each coaching session.
  
• Focus on the client achieving the client’s goals during the coaching session.

The client:

• Takes care of logistics (makes the phone call, arranges a meeting place).
  
• Defines, commits to, and achieves goals.
  
• Shares what s/he is thinking, feeling, and experiencing.
  
• Lets the coach know if something isn’t working.

The coach:

• Provides support, encouragement, and accountability.
  
• Uses effective coaching models like GROW (Goal, Reality, Options, Will do).
  
• Uses effective coaching skills, including listening and inquiry.
  
• Maintains confidentiality.

Now that you know who does what in coaching, what are you going to do?

• If you are interested in getting a coach, what can and will you do to get a coach?
  
• If you are interested in coaching someone, what can and will you do to start coaching?

Get a coach, be a coach, or both. Today.

How? By asking your colleagues good questions. For example, ask:

1. In 1 sentence, what’s your goal?
   
2. If you could accomplish 1 thing this year/month/week, what would it be?
   
3. How is this problem an opportunity?
   
4. How can you address this situation?
   
5. What 3 changes would honor God?
   
6. What 3 things is God calling you to be?
   
7. What 3 dreams do you want to make real?
   
8. What 3 things can you do or be in order to close the gap?
   
9. What 3 indicators best measure your progress?
   
10. What’s your ideal?

Take action:

1. Ask yourself, “How can I use questions to serve others? To lead others?” Write down 5 or more answers.
   
2. Next, ask someone a question. For example, “How can we help students understand and use a biblical perspective?”
   
3. Develop a habit of asking questions. Ask someone a question each day for the next 10 days.

Use questions to serve. Don’t use self-serving questions. Use questions to lead. Don’t use leading questions.

Do you believe in the mission God has called you to? If so, then I believe that you aspire to a great task and that you are willing to do the hard work it takes to accomplish that mission. A coach can help you.

A coach will come along side you and empower you to:

1. Live your values
   
2. Think big
   
3. Think outside the box
   
4. Think clearly
   
5. Improve job performance
   
6. Eliminate frustrations
   
7. Get focused and stay focused
   
8. Get organized
   
9. Get resources
   
10. Get support, encouragement, and accountability
    
11. Define the achievement of your mission in measurable terms
    
12. Measure your current level of mission achievement
    
13. Define goals and specific steps necessary to close the gap between your targeted and current levels of mission achievement
    
14. Use calendar software to map out how to get your goals done
    
15. Use purpose, collaboration, and data to achieve your goals
    
16. Develop scoreboards that measure your progress and increase motivation to achieve your goals
    
17. Achieve your mission
    
18. Develop systems, processes, and policies
    
19. Lead effective meetings
    
20. Increase your students’ understanding and application of a biblical perspective of course content

What are some other ways a coach can empower you?

Interested in getting a coach? If so, answer the following 4 questions:

1. What are 3 key ways you want to be empowered?
   
2. How could coaching help you get empowered?
   
3. What can you do to get a coach?
   
4. What will you do to get a coach?

Interested in coaching others? If so, answer the following 4 questions:

1. What’s your goal for coaching others?
   
2. What are 20 ways you can empower your clients?
   
3. What can you do to start coaching?
   
4. What will you do to start coaching?

Get a coach, be a coach, or both. Today.