“R for Reality: explore the current situation”
The second coaching phase of the GROW-model
The most important criterion for examining the current situation is objectivity. Most people think they are objective but in reality they are not. Nobody is. Absolute objectivity doesn’t exist. We can only have partial objectivity.
There are many things that can and will cloud your, and your coachee’s objectivity including opinions, expectations, fear and prejudices. But the more we aim to be objective, the more we will be.
So it’s your challenge to come as close as possible to reality, by-passing as many distortions as possible. As a coach, you should help your coachee to remove as many false assumptions as possible.
An important step
Explore the real nature of the problem by asking your coachee to describe their perceived current reality. This is an important step. Too often, people try to solve a problem without fully considering their starting point – and often they are missing some of the information they need to solve the problem effectively. All too often, as your coachee tells you about his current Reality, the solution starts to emerge.
