Inside the Coaching – August Edition
Holding It Lightly: What GROWTH Taught Me About Progress as a Coach.
When I first started using the GROWTH Framework, I clung to it like a lifeline.
I had it printed on a card. I had notes beside me. I mentally checked off each stage—Goals, Reality, Options, and so on—as I went. And it worked… mostly.
But over time, something started to shift.
I noticed that when I stuck too closely to the script, the conversation felt mechanical. I was more focused on getting the “steps right” than being present to the person in front of me.
Then one day, a coachee said, mid-session:
“I feel like we’re talking around what I’m really thinking about.”
Oof. That landed.
Learning to Loosen the Grip
That was the moment I realised something:
To really use a coaching framework or model, you have to be able to set it down.
Not discard it—but hold it lightly.
And to hold it lightly, you first have to know it deeply.
