G.R.E.A.T. Coaching Model for Wellbeing

A Coaching Model By Jasmine Vincent, Executive Coach, SINGAPORE

The G.R.E.A.T. Effective Model for People Who Want to Live Their Best Life

The G.R.E.A.T. coaching model is inspired by Sir John Whitemore’s “G.R.O.W.” model and the five elements of wellbeing. It is easy to remember and understand, systematic, and can be applied to both personal and professional capacities. It is an effective model for people who want to live their best life and have a measurable way to account for it. As an executive coach, I found this model to be particularly attractive to people driven by the possibilities of their future and are in leadership, sales, and entrepreneurial roles.

The G.R.E.A.T.

G – Goal

Setting the goal is the first step and also the cornerstone of the G.R.E.A.T. coaching model. Studies have shown that when we conceive and visualize our goals, we become emotionally connected to them. We develop an inner sense of self-motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic) and drive. It can also lead to higher confidence, focus, productivity, and eventually success. 

To be successful when we set our goals, we can use George T. Doran’s S-M-A-R-T goal criteria:

• S – Specific
• M – Measurable
• A – Achievable
• R – Realistic
• T – Time-bound

However, the S-M-A-R-T goal setting technique should be applied after we help our clients understand they are “why”. Some questions we can ask are:

• Purpose and Meaning:
  • What is the reason for you to set this goal?
  • What makes it important for you to have this goal?
  • What does it mean for you when you have achieved this goal?
  • What will you gain when you meet this goal?
• Values:
  • How are your values aligned with this goal?
  • Who will be impacted when you achieve this goal and what does it mean for you?
• Strengths (CliftonStrengths assessment is a pre-requisite to answering these questions):
  • How is your goal aligned with your dominant talents?

R – Reality

When our clients come to us, they have to spend a lot of time thinking about their current situation, i.e. their reality. Our role as a coach is to evoke their awareness of what reality means for them. This realization can help uncover their beliefs (perceptions), feelings, and expectations. Some questions we can ask are:

• Where are you right now compared to where you want to be?
• What is currently working for you?
• What is currently missing or not serving you?
• What does this mean for you?
• With this goal, what are you expecting to be different from where you are now?
• What is true about that?

As a coach, we must listen and reflect non-judgementally on our clients’ descriptions of their reality. We also need to be mindful of our body language and facial expressions).

E – Explore

Now that your client has defined the “what” and “why” of their goal and developed awareness of their reality, we help them explore the gaps between where they want to be and where they are now. With that, they can develop clarity and put together a plan to achieve their goal.

It is essential to know that some clients may be excited while others may feel overwhelmed at this point. How they respond is related to how they are naturally wired to think, feel and behave. Having a good understanding of their CliftonStrengths will make a difference in understanding your client’s perceptions and emotions. Here are some examples:

• Someone high (i.e. that talent ranked high on their CliftonStrengths 34 report) on the Futuristic® and Activator® talent theme will be excited about the possibilities the future may present and is eager to jump into action without needing to have all the information.
• Someone high on the Restorative® talent theme may be discouraged to realize that they have not solved the needful to reach their goal.
• Someone high on Intellection® and Deliberative® talent themes may want to think deeply about the gaps to make sure their solution covers any risks.
• Someone high on Maximizer® talent theme may feel overwhelmed with the need to do quite a fair bit to cover the gaps because they want to ensure that the result is excellent.

As we facilitate our client’s thinking and clarity on achieving their goal, we can help them become more focused, confident and have a more significant potential for success. Some questions  we can ask are:

• What are some possibilities (this is the long list)?
• What options (this is the shortlist) will you consider?
• What will you decide on (this is the chosen option), and how does this impact you (and others)?
• What do you need (skills, experiences, resources, habits) to reach your goal?
• How do you feel about your chance of success?
• How does your plan map against your strengths?
• How do you feel now?

A – Actions

Most clients will be pretty keen to take action once they develop clarity. However, the demands of life and pressures at work can slow us down or, even worse, derail us. Such distractions can result in procrastination and confusion. It is pertinent that we facilitate our client’s thinking at the onset on the potential challenges that may get in the way of their success and how they can deal with them. The idea is to get them to commit to their action plan rather than try. Some questions are:

• What are the possibilities that your lesser talents may get in the way of your success?
• What are potential roadblocks?
• What do you need to do to mitigate these potential obstacles or challenges?
• How will you hold yourself accountable to stay focused on your plan?
• What will you gain when you take these actions?
• How will you celebrate once you have achieved your goal?

Sometimes, clients may have their action plans in place, but they may feel overwhelmed as they take action. The feeling is akin to the sense that the summit is very far away or not even visible when they climb their mountain. As their coach, we can help them break down the tasks into smaller steps and check off the list, one at a time, just as how we summit the mountain by focusing on smaller milestones along the way.

T – Thrive: The Goal of Wellbeing

The G.R.E.A.T. coaching model is designed to take the client from their goal exploration to thriving in their personal and professional life. When we are thriving, we live our best possible life, and it has a positive impact on ourselves and the people around us. Gallup’s research also showed that when a person focuses on their strengths (and that of others) to achieve their goal, it will lead them to thrive: they are 6x more likely to do what they do best every day, 6x more likely to be engaged in their jobs and 3x as likely to have an excellent quality of life.

To know if we are thriving (the goal of wellbeing), we can benchmark against the five elements of wellbeing defined by Martin Seligman and Gallup.

To know where they stand, clients can assess themselves regularly (e.g. every month, quarter, or year) by scoring where they are. An average score of:

• 1-3 represents that they are struggling
• 4-6 represents that they are surviving
• 7-10 represents that they are thriving

As your client review their wellbeing scores over time, they will be able to see how the realization of their goals has served them.

G.R.E.A.T. Coaching Model Can Be Applied to Both Personal and Professional Capacities

I hope you have found the G.R.E.A.T. coaching model to be easy to remember and understand, systematic, and can be applied to both personal and professional capacities. The foundation of this coaching model is our strengths. When we capitalize on what makes us unique and where we can contribute the most, we can achieve a higher potential for success, happiness, and wellbeing.