Improve your team’s problem-solving skills

Whether you think of them as problems or challenges – there’s no escaping them. Admin support people, supervisors, managers, sales people, leaders, business owners and executives – everyone has problems to solve.

But it’s easy to get overwhelmed by problems. Or for staff to fall into a rut with their actions, reactions, and decision-making responses.

The GROW model is a very simple but powerful facilitation tool for leaders. It’s particularly beneficial in a one-to-one scenario, as it helps build trust, respect, and rapport. GROW also keeps the team member involved in the problem-solving process, and become invested in finding a solution.

The GROW Coaching Model

• Grow: What’s the challenge that you’re facing? And what’s your required outcome? Set the goal in a way that’s SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely).

Let’s look at a hypothetical example, where the goal is to achieve 15 new sales leads for new homes within the next calendar month.

• Reality: What’s the reality of the situation you’re in?

List any limiting factors or constraints you’re working with.

In our example, the reality is that leads slow down during winter. Also, there’s a glitch with the digital marketing campaign so the new leads have to be generated in person rather than online. • Options: Now it’s time to brainstorm all the different options that are available to solve the problem. Encourage the person you’re coaching to get creative, so there are plenty of options to choose from. And once they’ve listed all their ideas – and only then – ask permission to share a few of your own.

In our example, options could include: – Checking with other business contacts, e.g. mortgage brokers, architects, etc., to see if they have any clients you could contact for leads. – Looking at clients who have bought from you before: reach out to them and ask if there’s an opportunity to work with them again - making sure you have a script ready when you contact them. – Asking the Owner, Managing Director, or senior leadership team if they have any associates, strategic partners, past or existing clients that would be appropriate to contact. – If past clients can’t invest right now, would they be willing to give you a testimonial? Or do they know of any good referrals?

• Way forward: Look at all the options; work out which ones are best; and in which order to tackle them. Because the team member has been involved in the idea generation and decision-making, they should be excited about putting their plan into action.

In our example, there may be 50 to 100 past and potential clients to contact, which should be enough to create the 15 leads set out in the goal. The goal now looks achievable, and with a prioritised list of how to tackle it. The GROW model is simple, effective, and highly motivational. Give it a try!

For more Peak Performance leadership and team training, register for Jason Dinan’s Executive Level Masterclass on 10 June 2021. Jason will also be holding one of the workshops, Building a Strong Sales Architecture on Saturday 12 June, 11:00am to 12:00pm see: https://events.nzcb.nz

Jason Dinan, Executive Coaching & Consulting. With 27 years of leadership experience working in 23 countries, Jason specialises in growing organisations through developing high-performance sales leaders, sales teams and sales strategy. He was the project head for a leading homebuilder in New Zealand, Australia and North America, helping grow annual sales from 47% to 311%.