Coaching & 1:1s

One-on-ones and coaching conversations are where individual growth happens. This section covers frameworks for having meaningful conversations with reports, peers, and mentees—conversations that build capability, clarify goals, and develop people. The difference between a status update and a developmental conversation is structure and intent.

Great coaches ask better questions than they give answers. They help people solve their own problems, discover blind spots, and chart their own path forward. These frameworks provide the scaffolding for those conversations, ensuring you listen more than you talk and leave the other person with clearer thinking, not just directions.

Frameworks Covered

• GROW (Goal-Reality-Options-Will) - A four-step coaching structure: establish the goal, understand current reality, explore options, and commit to action
• Situational Leadership II (Hersey-Blanchard) - Match your leadership style (directive, coaching, supporting, delegating) to the other person's competence and commitment level

When to Reach for This

• You have a report who's stuck or underperforming and need to understand why
• Mentoring someone through a challenge without just solving it for them
• Running regular 1:1s that should be developmental, not just administrative
• You notice someone has high skill but low confidence, or vice versa
• Delegating an important task and wanting to set them up for success

Prerequisites

Foundations, Feedback: the ability to give and receive feedback, and understanding the role of psychology in work