Key takeaways
- A coaching model is a simple structure for a coaching conversation. It moves a person from what they want, to where they are, to what they’ll do, while they do most of the thinking.
- GROW (Goal, Reality, Options, Will) is the easiest place to start and fits most workplace coaching conversations.
- Other models add a strength: OSKAR and solution-focused coaching build on what works, CLEAR puts the relationship first, STEPPA brings in emotion, and FUEL and COACH suit leaders coaching their own people.
- No model is best for every conversation. Use GROW for most coaching, OSKAR when someone is stuck and FUEL when a manager opens a performance conversation.
- The same rules apply to AI coaching: an AI coach should follow a clear structure, ask before it tells, and work from the person’s goals and your organization’s own frameworks.
What Is a Coaching Model?
A coaching model is a step-by-step structure for a coaching conversation. It tells the coach which question to ask next, so the person being coached sets the goal, sees their situation clearly and chooses their own next step. Most models are acronyms, which makes the steps easy to remember in the moment.
“Coaching model” and “coaching framework” mean much the same thing, and this guide uses both.
Almost every model shares five moves:
- Agree the focus: what the person wants from this conversation.
- Understand the situation, in their words, before anyone suggests a fix.
- Widen the options before narrowing them.
- Commit to a next step, with a date.
- Review it later: check back on what happened.
A model keeps a conversation from drifting into advice-giving or venting, and it gives managers across an organization one shared way to coach. It also makes coaching easier to teach and to practice.
The GROW Coaching Model
The GROW model is a four-step coaching model: Goal, Reality, Options and Will (also called Way forward). It was created in the late 1980s and early 1990s by Sir John Whitmore and his peers, and became widely known through Whitmore’s book Coaching for Performance. Performance Consultants, the firm Whitmore founded, calls it one of the most widely used coaching frameworks.
| Step | What you do | Example question |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Agree what the person wants, from this conversation and longer term | “What would you like to get out of the next 20 minutes?” |
| Reality | Explore where things stand now, with facts | “What’s happening now, and what have you tried so far?” |
| Options | List several ways forward before choosing one | “What could you do? What else?” |
| Will | Commit to specific actions and a date | “What will you do, and by when? From 1 to 10, how committed are you?” |
Use it when: someone has a goal or problem to think through. It’s the natural default for one-on-ones and development conversations. It’s fine to revisit the goal once Reality is clearer.
The OSKAR Coaching Model
OSKAR is a solution-focused coaching model: Outcome, Scaling, Know-how and resources, Affirm and action, and Review. It was developed by Mark McKergow and Paul Z Jackson around the year 2000. Instead of analyzing the problem, it finds what already works and builds on it.
| Step | What you do | Example question |
|---|---|---|
| Outcome | Define success, including the “future perfect” when the issue is solved | “How will you know this conversation has been useful?” |
| Scaling | Rate today on a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 is the future perfect | “Where are you on that scale today?” |
| Know-how and resources | Find what already helps, and when the outcome already happens | “When does it already happen, even a little bit?” |
| Affirm and action | Name the person’s strengths, then agree a small next step | “What would it take to move up one point?” |
| Review | At the next conversation, look at what changed | “What’s better since we last talked?” |
Use it when: someone feels stuck or discouraged, or time is short. Small steps and progress matter more here than root causes.
The CLEAR Coaching Model
CLEAR stands for Contracting, Listening, Exploring, Action and Review. It was developed by Peter Hawkins. Unlike linear models, CLEAR puts the coaching relationship at the center and uses its five principles throughout the conversation, not as a one-way sequence.
| Step | What you do | Example question |
|---|---|---|
| Contracting | Agree the goals, how you’ll work together and the boundaries | “What would make this time worthwhile for you?” |
| Listening | Listen for feelings, beliefs and what isn’t said, and play it back | “What matters most to you in this?” |
| Exploring | Question assumptions and open up new perspectives | “What are you assuming that might not be true?” |
| Action | Turn insights into concrete steps, whenever they appear | “What’s one thing you’ll do differently this week?” |
| Review | Reflect on progress and on the coaching itself | “What helped most today, and what should we change next time?” |
Use it when: trust matters as much as the task: longer coaching relationships, behavior change, sensitive topics or coaching senior leaders.
The STEPPA Coaching Model
STEPPA (sometimes written STEPPPA) comes from coach Angus McLeod. It stands for Subject, Target identification, Emotion, Perception and choice, Plan, Pace, and Adapt or act. Its distinctive step is emotion: it treats the person’s feelings about the goal as a driver to harness.
| Step | What you do | Example question |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Agree the topic | “What would you like to work on?” |
| Target identification | Define the desired outcome | “What result do you want?” |
| Emotion | Check how the person feels about the goal | “What would reaching it mean to you?” |
| Perception and choice | Widen the view and list ways to get there | “How else could you look at this?” |
| Plan | Map the steps | “What needs to happen first?” |
| Pace | Set timing and milestones | “When will you know you’re on track?” |
| Adapt or act | Act now, or rethink first | “Are you ready to start, or does anything need to change?” |
Use it when: the goal is personal and significant, motivation is in doubt, or a past plan stalled, as with a career move.
The FUEL Coaching Model
FUEL is a four-step coaching conversation framework from Zenger Folkman, described in John H. Zenger and Kathleen Stinnett’s book The Extraordinary Coach. Yale School of Medicine, for example, teaches it to its faculty leaders. The steps: Frame the conversation, Understand the current state, Explore the desired state, and Lay out a success plan. It’s built for leaders who coach their own people.
| Step | What you do | Example question |
|---|---|---|
| Frame the conversation | Agree the purpose, process and outcome | “I’d like to talk about the client handoffs. What would you want from this?” |
| Understand the current state | Hear their view first, in detail | “How do you see the handoffs going?” |
| Explore the desired state | Describe what good looks like and ways to get there | “What would a great handoff look like?” |
| Lay out a success plan | Agree actions, milestones and a check-in | “What will you do first, and when should we check in?” |
Use it when: the manager starts the conversation: performance, feedback and career conversations. The opening frame makes it feel like coaching, not a verdict.
The COACH Model
The COACH Model was created by Keith E. Webb. Its five steps are Connect, Outcome, Awareness, Course and Highlights. It’s powered by questions and suits regular coaching, because each conversation opens by following up on the last one.
| Step | What you do | Example question |
|---|---|---|
| Connect | Build rapport and follow up on last time’s action steps | “How did the steps from last time go?” |
| Outcome | Agree the result for this conversation | “What would you like to walk away with today?” |
| Awareness | Reflect together to surface insights | “What’s really going on here?” |
| Course | Turn insights into action steps | “What will you do, and when?” |
| Highlights | Review what was most meaningful | “What was most useful about this conversation?” |
Use it when: coaching is ongoing, as in weekly one-on-ones. Highlights helps learning stick and tells the coach what helped.
Solution-Focused Coaching
Solution-focused coaching is an approach rather than a fixed sequence. It comes from solution-focused brief therapy, developed by Steve de Shazer, Insoo Kim Berg and colleagues in Milwaukee from the late 1970s. It’s future-focused and goal-directed: the conversation is about the solution the person wants, not the history of the problem. OSKAR is built on it.
| Tool | What it does | Example question |
|---|---|---|
| Miracle question | Pictures the problem solved and the first small signs | “If this were solved overnight, what’s the first thing you’d notice tomorrow?” |
| Scaling | Rates progress or confidence | “From 0 to 10, how confident are you?” |
| Exceptions | Finds times the problem could happen but doesn’t | “When is this less of a problem? What’s different then?” |
| Small steps | Agrees the smallest useful action | “What’s one small thing you could do tomorrow?” |
Use it when: a problem is long-running and analyzing it has stopped helping, or confidence is low.
Coaching Models Compared
The models share the same core moves; they differ in where they put the weight.
| Model | Steps | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| GROW | Goal, Reality, Options, Will | Most coaching conversations; a first model for managers | Rushing to Options before Reality is clear |
| OSKAR | Outcome, Scaling, Know-how, Affirm and action, Review | Feeling stuck; short conversations | Skating past real obstacles |
| CLEAR | Contracting, Listening, Exploring, Action, Review | Longer coaching, behavior change, sensitive topics | Needs more skill and time |
| STEPPA | Subject, Target, Emotion, Perception and choice, Plan, Pace, Adapt or act | Goals that need real commitment | More steps to remember |
| FUEL | Frame, Understand, Explore, Lay out | Manager-led performance, feedback and career conversations | Slipping into telling during Explore |
| COACH | Connect, Outcome, Awareness, Course, Highlights | Ongoing one-on-ones | Connect turning into a status update |
| Solution-focused | Miracle question, scaling, exceptions, small steps | Long-running problems, low confidence | Not a substitute for a formal performance process |
Which Coaching Model Is Best? How to Choose
No coaching model is best for every conversation. The best one is a model the coach can use naturally that fits the moment. For most organizations, that means one shared default, usually GROW, plus one or two others for specific situations.
Structure matters because many manager conversations miss the mark. Among nearly 15,000 employees in a study Gallup reported in 2023, only 16% said the last conversation with their manager was extremely meaningful.
For managers
Choose one model for the whole organization so training, practice and language match. GROW suits employee-led one-on-ones; FUEL suits conversations the manager starts. Add OSKAR’s scaling question as a quick check on progress.
For new managers
Teach one simple model, GROW, and three habits: open with the person’s goal, ask two questions before offering any idea, and end with a specific next step and date. Then let them practice on realistic situations before the real ones. Our guide to new manager training has a 90-day program outline.
For performance conversations
Use FUEL. Frame the purpose plainly (“I’d like to talk about the last two deadlines”), hear their view, describe what good looks like and agree a plan with a check-in date. If the issue calls for a formal warning, follow your HR process; coaching can support improvement alongside it. For scripts, see how to have difficult conversations at work.
Quick picks
- Someone is stuck or discouraged: OSKAR or solution-focused coaching.
- A big personal change, such as a career move: STEPPA.
- Long-term or executive coaching: CLEAR.
- Weekly one-on-ones: COACH or GROW.
How Coaching Models Apply to AI Coaching
An AI coach should follow a coaching structure, just as a skilled human coach does. Structure is what separates coaching from a chatbot that answers questions: a path from goal to action, questions before advice and a follow-up.
What to look for:
- A clear structure. It helps the person name a goal, look at the facts, weigh options and commit to a next step, rather than producing an instant answer.
- It asks before it tells. It asks what the person wants and what they’ve tried before suggesting anything.
- It works from the person’s goals. Advice starts from their role, skills and goals, not generic tips.
- It uses your organization’s frameworks. Coaching and practice reflect your competencies, leadership principles and feedback models, and are measured against your standards.
- It follows up. It checks back after the moment: the review step busy people skip.
- It knows when to bring in a person: a mentor, a manager or an expert coach.
Questions to ask a vendor: Which coaching structure does the coach follow, and can you show a sample conversation? Can it use our competency framework or feedback model? Does it check back in afterward? For more, see our guide to AI coaching.
See how Rumi Coach works from each employee’s role, skills and goals
Common Mistakes When Using a Coaching Model
- Using it as a script. Follow the person, not the acronym; steps can loop back.
- Advice disguised as a question. “Have you thought about calling the client?” is still telling.
- Skipping Reality. Jumping to solutions before understanding the situation.
- Vague goals, like “be more strategic.” Ask what it would look like in practice.
- Ending without a commitment: no specific next step and no date.
- No follow-up. The review is where change shows.
- Coaching when someone needs direction. A new hire on day one or a safety issue needs a clear answer.
How Rumi by Chronus Helps Coaching Stick
A model helps a conversation go well; habits make it last. In Rumi by Chronus, Rumi Coach gives advice for this person, in this role, at your company, rather than advice that could apply to anyone.
- Starts from each employee. Their role, skills and goals, and the career move they’re working toward, shared in their own words. Every answer starts from where they are today.
- Reaches out, then follows up. New role, new goal, a difficult conversation on the calendar: Rumi Coach reaches out before the moment with a plan and a Roleplay to practice. Afterward, it checks back in to debrief and set up the next step. Notice, nudge, prep, debrief: coaching becomes a habit instead of an event.
- Your frameworks in practice. L&D and enablement teams build Roleplays with the context, characters and frameworks that make it feel like your company, and assess them on their own training frameworks with readiness levels they set. If you train managers on a coaching or feedback model, you can build practice around it.
- Readiness you can measure, against your own criteria. You see participation and progress in aggregate, never anyone’s private conversations.
- A person when it counts. If you also run Rumi Mentor, Rumi Coach can connect employees with a mentor who has faced the same challenge, or match them with your expert coaches.
Employee conversations with Rumi Coach are private by default. Rumi supports managers and coaches; it doesn’t replace them. To see how a Rumi Coach conversation works, take the platform tour or book a demo.
Frequently Asked Questions About Coaching Models
- What is the GROW coaching model?
GROW is a four-step coaching model: Goal (what the person wants), Reality (where things stand), Options (possible ways forward) and Will (what they’ll do and by when). It was created by Sir John Whitmore and his peers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It’s simple to learn and fits most workplace coaching conversations.
- Which coaching model is best?
No single model is best. GROW is a strong default for most conversations. OSKAR works well when someone is stuck, FUEL when a manager opens a performance conversation, and CLEAR for longer coaching relationships. Pick one shared model for your managers and practice it until it feels natural.
- What’s the difference between a coaching model and a coaching framework?
The terms are mostly used interchangeably. Some people use “framework” for a broader approach, such as solution-focused coaching, and “model” for a specific sequence of steps, such as GROW or OSKAR.
- Is coaching the same as mentoring?
No. A coach helps someone find their own answers by asking questions; a mentor shares experience and advice from having done the work. Many people benefit from both. See coaching vs. mentoring.
- Can an AI coach follow a coaching model?
Yes, and a good one should. Look for an AI coach that moves from goal to action, asks before it suggests, works from the person’s own goals and your organization’s frameworks, and checks back in afterward. Ask any vendor to show you a sample conversation.
