The IGROW Coaching Model
GROW's most common criticism is that it sets a goal before anyone has agreed what the real issue is. IGROW fixes that with one added step at the very front.
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Quick answer
IGROW stands for Issue, Goal, Reality, Options, Will. It's the standard GROW model with one step inserted at the very front: before setting a goal, the manager lets the rep name the actual issue on their mind, unfiltered, in their own words. It's generally credited in coaching literature to Anthony Grant, and it exists specifically to answer GROW's most common criticism โ that it moves to goal-setting before anyone has agreed what the real topic even is.
IGROW is a direct extension of the original GROW model โ Goal, Reality, Options, Will โ with a single "Issue" step added at the very start. It's generally credited in coaching literature to Anthony Grant, whose academic work on reflective practice and note-taking in coaching discussed the value of letting a presenting issue surface fully before shaping it into anything as formal as a goal. The addition responds to a specific, frequently made critique of GROW: that starting with "what's your goal?" quietly assumes the coach and coachee already agree on what they're even talking about, which isn't always true, especially when a rep walks in frustrated, confused, or upset about something they haven't fully articulated yet.
The five steps, in a manager's actual words
Issue comes first and is deliberately open-ended: "what's on your mind?" or "what's actually going on?" โ and then genuinely listening without redirecting toward a goal yet. This step gives a rep room to name something messy or emotional before it gets structured.
Goal only comes once the issue is out in the open, and now it's a much more natural question: "given that, what would you want to be different?"
Reality, Options, and Will run exactly as they do in plain GROW โ establishing the honest current state, generating real alternatives, and committing to a specific next action.
Issue โ let it surface first
Goal & Reality โ shape it, face it
Options & Will โ same as GROW
Where it fits, and where it doesn't
IGROW earns its extra step when the topic genuinely isn't settled yet โ a rep coming off a bad call they haven't processed, a vague sense that something's off without a clear cause, a conversation the manager suspects is going to run emotional before it runs practical. It's unnecessary overhead for a routine, already-understood coaching topic โ if both people already know exactly what they're discussing, adding an Issue step just delays getting to the parts that matter. And if the emotional stakes are genuinely high, not just a bit unclear, STEPPPA's explicit focus on emotional commitment goes further than IGROW's single added step.
Reading about it isn't the same as running it
The hard part of the Issue step is resisting the urge to jump in early โ most managers, hearing a rep start to name a problem, instinctively want to help, redirect, or reassure within the first sentence. Actually letting the issue surface, fully, before moving to Goal takes real restraint, and restraint isn't something a manager gets from reading that the step exists. It's built through practicing the pause, live, enough times that it stops feeling unnatural. See The Practice Gap for the fuller argument.
Practicing IGROW with AI roleplay
Frontline Coach ships IGROW as one of 8 built-in coaching frameworks, alongside GROW and CLEAR. A manager can rehearse the Issue step โ resisting the pull to redirect too early โ against a simulated rep, and get scored on it, with results visible on the analytics dashboard. Ask Coach gives reps a place to work through an issue on their own terms before a formal coaching session even happens. See pricing for plan details.
Frequently asked questions
What does IGROW stand for?
Issue, Goal, Reality, Options, Will โ GROW with one extra step inserted at the very front. Before naming a goal, the manager lets the rep name the actual issue on their mind, in their own words, without immediately reframing it as a goal.
Who created the IGROW model?
IGROW is generally credited in coaching literature to Anthony Grant, an academic known for research on reflective practice and note-taking in coaching. It's presented as a direct extension of the original GROW model rather than a separate invention โ the added 'Issue' step responds to a specific, well-known critique of GROW.
What problem does the Issue step actually solve?
GROW's biggest common criticism is that it moves to goal-setting too quickly, before the coach and coachee have even agreed what the real topic is. A rep who's frustrated or upset often needs to say what's actually bothering them before they can productively reframe it as a goal โ jumping straight to 'so what do you want to achieve here' can feel dismissive if the rep hasn't been allowed to just name the problem first.
Is IGROW better than plain GROW?
Not universally โ it's better specifically when the topic isn't already clear or when emotions are running a bit high, and unnecessary overhead when it is clear. A manager opening a routine, already-understood coaching topic doesn't need an Issue step; a manager walking into a conversation they know is going to be tense probably does.
Can I practice running an IGROW conversation with AI roleplay?
Yes. Frontline Coach ships IGROW as one of 8 built-in coaching frameworks, so managers can rehearse the Issue step specifically โ letting a rep vent or name a problem without jumping straight to solution mode โ against a simulated rep, scored on execution.
Keep reading
The GROW Coaching Model: Goal, Reality, Options, Will
The most widely used coaching framework in the world, and why it works as well for reps as executives.
The CLEAR Coaching Model: Contract, Listen, Explore, Action, Review
GROW's contracting-first cousin, built for a single, tightly scoped coaching conversation.
The OSCAR Coaching Model: Outcome, Situation, Choices, Actions, Review
A solution-focused framework that spends less time on the problem and more on what happens next.