You've mastered asking powerful Goal and Reality questions in GROW coaching. Now comes the exciting part: helping your engineers discover solutions and commit to action.
The Options and Will stages transform insights into results.
Engagement Message
What happens when great technical discussions don't lead to concrete next steps?
The Options stage is about brainstorming possibilities, not immediately judging them. Your role shifts from questioner to creative partner, helping generate multiple potential solutions or architectural approaches.
Resist the urge to evaluate ideas too quickly. Quantity leads to quality in brainstorming.
Engagement Message
Why might premature evaluation kill creative thinking during a system design session?
Effective Options questions open up thinking: "What are all the possible ways you could approach this?" or "If technical debt wasn't a factor, what would you try?"
Push beyond obvious solutions. "What else?" and "What other options might exist?" keep ideas flowing.
Engagement Message
How does asking "What else?" change the depth of technical exploration?
Sometimes engineers get stuck thinking of options. You can help by offering choices rather than solutions: "Would you prefer to focus on improving test coverage or on refactoring the legacy module?"
This guides their thinking without providing your answers. They still own the solution.
Engagement Message
What's the difference between offering choices versus giving advice on a technical approach?
Once you've explored options together, help them evaluate which ones align best with their project goals and technical constraints. "Which of these feels most realistic for the current sprint?" guides practical selection.
Let them choose their path. People commit more strongly to solutions they select themselves.
Engagement Message
