G.R.O.W by using Goals
We recently had the opportunity to chat to British and Irish Lion, England and Saracens rugby player Jamie George in an exclusive interview. Jamie shared his experiences and rise to professionalism, and with that, how being honest with himself and setting clear goals became the corner stone to his sustained growth both on and off the pitch.
When Jamie fell out of favour as a young player, he created two distinct goals:
To be the fittest front rower in the world
To best line out thrower to play the game
He knew that he could work on line out throwing when he was at home and then every day at training, and in terms of fitness he ultimately needed to just knuckle down get the work done.
Jamie went on to become a British and Irish lion and 6 nations champion. He played in a world cup final and has won numerous Premiership and European trophies with Saracens. Of course his ability to work his way into the above mentioned teams is not solely down to the two goals that he set himself, however, it is the discipline to create goals and follow them through that has created long term sustained success.
Without realising it Jamie applied the GROW model, developed in the 1980s by business coaches Graham Alexander, Alan Fine, and Sir John Whitmore. Conceptually it is the planning of a journey, using the following steps:
Goal
Reality
Opportunity
Win
Jamie unknowingly began this process when he got dropped as a young player, so he identified who he wanted to become by setting himself goals. This then gave him clarity on the behaviours that he needed to live. He had to apply himself to practice and repetition, dedicate himself completely to his craft both in the team environment and at home and identify how he could use his goals as an opportunity. His win had always been his relentless passion for the game.
We are all facing a huge amount of unpredictability, all trying to find the best way to manage the challenges we face, both internal and external as a result of the pandemic. Setting yourself goals, however big or small, focuses the mind, gives you something to work towards and allows you to focus on the things you can control which, given the current context we all live in, is something we should all hold onto.
“I think goals, should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time”- Michael Phelps
Tom Bednall
Commercial Director