Book review: You Already Know How to Be Great

In my view / 05 January 2012

Alan Fine created the GROW model for improving performance 25 years ago. His latest book expands on his theories in insightful new ways, says Darren Mahon

Alan Fine’s latest book concentrates on how to improve performance, in the context of life at work and in the home, by using a simple four-step process to identify and remove obstacles that get in the way.

The basic premise is that we don’t benefit from increasing our knowledge alone: this can be considered an "outside in" approach to performance improvement, and this actually creates "interference". This can mean that we do not perform as well as our potential would ordinarily allow.

Instead, Fine argues, we should consider moving towards thinking "inside out" when looking to improve our performance as individuals or improving the performance of employees that we manage.

Fine developed the process of GROW (Goal, Reality, Options and Way Forward) 25 years ago. I have personally come across this model a few times as a leader in various organisations, and so had an understanding of its purpose, but only perhaps in part.

In You Already Know How to Be Great, Fine takes us through the basics of personal performance using examples from his extensive career as a sports and business coach to illustrate how to use the GROW process. He’s able to do this in an interesting and insightful way, as he comprehensively explains the wisdom behind GROW.

Importantly, the message of GROW being a scalable process comes across very clearly, as does the usefulness of following this process.

Darren Mahon on You Already Know How to Be Great

Fine also looks at what can get in the way of what he terms "breakthrough performance", and how this interference can be removed.

Importantly, the message of GROW being a scalable process comes across very clearly, as does the usefulness of following this process.

What at first feels like a leap of faith (or, using Fine’s language, a "paradigm shift") – accepting that knowledge is not king – becomes a comprehensive way to view how we can all improve performance.

The GROW process is further clarified by simple diagrams used to show what happens when obstacles get in the way of the focus required to achieve results, and what happens when these are removed. Emphasis is placed on an individual owning their own goals, and this is applied to teams, so that the manager as coach can step back and not add to interference getting in the way of improvement.

All of us as managers, team members or family members could look to this book and learn valuable lessons about performing at our best in any given situation.

You Already Know How to Be Great is out now from Piatkus Books, £12.99