A Coaching Model Created by Kathryn Yeung
(Leadership Coach, CANADA)
Growing Effective Strengths-based Leadership
My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. Maya Angelou
I so admire the life of Maya Angelou who exemplified how to thrive; she lived with passion, built on her strengths and exhibited so much courage. She was so giving of her talents, acted with humility and vulnerability. These latter traits may, on the surface, be seen as weaknesses however I would argue, and much research would support me, that these are in fact great leadership strengths, true differentiators that lead one to realize their full potential inspiring others along their path.
What does it mean to thrive as a leader or to thrive overall? Well the definition of Thrive as described by the Oxford Dictionary is, “to grow or develop well or vigorously. To prosper or flourish.” This really resonates with me and my approach to identifying an individual’s potential and growing leadership capability.
As a result I have created the Thrive Coaching Model which is focused on leveraging your individual strengths and helping you to flourish in your career. This model is used for Leadership Coaching (also called Career or Executive Coaching) and my clients would generally be people who are struggling in their current role and need some support, identified as having strong future leadership potential or leaders transitioning to a brand new situation (e.g. new role, expanded responsibilities, different location, changing team or manager).
The model that I use is called the Thrive Coaching Model.
What is the Thrive Coaching Model?
The Thrive Coaching Model is designed to help you achieve their goals and further your professional success. My approach revolves around building awareness and clarity, challenging you and providing encouragement and motivation along your growth path. To truly thrive and not merely survive, you will need to be open to new opportunities, demonstrate vulnerability, have a positive attitude, be willing to learn, ensure you have the adequate resources to support your growth, exhibit resilience, and then take action.
Here is the Thrive Coaching Model that we will follow to ensure your Leadership capabilities thrive. I like to think of this model for building your leadership abilities as a growth model; from planning what and how you want to grow to planting the seed, nourishing the seedling, removing any barriers to being able to grow, providing the best fertilizer to support the growth and finally celebrating what has flourished.
The Thrive Model follows these steps:
Target set
Highlight and leverage your strengths
Recognize opportunities and obstacles
Initiate action and create supporting structures
Validate progress and adjust as needed
Evaluate and celebrate achievements
