VALIDATE: Path to Progress

Every journey begins with a goal—something you hope to create, become, or achieve. In coaching, naming that goal is just the beginning. From there, the real work begins: showing up, making decisions, and testing those decisions in real life.

By the time you reach VALIDATE, the final phase of the ACTIV coaching process, you’ve done more than create a plan. You’ve acted on it. You’ve learned from it. And now it’s time to pause and ask: Does this path still align with who I am and where I want to go?

VALIDATE invites you to reflect on the progress you’ve made, make adjustments if needed, and celebrate the milestones you’ve reached along the way. It closes the loop—but it also opens the door to what’s next.

The ACTIV Framework: A Compass, Not a Checklist

The ACTIV framework is designed to guide individuals, leaders, and organizations through workplace transitions with clarity and confidence. Each phase builds on the last:

• ACCESS – Reconnect with your values, motivations, and deeper goals

• CHOOSE – Make decisions that reflect who you are and where you want to go

• TAILOR – Shape a path that fits your unique strengths and circumstances

• IMPLEMENT – Move forward with intention and confidence

• VALIDATE – Reflect, assess, and realign as needed

  
  

We present the phases in this order for ease of understanding—but the process itself is fluid.

Growth doesn’t always happen in a straight line, and neither does coaching. You may find yourself validating a choice in the middle of IMPLEMENT. You may pause to celebrate a win mid-way through TAILOR.

VALIDATE shows up wherever and whenever you need to check alignment, recognize progress, or reroute with intention.

When Progress Doesn’t Feel Like a Straight Line

One of the most powerful things you can do in coaching is admit when something isn’t working. VALIDATE creates space for that kind of honesty.

Maybe your new role looked great on paper—but you’re realizing it doesn't align with your values or energy. Maybe a decision made in CHOOSE led to growth, but now it's time for a shift. That insight is a milestone, too.

The power of VALIDATE is that it normalizes course correction. It reminds us that real progress isn’t about sticking to the original plan. Progress is staying connected to your purpose and having the courage to change direction when needed.

✨Success Looks Like Alignment—Not Perfection

In this phase, we reflect on questions like:

✔️What’s working well?

✔️What’s no longer serving you?

✔️Have your goals, values, or circumstances shifted?

✔️Are you making progress in a way that feels meaningful and sustainable?

We also pause to celebrate. Often, we forget to recognize the smaller wins: a clear boundary set, a mindset shift, a difficult conversation handled with confidence. These moments matter. They’re evidence that you’re growing, even if the destination has changed.

📜 VALIDATE in Action: Matthew’s Story

Matthew was thriving in his role—high-performing, well-liked, and respected by his peers. His company recognized his potential and invited him into a fast-track management training program. This was a clear sign of his company’s trust and willingness to invest in Matthew’s future. On paper this was his next logical step.

Coaching gave Matthew space to pause. As we worked through the early stages of the ACTIV process—ACCESS and CHOOSE—he started to reflect more deeply on what fulfillment meant to him.

Through Guided Exploration, he realized something important: while he had the skills to lead, he wasn’t energized by the kinds of responsibilities that management often brings—especially the need to make difficult or unpopular decisions that could affect people he cared about.

Matthew valued connection, encouragement, and the growth of his peers. He thrived in environments where he could be a supportive presence and help others rise. He was not energized by managing them, but by mentoring them.

What truly fulfilled Matthew was helping others succeed. He liked being liked—not in a superficial way, but because mutual respect and positivity made him feel most at home in his work.

Although it seemed like we were in the IMPLEMENT phase of his career transition, we went to VALIDATE. It was time to reassess whether the path he was on truly aligned with his values and who he truly was.

It didn’t.

Matthew made a powerful and intentional choice. He stepped off the management track and stepped into a different kind of leadership—one grounded in mentorship and peer development. He began mentoring colleagues, leading professional growth circles, and becoming a go-to resource for insight and encouragement.

VALIDATE gave Matthew clarity. He saw that leadership doesn’t have to follow one path. It can mean guiding others without directing them. It can mean offering support instead of supervision. It can mean encouraging growth while walking alongside, not leading from above.

And in doing so, Matthew found professional success and a sense of purpose was right for him.

Taking Ownership of the Process

By the time you reach VALIDATE, coaching becomes fully yours. You’ve developed the ability to:

✅Reflect honestly

✅Recognize what’s working

✅Adjust when needed

✅Celebrate without rushing on to the next thing

You’re no longer just responding to transition—you’re shaping it.

The Journey Doesn’t End Here

VALIDATE doesn’t mean you’ve arrived. It means you’re ready to keep moving forward—more aligned, more aware, and more equipped than before.

And because growth doesn’t happen on a set schedule, you’ll revisit VALIDATE often. You’ll come back to these questions when circumstances change, when new opportunities arise, and when you’re ready to take your next leap.

This phase teaches you how to own your journey—not just in coaching, but long after it ends.

📌 What’s Next: A Real Coaching Journey Through ACTIV

In our next series, we’ll follow one client’s journey through all five phases of the ACTIV coaching framework—from the moment they paused to ACCESS what truly mattered, to the moments they IMPLEMENTed real change, VALIDATEd it in real time, and adjusted course with confidence.

You’ll see that coaching is not a checklist—it’s a dynamic process that adapts as you grow.

📍Stay tuned for Part One: ACCESS – Reconnecting with What Matters Most