VALIDATE: Path to Progress | Workplace Transition Coaching – ACTIV Coaching Framework
- carolmastrofini
- Sep 30
- 5 min read
📌 Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2025 and has been updated for clarity, SEO, and alignment with the latest version of the ACTIV framework.
Every journey begins with a goal—something you hope to create, become, or achieve. In workplace transition 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 framework, 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 Coaching Framework: A Compass for Workplace Transition Coaching
ACTIV: A Framework for Navigating Workplace Transitions
The ACTIV model supports individuals, leaders, and organizations through change with clarity and purpose. It includes five phases:
ACCESS – Reconnect with your values, motivations, and deeper goals to uncover what truly matters.
CHOOSE – Make intentional decisions that reflect who you are and where you want to go in your workplace transition.
TAILOR – Shape the coaching process to your evolving needs, strengths, and preferences.
IMPLEMENT – Take action with clarity and confidence, putting your chosen path into motion.
VALIDATE – Reflect on progress, celebrate wins, and refine the plan to stay aligned with your goals.
Every ACTIV phase builds on the last. But it all begins with ACCESS—where reflection turns into direction. Through workplace transition coaching – ACTIV coaching framework, you gain both structure and flexibility to navigate change with clarity and purpose.
💡Why VALIDATE Matters in Career Transitions
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 Coaching 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. On paper, this was his next logical step.
But when Matthew and I sat down in coaching, he admitted he felt conflicted.
“I should be motivated by this opportunity,” he said, “but instead I feel tired and overwhelmed.”
He went on to share how his energy had shifted:
“In the past I was ready to start a new day and actually looked forward to going to work. Now I dread Monday mornings.”
We had deep discussions around these feelings. Getting past what he thought he should feel and into what he was actually experiencing. This is where the truth began to emerge.
Matthew realized that while he had the skills to lead, he wasn’t energized by the responsibilities that management often brings. This was especially true when making difficult or unpopular decisions that impacted people he cared about.
What energized him most was building connection, offering encouragement, and watching his peers grow.
Although it seemed like we were in the IMPLEMENT phase of his career transition, coaching invited him to pause and VALIDATE: Does this path align with who I am?
It didn’t.
Matthew made a powerful and intentional choice. He stepped off the management track and stepped into a different kind of leadership—mentoring colleagues, leading growth circles, and becoming a trusted resource for encouragement.
VALIDATE gave him clarity. Leadership didn’t have to mean supervision, it could mean walking alongside others and guiding them to success. For Matthew, that alignment brought back the energy and sense of purpose he thought he had lost.
Taking Ownership of the Process
By the time you reach VALIDATE, you believe you’ve shaped a career path that aligns with your values and goals. This phase is where you confirm that alignment. If something feels off—whether it’s an energy shift, an emotional signal, or new doubts, the process brings that misalignment to the surface. Without coaching and the earlier phases of ACTIV, it’s easy to ignore those signs and stay on a path that leads to unhappiness and regret.
Coaching helps you tune into what your body and emotions are telling you about your actions and direction so you can course-correct early. Sometimes that means recognizing that goals have shifted, that you understand your role or career differently, or that a life change has reshaped your priorities.
We’re often taught to believe that life is a straight line and that any change in plans, goals, or career path is a failure. But that’s not true. Failure is staying on a path that leads to regret and unhappiness. Each time you learn and course-correct, you’ve reached a milestone, one far more important than a career milestone. It’s a life milestone. Over time it leads to a more fulfilled personal and professional life.
VALIDATE gives you the space to celebrate when things are aligned or the tools to adjust with confidence, whether during coaching or long after it ends.
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.
Because growth doesn’t happen on a set schedule, you’ll revisit VALIDATE often. You’ll return 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 a client’s journey through all five phases of the ACTIV coaching framework. They’ll pause to ACCESS what truly mattered, make intentional choices in CHOOSE, shape a unique path in TAILOR, act with purpose in IMPLEMENT, and return to VALIDATE 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
