A Transformational Coach catalyzes growth, empowering individuals and organizations to reach their fullest potential. This role combines personal development with organizational success, emphasizing emotional intelligence, self-awareness and resilience to help leaders navigate challenges and inspire their teams.
Dr. Yvette Ankrah MBE, the Director and Transformational Coach, employs tailored approaches to address specific leadership challenges. These include personalized coaching sessions, experiential learning and workshops that promote collaboration. By developing trust and open communication, she creates an environment conducive to continuous growth.
She implements effective strategies such as goal-setting frameworks and performance feedback loops to enhance accountability. She believes that team-building exercises and conflict resolution are essential for improving cohesion and productivity.
Integral to Dr. Yvette’s approach is visionary thinking, encouraging leaders to articulate a compelling future. By promoting innovative ideas and embracing change, she aligns personal values with organizational objectives. She is committed to cultivating leadership excellence through a comprehensive framework that inspires leaders to lead with purpose and clarity.
Techniques for Building Trust in Leadership Teams
Dr. Yvette has over two decades of leadership experience, beginning as a non-executive director on a charity board after various volunteer roles ignited her passion for leadership. She progressed into senior positions and established an independent coaching career.
For nearly ten years, she worked solo before founding Leading with C.L.A.R.I.T.Y., which offers leadership development training, coaching, board development, and organizational transformation.
Now leading a team of eight coaches and trainers, Dr. Yvette supports corporate and public sector organizations in developing their staff. Recognized with an MBE for her contributions to women’s advancement in business, she focuses on empowering others in their leadership journeys, drawing insights from client interactions.
Creating Empowering Work Environments
Dr. Yvette leads a value-driven organization where her personal values—integrity, belonging, quality, compassion, joy, fairness, and collaboration—align seamlessly with the business ethos. These values guide operations and influence partner selection, as she believes true transformation occurs when organizations view their staff as their greatest asset.
The Dr. Yvette team designs bespoke programs that develop environments where individuals feel valued and empowered. They create essential spaces for staff to express themselves, reflecting their passion through engagement and positive outcomes. For her organization, these values are crucial for fostering collaboration and mutual support among team members.
A Holistic Approach to Wellness
Dr. Yvette is a strong advocate for self-care, emphasizing its vital role in mental and physical well-being. She challenges the misconception that self-care is limited to indulgent activities like spa days, advocating for a robust understanding. Her approach includes practices such as gratitude, breathwork and regular reflection.
Drawing on techniques like meditation and the Emotional Freedom Technique, she centers herself on thinking clearly and identifying solutions to challenges. She recognizes that answers can often be within reach, but sometimes seeking support from others is essential for true growth and well-being.
Establishing a Strong Mentoring Relationship
Dr. Yvette received her first mentor at the age of 16 and has maintained a mentoring relationship throughout much of her career. She believes that mentors are crucial for career success, as they provide invaluable support, guidance and access to opportunities that may otherwise be unavailable.
When mentoring others, she prioritizes establishing a strong relationship and a clear contract with her mentees. She is always willing to share her knowledge and network and derives great joy from witnessing the success of those she mentors.
Innovating through Diverse Industry Knowledge
Dr. Yvette and her team are committed to continuous personal and professional growth, actively engaging with books, podcasts, and conferences to inspire new ideas. They foster a culture of open communication, encouraging every team member to share their perspectives, which builds trust among colleagues.
She emphasizes experimentation, promoting regular review and reflection to iterate on their efforts. She values vulnerability, creating a safe space for team members to take risks and learn from failure, as creativity flourishes in fear-free environments.
Additionally, the team draws on skills and knowledge from various industries, enhancing their innovative thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
Connecting Women Leaders across Levels
Dr. Yvette and her team have created programs to support emerging and established women leaders, advocating for dedicated spaces within organizations for these initiatives. These programs facilitate the exploration of relevant issues, solution generation and community building.
Mentoring is vital, alongside sharing success stories from women who have navigated similar paths. She highlights the disconnect often seen between senior leaders and junior staff, emphasizing the need to bridge these gaps. As a diverse all-female team, they bring a wealth of experience to empower women leaders effectively.
Implementing Inclusive Team Practices Effectively
Dr. Yvette leads a diverse team and her background as a British Ghanaian with a PhD focused on race, class and belonging significantly informs their practices. The team’s ethos centers around the concept of belonging, emphasizing the importance of creating a safe environment where individuals feel welcomed, can access resources and sense that they truly belong.
Dr. Yvette ensures that the team remains informed about relevant legislation and evolving techniques that support individuals with additional needs. She also highlights the growing importance of neurodiversity in leadership, recognizing it as a critical area of focus for their work.
Developing Inner Leadership for Effective Guidance
Dr. Yvette hopes that individuals will retain the messages of self-care, self-compassion and inner leadership as foundational elements in their journey to effectively lead others. She aspires to be recognized as someone who has empowered others to enact positive change in the world, fostering deeper connections and enhanced well-being.
Currently, she is writing a book, aiming for it to be a valuable resource available on the shelves of leaders everywhere.
The Art of Enjoying the Journey
Dr. Yvette encourages individuals to leap, reflecting on her own experiences of turning down job opportunities abroad due to uncertainty about making such a significant change. She advocates for the idea of “failing forward” to grow, emphasizing that the journey should be enjoyed, not just the destination.
Now, she appreciates the journey despite its complexities and values the profound insights she has gained about herself and her capabilities along the way.
