When faced with life’s obstacles, some merely survive, while others thrive. Saran Traore, a seasoned healthcare industry leader with over 10 years of experience, has navigated her fair share of challenges to emerge as a successful leadership coach through the power of resilience. Today, she is committed to helping others achieve their own professional growth and developing healthy resilience skills through her coaching firm, Elev8.
Finding Clarity In The Chaos
Traore’s journey to clarity began when her mother was diagnosed with cancer, the sobering event forced her to slow down and evaluate what was important at this stage of her life. The main thread she was able to unravel was the importance of finding a deeper purpose and presence with family.. A career that led to rapid growth and ambitious goals, but didn’t lead to true fulfillment or the availability for the people close to her, was not what she wanted nor was it sustainable.”I needed to center again on my “why- find clarity. And I needed to find a career that provided me with the time for my priorities, not only one that offered a fast track to a form of success.” she admits.
Upon gaining clarity and identifying the path that was right for her, Saran realized her true passion was in helping others – specifically coaching up-and-coming leaders and executives. Offering both one-on-one and group coaching, Traore is now walking in what she believes has always been her calling. “Throughout my career, I was most fulfilled when helping others find their path to either short or long term goals.. I know I can walk in that every day.” Her success as a coach has gained her clients in multiple industries including healthcare, construction, real estate, and others.
Learning Self Aware-ship Before Leadership
Based on her own experience and education of corporate leadership, she has formed her approach to coaching that recognizes the individual needs of her clients.” Questions are truly transformative. We look beyond what could prevent clients from accomplishing their goals, which creates the space for people to share and people can share their journey of where they have come and where they desire to beare going.” she says. By uncovering people’s past experiences and future ambitions, she is able to help them develop the skills and habits that they need to act on in the present. “We discover people’s strengths and areas of growth – then we help them to lean into their strengths and address their gaps by adding new skills, as needed.” These new skills include sharpening their empathetic listening skills, learning to provide effective feedback, fostering an environment of mutual understanding, and other methods for improving their leadership abilities. As a coach, Saran defines success for her clients in terms of self-awareness and self-understanding, which allows her and the client to define what success looks like “You will find leaders that don’t know how to leverage their ability or gain control of their life. Finding a balance between who we are and what we want to be is crucial,” she explains.
Creating A Positive Circle
Traore recognizes the adage “lonely at the top” as true and a major hindrance for leaders looking to advance in their personal and professional development. “When you get to a certain level of success, it’s hard to find good advice or stay in a mindset of receiving feedback. Our brain creates autobiographical responses, so we hear what we want to hear.” That’s where many entrepreneurs and business professionals are at risk of failure. “Lonely at the top” is not just a cliché saying. Feedback becomes increasingly important as we climb higher, however, it also becomes difficult for people to provide it to leaders.Having someone, like a coach, support you on your journey is invaluable.”
Saran and her team work with their clients to provide a place where high performers can receive good feedback and have room to grow. “We don’t tell our clients what to do – we support them and give them the space to think and self-assess.”
What’s Next?
For Saran, her own success is tied to her clients’. She strives for her firm to continue to grow and is passionate about providing access to coaching and empowerment for anyone looking to develop their professional and personal lives. Looking ahead to the immediate future, Traore is focusing on creating more tangible encounters by attending conferences and networking events to share her message. If you are interested in hearing her speak or contacting her about coaching, visit her website for more information.
