What is the STEP UP! Program

At the Leadership Lab, we are strong believers that nothing can be built on top of a poorly formed foundation. We wanted to create a program that our one main focus is to work with individuals and groups to help them recognize their strengths and assess challenges, all with the goal of improving productivity, work-life balance, and reduce stress.

How do we do this? First, you must commit to change. Secondly, you will be enrolled in our 6-week STEP UP! career readiness program and 1:1 career coaching through an intake and assessment session. Once in the program, you will be assigned a well-trained Lab career coach who operates within the ethical standards of ICF (International Coaching Federation). Our career coaches provide coaching based on your relevant issues and identified needs. Your needs will be addressed continually through relevant educational practices, while you gain knowledge or skills or change your behaviors to break through barriers to become employed.

This will be hard work!

We understand how it feels to be unemployed, we have all been there. We understand that when you’re unemployed for short or long periods of time we need to start from ground zero with rebuilding your self-esteem and giving you back your confidence. We want you to take your place in the world and pursue a career and/or go to college or vocational school in a career field you want to be in. And we do not do this alone. We have an amazing network of community partners to help you if needed.

Our Program will be specifically designed around career readiness and consists of:

6-weeks Leadership Lab STEP UP! workshops
6-weeks of intense 1:1 career and/or academic coaching
Up to 1 year of on-going career and/or academic coaching and 90 days retention career coaching

Many people are ready to work now. To be upfront, this program might not be the right fit for you, this program is focused on helping you create a career, not just get you another fast-food job. We do have relationships with businesses in the construction, tech, and healthcare industries. Someone that wishes to enter into an apprenticeship or mentorship program, during or after week six of workshops and coaching we can match members of the construction, tech, and healthcare industries to provide mentorship with the outcome for you to become employed.

Are you ready to change your life?

REQUIREMENTS

Current Oregon Resident
Currently a SNAP Participant (we cannot accept TANF)
Youth 18 - 24
Adults 24 - 59

Module One: Leadership Lab’s Life Wheel

In this module, we review thoroughly how each section of the Life Wheel affects life in different ways, and we reflect on which piece of the pie we can directly affect right now. We then create goals using the SMARTER goal framework to make improvements to our Life Wheel.

Within the Life Wheel, we address the following four primary categories:

Inner Values

Personal Growth
Significant Others/Romance

Physical Values

Physical Environment
Health

Social Values

Friends & Family
Fun & Recreation

Financial Values

Money
Career

Module Two: Leadership Lab’s SMARTER Goals

Many people have heard of SMART goal setting, but SMARTER goal setting goes two steps further, encouraging you to evaluate and adjust your approach. This added sense of measurement and readjustment is critical to the achievement of anything in life. All too often, we tend to set our goals, but not put any type of measurement to them. When we don’t measure and track something, it becomes far easier for the mind to trick us into either putting things off or thinking that we’ve come further along than we really have.

SMARTER goals are:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-Bound
Evaluate
Revise

About Your Instructor

Emily Sturgess-Cleek, Sr Instructor & Curriculum Specialist, Sr Career Coach

Emily is a lifelong learner and a career educator. She joined the Leadership Lab team after 16 years of teaching university students. Her career transition was inspired by her work with adult learners and the satisfaction Emily gained by empowering them to achieve their academic goals whilst managing jobs, childcare, taking care of ailing family members, and all the responsibilities modern life throws at us. After completing life coach training, Emily was eager to dedicate time to working with more adults to find balance and satisfaction in their own journeys. With the Leadership Lab, Emily is the lead instructor and curriculum specialist of our career readiness workshops as well as a career coach. At home, Emily balances her career with raising two daughters, navigating the joys and challenges of family life. She also volunteers at The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science, The Opal School at the Portland Children’s Museum, and Portland Community College, Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Emily is also bilingual and fluent in Spanish.

Education and Certifications - International Coach Federation (ICF) Associate Certified Coach (ACC), M.S. joint degree in Geography and Forest Ecology and Management, Initial Certification in Teaching English as a Second Language, B.A. The School of Teaching ESL

Introduction to STEP UP! Program: Life Wheel & Goal Setting

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