Episode 21: Dr.Leisha Strachan | Confidence, Competence, Connection & Character
1 hour 22 minutes
Wherever Leisha goes, a lecture hall, a classroom, a coaching environment, or as a Director with ANANSI School for the Performing Arts, she always carries the four C’s at the forefront of her mind. “How do I develop confidence? How do I develop competence? How am I going to make more connections? And how am I going to influence their character? So I'm really trying to think about that. I kind of take those four C's with me, wherever I go, knowing those are the stepping stones to thinking about positive development.”
Dr. Leisha Strachan is a first-generation Black Canadian, proud daughter of Jerome and Margaret Strachan, who immigrated to Winnipeg 53 years ago from the Caribbean island of Grenada. She is blessed to stand on the shoulders of elders in her family and the Black community in Winnipeg who came to Winnipeg facing discrimination and racism yet remained for the opportunities that they foresaw for their children.
Currently, Dr. Strachan is a Professor and serving as Associate Dean Research and Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management at the University of Manitoba. Her research is focused on positive youth development through sport, and she is interested in exploring positive coaching behaviors and parent involvement. Along with Dr. Dany MacDonald and Dr. Jean Côté, she began Project SCORE, an online resource for coaches and parents to learn about the 4 Cs in sport (i.e., competence, confidence, connection, and character) and how the Cs can be incorporated to promote positive youth sport spaces.
Leisha is a former national team member in the sport of baton twirling, earning two bronze medals at the world championships. She has been coaching in the sport for the past 26 years and is a judge and choreographer in baton, working with athletes across Canada, Scotland, England, and Australia. She continues to engage and develop the next generation through directing ANANSI School for the Performing Arts, a group working to teach African and Caribbean culture through the arts.
In our conversation with Leisha, we talk about positive youth development and the four C’s, including how each can be developed and how the four C’s apply to leadership and leading. We also chat about the vulnerability involved with learning new things and the link between dance, movement, culture, and resilience.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or your favourite podcast platform.