TAP Model Blog 2: Breaking Down Components of TAP Empowerment Model: From A Holistic Viewpoint
In our last blog, Debra and I introduced The Aligned Professional Empowerment (TAP) Model and its seven components. This model guides the The Aligned Professional (TAP) programs. We shared how a strengths-based approach fosters growth, adaptability, and strong relationships. This blog series explores the foundation of the TAP Empowerment Model, Assets. Assets are considered strengths within a person, organization, or community that provide a solid basis for growth, resilience, and well-being.
Our model begins by focusing on personal strengths, shifting away from a problem-focused approach. This is important and beneficial for supporting alignment, expansion, and evolution. Research shows that strengths-based approaches are effective in supporting:
Internally motivated professional development (Hiemstra & Van Yperen, 2015),
Employee engagement and performance (Sorrenson, 2025) and
Health and well-being across the lifespan (Meade, 2020);
What is a strengths-based approach? According to Scaffa, 2014, p. 14, a strength-based approach “ is the focus on what the client can do-his or her assets, talents, resources, and capabilities, not simply the client’s deficits or functional limitations.” Scaffa also discusses the importance of using a strengths-based approach when working with groups, communities, and different populations. This supports an important paradigm shift from traditional models often used in education and healthcare to one of empowerment. Empowerment models align with the health and well-being of individuals and their communities where growth is sustainable and continues over time.
There are many different components in a strength-based approach, including:
Client-led, outcome-focused approach that facilitates positive change
Positive attributes of an individual that facilitate self-determination for change and improved overall self-efficacy; thereby leading to improved well-being, resilience, and goal attainment.
Encouragement of social engagement through collaboration. This facilitates healthy partnerships, a flexible mindset, and positive communication, leading to personal and professional expansion.
A strengths-based approach considers a wider view that includes contexts, such as environmental and cultural aspects, and patterns of performance such as habits and routines. This allows for a more personalized, effective, and sustainable path. It creates an environment where individuals are seen holistically. “Whole person health involves looking at the whole person—not just separate organs or body systems—and considering multiple factors that promote either health or disease. It means helping and empowering individuals, families, communities, and populations to improve their health in multiple interconnected biological, behavioral, social, and environmental areas. Instead of just treating a specific disease, whole-person health focuses on restoring health, promoting resilience, and preventing diseases across a lifespan” (HSS, May 2022). By considering these factors and the whole person, we are better able to nurture and celebrate a person’s unique strengths in ways that are meaningful to the individual, allowing them to be agents of change within their communities.
In the following weeks, we will continue to explore the components of this model, it will become more evident that empowerment and alignment are key to fostering a thriving professional environment. Embracing this paradigm shift can pave the way for a more empowered and resilient future where individual and organizational goals align.
Resources
Aguinis, H., Gottfredson, R. K., & Joo, H. (2012). Delivering effective performance feedback: The strengths-based approach. SciVerse ScienceDirect. 55, 105-111. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2011.10.004
Meade, E. 2020, March 25. Personal strengths defined. Positive Psychology. https://positivepsychology.com/what-are-your-strengths/
Scaffa, M.& Reitz, S.M., 2014. Occupational Therapy in Community-Based Practice Settings (2nd ed.). F.A. Davis Company.
Stoerkel, E. 12 March 2019. What is a strength-based approach? Positive Psychology. https://positivepsychology.com/strengths-based-interventions/
Sorenson, S. 2025, February 17. How employees’ strengths make your company stronger. Gallup Business Journal. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/231605/employees-strengths-company-stronger.aspx
The American Journal of Occupational Therapy. (2020). Vol. 74 Supplement_2, Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process—Fourth Edition. doi: https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (May, 2022). Whole Person Health: What It Is and Why It’s Important? https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/whole-person-health-what-it-is-and-why-its-important