Growing daily
Caroline Black is an educator, wellbeing strategist, and tireless advocate for helping people thrive.
Through her business, Grow Daily, Caroline focuses on delivering sustainable wellbeing and emotional literacy frameworks to teens, parents, and schools.
The inspiration for Grow Daily began close to home. “My son came home at about the age of five, and he said to me, ‘Mum, I know what my strengths are.”
The Character Strengths work her son had been doing struck her as remarkable – especially in a country like New Zealand, where humility often outweighs self-recognition.
“We’re an incredibly humble nation, but with that, we’re not very good at strength spotting.
“What tends to happen is we fault-find, because we see that as a way to make people better.”
Yet, as Caroline discovered, research shows that growth requires more than fixing faults – it starts with recognising and building on strengths.
At the time, Caroline was still a high school teacher, navigating not only the classroom but also the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes. Determined to find a better way to support young people, she studied the Langley Diploma in Positive Psychology and Wellbeing.
She went on to help establish a wellbeing education curriculum, and the results were profound. “We saw growth in emotional awareness, stronger relationships, and overall wellbeing – and students became more willing to talk about how they were really feeling. Not only that, wellbeing moved to the forefront of school life.”
Caroline knew it couldn’t stop there – and that’s how Grow Daily evolved.
Grow Daily’s mission is to equip people with the knowledge and tools to thrive.
At the heart of her work lies emotional literacy. For Caroline, it’s not optional – it’s essential. “Emotional literacy enables connection, learning, and leadership,” she explains. “And it matters as much for parents and educators as it does for students navigating today’s fast-changing world.”
“Parents and whānau are so critical to this learning too. At a recent parents’ evening in Auckland, there were over 460 parents attending – so dedicated and deeply committed to supporting their teens.”
To embed this, Caroline has adapted the Delta Model for Educators, a future-fit framework that positions emotional capability as a strategic strength in an AI-driven age. It helps schools integrate wellbeing and emotional literacy in ways that are practical, measurable, and sustainable.
“It grows what can’t be automated: trust, connection, and care,” Caroline says.
Grow Daily offers a suite of evidence-informed programmes – from whole-staff professional development to student workshops and parent presentations.
In addition, Grow Daily works with parents and families, equipping them with tools to build emotional literacy and strengthen connection. For individuals, mentoring and coaching focus on fostering growth, self-awareness, and the relational capability to navigate work, relationships, and wellbeing with confidence.
Beyond schools, Caroline and her husband have launched the Grow Daily Academy, which combines specialist academic tutoring with mentoring in confidence, motivation, and self-belief. Covering core subjects like Maths, Science, and English, the Academy helps students manage not only their subjects, but also their mindset – equipping them with the skills to learn, grow, and thrive for life.