Emerging Leadership Development

At Topsarge Business Solutions our core missions include our mission to develop new and emerging leaders for organizations. If a picture is worth a thousand words our approach is shown through our workforce development model below. You will note that our model is underpinned by the elements of awareness of self, incorporating feedback from those within our various circles of influence (COI), and the obligation that our management and supervisors have to guide and direct our personal growth and development.

As the lead trainer and coach for the TBS team, I am not a fan of taking a “kitchen sink” approach to development where one throws a little bit of everything at an emerging leader and hoping something sticks. Agencies and organizations so often attempt a “one-size fits all” style that works nicely for bean counters or a busy HR or procurement office that is simply trying to fill a need, but when it comes to the individual we advocate for a more customized approach. Though developing groups and teams may have similar strategies or similar elements of our approach, for this article I will focus primarily on the individual and save team development for a future blog post.

Assessments

We believe in the power of understanding oneself and use a Johari Window model to diagram and understand the dynamics of what is seen and what is hidden to the individual and to others as a pathway to self-awareness. In order to remove blind spots and to grow, we advocate for assessments as tools to help an individual understand their true self better. Whether it is an interpersonal style or DiSC self-assessment, a 360-degree multi source feedback tool, or a personality test or Emotional Quotient (EQ) style profile, our view is one must assess prior to embarking on a developmental journey

Training

Next, is high-quality training on a series of growth and development related to soft and interpersonal skills required by all leaders. Our trainers are skilled in delivering pre-approved instruction on typical leadership principles such as accountability, responsibility, coaching, employee development, problem-solving, communication, and conflict management. Our team is comprised of coaches and trainers with many years of experience operational leaders in both industry, academia, and government service. We have a bench of highly capable employees and consultants who apply real-world scenarios to everyday challenges that emerging leaders are typically faced with. Our personnel have been contracted trainers for the US Army School for Command Preparation at Fort Leavenworth, KS to develop middle-to-senior managers learn the traits and techniques of authentic leadership. We delivered either a 1-day or 1.5-day training seminar for up to 36-students at a time, monthly. We have developed and delivered leadership training for the DOJ Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and to civic and community leaders through our workforce development programs for Department leaders of the City of Temple, TX, as well as the staff of the Chamber of Commerce.

Coaching

Additionally, each of our trainers is a professional and certified coach who provides an inquiry-based approach to personal and professional development that is aimed at creating self-awareness, generating action, and facilitating learning and growth. Our coaches focus on improving performance by helping individuals to develop and sustain new perspectives, manage relationships, and negotiate and influence others to succeed. TBS coaches use the Socratic Coaching Method (SCM) as the basis for our professional coaching engagements. SCM is a form of a cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presumptions. Our coaches have provided coaching and mentoring services to the Defense Logistic Agency (DLA) Enterprise Leader Development Program (ELDP) for WG and GS civilian workforce as well as having provided professional coaches to military and GS civilian leaders. Headed up by an International Coach Federation (ICF) lead coach, our team focuses on setting goals, creating outcomes and managing personal change. The TBS coach cues conversation that helps the leader improve listening skills to influence and negotiate, better understand and appreciate other people’s reality, and to be perceived as a person who communicates effectively while creating a shared value system.

Growing Leaders

TBS is committed to creating change one leader at a time from our Leader Development Center in Central Texas, or at our clients’ location across the globe with our remote and portable trainers and coaches, We deliver high-quality training, coaching and assessment services for any agency and organization that results in measurable improvement of their workforce. Check out our ongoing training programs available locally or at your location, or contact us today to create a custom Emerging Leadership Development Program (ELDP) for your agency today.

Daniel K. Elder, M.S., ACC
Senior Trainer and Coach
Topsarge Business Solutions