Leaders by Design (Thinking)
At Arc Aspicio, our very best assets are our people. In 2017, we introduced a program called the ‘Leaders by Design’ aimed at growing future leaders of our firm in a peer group setting. Leaders by Design is a customized experience for Senior Associates within the company to develop leadership skills and grow professionally and personally by interacting with others with similar experiences and also with senior leaders. The Peer Group is a co-investment to focus on collective growth and development – this means the company invests money and time in developing the training and the growing leaders also invest personal time.
As members of the inaugural class, we designed a customized curriculum focused on various leadership topics such as leaders vs. managers, client relationships, planning and budgeting projects, consulting finance, and more. We identified areas of leadership and project management that we were interested in learning about and then ranked them based on group preference. Each month, we have a session facilitated by a senior leader or subject matter expert in the company that focuses on one specific area or leadership skill. We have done role-playing activities to learn about building trusting client relationships, shadowed company executives and project leaders to gain insight into their day-to-day activities, and worked with an executive coach to learn about motivating and growing professionals.
The Leaders by Design also planned and managed a successful legacy project that leaves a lasting impact on the company. Our group chose to host a first-of-its-kind Design Thinking Forum in collaboration with Arc Aspicio’s SILab. It featured an interactive panel discussion on how Federal leaders can innovate solutions to create the future of government. Planning this event has taught us all valuable lessons about leadership and management, and encouraged us to hold each member of the group accountable for different responsibilities.
The Design Thinking Forum included a panel discussion between experts from the Federal government and private sector who spoke about their experiences with innovation, the practice of Design Thinking as a creative problem solving approach, and how to foster a culture of innovation within the Government. This project helped share Design Thinking practices, connect professionals who practice this, and helped Government leaders share and learn from each other.
About Arc Aspicio
Arc Aspicio is a management, strategy, and technology consulting firm that takes a mission-oriented approach to complex client challenges. As a rapidly growing company, Arc Aspicio has a bold strategy for 2016-2018 that drives growth through new capabilities in strategy, design, human capital, data analytics, information sharing, cybersecurity, and strategic communications. The company is known for a strong, collaborative culture that values gratitude – for its clients and its great team. And, #welovedogs! Follow us on Twitter @arcaspicio or learn more at www.arcaspicio.com.
