Dan Elder is a leadership coach, management consultant, and change agent who has coached and mentored hundreds of leaders at all levels. A retired Command Sergeant Major with more than 26-years serving soldiers and their families, he has deployments to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iraq, Dan is an author, editor or reviewer on a number of soldier-related books and articles and a member of the International Coaching Federation. Working as an independent consultant and small-business owner in Killeen, TX, Dan continues as a content creator and Author, Blogger, Podcaster and Speaker. He was selected as the first enlisted Senior Fellow for the Association of the United States Army, and was inducted to the US Army Sergeants Major Academy Wall of Fame and the US Army Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame.
Dan Elder, MS, MKMPExecutive CoachContact Dan |
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| Geographical Location | Central Texas – Killeen, TX
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| Business Experience / Background | Topsarge Business Solutions, LLC
Leadership coach, management consultant, and change agent who specializes in creating strategies that maximize technological solutions to obtain organizational objectives across an enterprise. Over 31 years of successful management and leadership experience in large DoD/government organizations and corporate small and large business. Dan has a known reputation as a leader-practitioner and an innovator who performs above expectation, and is skilled with a wide variety of capability and experience. Directed organizational efforts to establish, create, design, deploy, and maintain web portals with a greater than 99% availability rate. We manage a help desk, answer trouble tickets and monitor a number of sites continuously, as well as plan and prepare for disaster recovery. Lead Balanced Readiness Seminar for LWMIII Consulting as group facilitator and Leadership Coach. Conducts executive coaching and provides feedback via Authentic Leadership 360° feedback sessions and serves as the primary logistics and sustainment seminar leader; routinely coaches early, late and on weekends to align with student schedules across international time zones; provide feedback and reports. Provides system analysis and advice to clients and customers who manage web, portal, contentment management systems and customer information systems in support of their organizational objectives. Create and manage user accounts, respond to trouble tickets, patch and update software, access and use databases, create and interpret key performance indicators, manage content, use email systems and tools, and interact with customer/member populations. Senior Director of Business Development for McLane Advanced Technologies, LLC, Temple, TX Accountable to identify and capture employer and customer-partner contracts for ERP/CIS systems within the Federal, State, and not-for-profit sectors. Provided support in negotiations, risk management and other business development projects in association with other organizational initiatives. Responsible for generating $3-million of revenue annually by closing on new business deals and by creating and managing relationships, identifying and managing risk, and through the process of preparing, developing and negotiating contracts. Managed the full life cycle of information systems proposal development process, including: opportunity identification, tracking, teaming agreements, opportunity assessments, pricing, proposal preparation and review process. A specialist in technology solutions that created and integrated products that follow established business processes. Prepared and presented business case analysis to senior executives with the requirement to identify and negotiate strategic partnerships to support product acceptance and new product development initiatives. Computer Sciences Corporation Created the strategy to establish the first Knowledge Management cell at a US Army Corps and was responsible for the development of internal processes required to activate and employ that new capability. Developed solutions for the customer in how to use technologies and collaborative solutions, including identifying best practices using networked enterprise platforms and software tools. Proven one-on-one leadership coach with expertise in assisting leaders grow to impact their organization. He has coached hundreds of leaders at multiple levels, engaging with them both on-site and virtually employing demonstrated best practice telephonic coaching skills. US Army Having served on active duty for 26 years he retired as the Command Sergeant Major, U.S. Army Materiel Command at Ft Belvoir, VA that was responsible for the oversight of over 65,000 logistics soldiers, civilians and contractors in more than 40 different US and overseas locations. Served in a variety of senior leader positions managing and supervising a number of groups, including small teams to large, complex organizations. Responsible for multiple locations and increasing levels of supervision for the health and well-being of enlisted and civilian personnel. Regular duties included assignments, professional development, promotions, training, establishing policies, and administering talent management requirements such as evaluations, training plans, schooling, and maintaining equipment. Disciplined and honest, lead with integrity. Led supply chain and repair teams ranging from 3 to 540 personnel by using my strong problem-solving and decision making skills. An experienced speaker, published author and a communicator with excellent presentation skills, Dan is experienced in operational logistics and field services with additional assignments as a trainer and training developer. Served on the faculty of the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, the premier educational institution for enlisted soldiers. Recognized for his excellence on numerous occasions to include being awarded the U.S. Army Chief Information Officer/G-6 Knowledge Management Pioneer Award, November 2003. |
| Formal Education / Training | Master of Science, Corporate and Organizational Communication Northeastern University, Social Media and Online Communities concentration, Boston, MA-2016
Bachelor of Science, Business Administration Touro College, Touro University International, a branch campus of Touro College, Cypress, CA- 2009 Associate of Arts, Liberal Studies Central Texas College, Killeen, TX-1998 Served on the faculty of the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, the premier educational institution for enlisted soldiers. |
| Coaching, Training / Certification & Experience; Other Certifications | Over 31 years of experience as a leader and has coached and mentored hundreds of emerging and successful leaders at various levels within the military and in industry. Provides one-on-one management coaching to small and large business leaders and facilitates and coaches Army senior leaders. Certified Authentic Leader Development Coach; Chambers Bay Institute, True Growth® Coaching Certification Program. Successfully completed a 48-hour intensive certification program that qualifies participants to coach senior leaders using a proven, structured development of both the principles and applications of authentic leadership.Leadership coach for more than five years at the US Army’s Balanced Readiness Seminar, School of Command Preparedness conducted 10 classes per year, attended by all officers and Command Sergeants Major who are to be assigned to command assignments at the brigade and battalion level in all components, Active, Reserves, and National Guard. Conducts executive coaching and provides feedback via the Authentic Leadership 360° feedback session. Master Knowledge Management Professional TM Certification (2011) – Awarded by KMPro to experienced practitioners in the field of Knowledge Management based upon demonstration of practical application of knowledge management. Candidates complete a KMPro CKM certification workshop, then qualify for the KMPro Certified Knowledge Management Professional (CKMP) certification by successfully applying the concepts in completing a knowledge management project. |
| 360-degree Instruments & Other Leadership Assessments Tools | The True Growth® Authentic Leadership 360° – a method of collecting perspectives about a leader’s performance from a wide range of team members. Focuses on seven core competencies and corresponding behaviors that are essential to becoming an authentic leader who people want to follow.
Denison 360-MSF Assessment (trained) |
| Coaching Philosophy | I use my more than 31-years of experience as a military logistician and manager, coupled with my business experience, to connect with each leader using terms that they can relate to. I work to understand who they are as a person by studying their background and then help them to decipher the messages coming from the participants in their 360-degree survey. I share with them strengths and development areas, and what they can do to grow into a better and more authentic leader, one who can positively impact their organization. |
| Special Areas of Coaching Expertise & Focus | Strategic Thinking
Authentic leadership in operational environments Virtual coaching – telephone, skype Interpretation of leader’s 360-assessment Professional development in the areas of integrity, conflict, values, character Facilitation |
| Articles Written or Publications, Speaking | Soldier for Life: Leadership Lessons by the 12th Sergeant Major of the Army Jack L. Tilley & Dan Elder (2015) NCO Historical Society, Temple, TX
NCO Guide (10th Edition) (2015) Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA Sergeants Major of the Army (2nd & 3nd Edition) (2015) Center for Military History, Ft McNair, DC Speaking gigs: Central Texas Business Resource Center American Advertising Federation-Central Texas Copperas Cove Economic Development Corporation |
| Interests/Hobbies | Classic Cars, boating, family |