Leadership Accelerators
Build readiness. Elevate impact. Lead with purpose.
Today’s leaders need more than just potential—they need the tools to unlock it. Leadership Accelerators are intensive, short-term programs designed to rapidly strengthen leadership capacity for those stepping into new roles, preparing for stretch assignments, or seeking to lead with greater confidence and competence to solve the organization’s most critical challenges.
Blending insight, practice, and purpose, each accelerator equips leaders to:
- Strengthen core leadership skills to solve problems, influence others, and lead through complexity
- Center the human experience by building trust, inclusion, and psychological safety across teams
- Lead with equity and purpose by aligning personal values with organizational goals
- Step into opportunity with the confidence to take on cross-functional projects, task forces, and new responsibilities
Whether for rising stars or new executives, our accelerators provide the spark—and the structure—to lead with impact from day one.
Our Expertise
Our team has deep expertise in a variety of areas, including change management, working across boundaries (teams or departments), culture change, executive communication, and more. We bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to every engagement we work on, and we're committed to delivering measurable results.
Case Study: Chief Diversity Officer Bootcamp
Empowered leaders of culture with the skills, confidence and clarity to deliver on mission.
The Challenge
As organizations across sectors sought to implement and sustain DEIA principles more effectively, many recognized that empowering or establishing a Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) was essential to optimizing workforce contributions and achieving organizational goals. However, the demand for capable, credible CDOs quickly outpaced the available talent pipeline.
In the federal government, CDOs faced additional complexities—navigating politicized environments, competing priorities, and limited resources. Without dedicated leadership training, peer mentorship, or structured support, even experienced DEIA professionals struggled to move beyond tactical programming and gain strategic influence within their agencies.
The Solution
While at the Partnership for Public Service, Kevin led a collaboration with Accenture Federal Services to launch the first-of-its-kind Chief Diversity Officer Bootcamp for the federal government. Serving as a comprehensive pilot Leadership Accelerator, the high-impact, eight-week program blended immersive in-person sessions with virtual learning, peer coaching, and applied exercises.
The bootcamp was structured around the federal government’s Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and equipped participants with the tools and frameworks needed to drive systemic, sustainable change. Participants learned to influence culture transformation through frameworks like Prosci’s ADKAR model, foster psychological safety to enhance team performance, and use data storytelling to communicate return on investment. They also strengthened business acumen by linking DEIA strategies to other business functions, like HR and IT, and enhanced coalition-building skills to lead without formal authority.
The bootcamp gave participants not only new tools in their toolbox—but a new mindset, enabling them to move from tactical roles to strategic, executive-level influence.
The Result
The bootcamp strengthened the confidence, clarity, and capabilities of a pioneering cohort of federal DEIA leaders. Participants reported a deeper understanding of their role and stronger ability to connect DEIA principles and practices to enterprise strategy, operational performance, and people-first leadership.
Their written feedback matches the over 90% ratings on “would recommend to a colleague” and “applied lessons learned on the job” questions in the post-program survey.
As noted in a Government Executive article, the program helped “turn a relatively new and often misunderstood position into one of vision and influence.” Many alumni leveraged the bootcamp to lead new cross-agency initiatives, secure increased executive buy-in, and shape agency-wide DEIA strategies.
Graduates described the experience as “transformational” and “exactly what was missing” in their leadership journey—proving that when DEIA leaders are equipped with the right tools, community, and frameworks, they don’t just respond to change—they lead it.
The nationally published articles below provide more information about the program:
- "A First-of-Its-Kind Bootcamp for Federal DEIA Officers" By Courtney Bublé, Government Executive
- "5 essential skills for federal agency chief diversity officers" By Adam C. Jones & Kevin Johnson II, Federal News Network
Update: Kevin solely designed and facilitated a second cohort in 2024. He achieved over 90% ratings on “would recommend to a colleague” and “applied lessons learned on the job” questions in the post-program survey.
