SCANNER FREEMONT / Data Analyst
Freemont is responsible for the digital conversion of survey responses while adhering to strict quality standards set forth by its managers. Freemont began its career at TruScore in 1996 as a Data Analyst and quickly became pivotal to TruScore's success. As the years passed, Freemont has slowly matured into part-time Data Analyst while also holding many positions in the work environment including On The Floor, On The Empty Desk, and Hold The Door (AKA Hodor).
RON SACCHI / Master Coach
A former Operations Manager in the High Tech Industry, Ron Sacchi brings decades of leadership and management experience to the organizational development and the executive coaching arena. An energetic thought-leader with a track record of success in all areas of Human Capital development, he has consulted and coached managers in start-ups, joint-ventures, high tech, pharmaceuticals, and media. Because of his business acumen and creative approaches to behavioral change, he is respected in the HR community specifically for the ability to direct, motivate, influence and inspire leaders to improve performance.
Holding an MBA from Saint Mary’s College, Mr. Sacchi is also licensed in various management, leadership and psychological profiling tools.
CARLANN FERGUSSON / Master Coach
Carlann inspires leaders to reconnect to their individual purpose and lead with contagious energy. She ensures leaders gain deep self-awareness and eliminate self-sabotaging behaviors. Her guidance is based on coaching, training and selecting hundreds of executives across diverse companies as well as her own journey into the executive ranks.
Carlann is the author of the highly acclaimed book The Insightful Leader: Find Your Superpowers, Crush Limiting Beliefs and Abolish Self-Sabotaging Behaviors (Praeger, June 2018). She holds a master’s degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. Her thirty years of experience include leadership roles in Fortune 500s, the private sector, and the U.S. Government. Carlann has been a featured guest on ABC News Radio, Wharton Business Radio and has been cited in CBS MoneyWatch, International Business Times, Newsday and Workday.
DR CHUCH MELTZER / Master Coach
Dr. Chuck Meltzer is a Master Coach and President of the SynTECGroup, an organizational development consulting firm. As an executive coach, he draws on his training at a doctoral level in psychology, direct senior management experience and management consulting with a wide cross section of industries. He has developed an extensive series of strategies to assist leaders in creating organizational wide and personal change. Dr. Meltzer has a decade of direct senior management experience and 20 years’ experience functioning within his consulting and coaching practice. His coaching approach is solution focused and time framed. Based on determined goals, a personally customized approach to the process has enabled his clients to realize sustainable change in a manner that allows them to enhance their effectiveness and success as leaders within their organization.
Dr. Meltzer is certified and a master trainer in several coaching assessment tools that he employs within his practice.
ERIN HIRSCHLAND / Master Coach
Erin is an organization development expert with nearly two decades experience serving organizations of all sizes across industries on a broad range of issues. Working with leadership teams, she helps articulate an actionable vision and corresponding values, connecting these to organizational strategy, execution and results. Her tools of choice include senior team retreats, one-on-one executive coaching and proven survey and related instruments.
Erin’s additional expertise includes designing employee selection systems, developing performance management tools that increase performance across the organization over time and employee and customer experience metrics. An effective facilitator and coach, Erin works with leaders and their teams to build trust, commitment and results.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Master of Arts degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Colorado.
SONYA D HAMILTON / Senior Assessment Consultant
Sonya is a Senior Assessment Consultant at TruScore with over 24 years of experience designing and delivering 360 feedback solutions and providing 360-based coaching, training and interpretation.
Sonya has extensive experience working with Managers and Leaders, guiding them through the feedback and development journey and providing insights and direction to help maximize their impact within the organization. Sonya’s areas of expertise include 360-based coaching, 360 data analysis and interpretation, Train-the-Trainer certifications, facilitation, survey & questionnaire design, and the design and delivery of assessment programs.
Sonya has a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and a Master’s of Science degree in Industrial & Organization Psychology from Springfield College with a specialty in Counseling and Psychological Services. She is a Master Trainer for TruScore and the Clark Wilson Task Cycle surveys receiving a Certificate of Achievement in “How to Train a Trainer”. In addition, Sonya is certified to administer a variety of other psychometric instruments including employee engagement and organizational instruments as well as the line of Hogan Personality Assessments.
KAYLEY MOTZ / Assessment Advisor
Kayley draws on her extensive customer service background to provide clients with prompt, quality support. In her role as Assessment Advisor, Kayley works to ensure clients’ needs are being met. She assists in project set up and management, as well as processing and quality checking feedback reports. Kayley also aids in the execution of the day-to-day responsibilities of the production team, such as coaching session scheduling and tech support.
CRYSTAL HUGHES / Assessment Advisor
Crystal leverages her extensive background in Industrial-Organizational (I-O) psychology as she manages the day-to-day operational and tactical aspects of multiple and large scale projects for TruScore.
Crystal assists clients with setting up and managing feedback projects, and serves as the point of contact throughout the entire process. She quality checks feedback reports, and provides tech support when needed.
ELLIE SOLOMON / Assessment Advisor
Ellie manages project implementation for the entire 360 assessment feedback process and ensures that each client’s unique needs are met on time and in an efficient manner. Ellie consults with clients who use TruScore’s off-the-shelf Task Cycle® instruments as well as providing hosting solutions for clients using their own survey content, including custom processes and reports. She helps clients navigate through the TruScore® survey hosting software, having literally written the handbook that several clients are using.
She coordinates and implements all translation efforts, including soliciting bids, managing timelines, providing files to the translation companies, implementing translations for the web pages, and testing.
ULLA WESTERMANN / Software Engineer
Ulla uses her years of experience as a software engineer to maintain and add new features to TruScore's applications. She also helps with customizing feedback reports based on client needs.
HANK CURTIS / Business Development Manager
Hank manages and assists in the analyzing, planning, research, and development of TruScore’s objectives and strategic plans in order to achieve business opportunities, growth, and financial profitability.
Hank drives the expansion of TruScore’s direct sales, establishes relationships with TruScore’s clients, identifies clients, and keeps up-to-date on industry trends and client developments.
TAYLOR BRANTON / Bookkeeper
Taylor is responsible for managing payroll and employee fringe benefits programs, in addition to organizing company gatherings and outings. Taylor oversees day to day accounting needs as it relates to client invoicing, accounts payable, and general compliance requirements. She also has a hand in month, quarter, and year end reports and works closely with the CEO and CTO to furnish details necessary to make accurate business projections and decisions.
KURT BLAZEK / Design Director
Kurt uses a unique blend of strategic thinking with dynamic executions to create TruScore’s visual and interactive design. He is responsible for creating, evolving, and sustaining the company’s brand to internal and external stakeholders through multiple mediums. He oversees all of TruScore’s digital strategies, along with the implementation of social media tools and techniques.
Kurt leverages TruScore’s marketing and messaging information to identify, evaluate, and apply methods to maximize the effectiveness of the search campaigns across all of the major search engines. He tracks and measures the ROI of search engine rankings, direct print, and marketing websites.
JOSH SHEETS / Chief Operations Officer
Josh is responsible for all day-to-day aspects of managing the operations and various functional areas including business development, sales and marketing, client delivery, vendor relations, human resources, and IT.
Josh helps to ensure outstanding customer service, and the administration of long-term and day-to-day business processes that complement the delivery of high quality, innovative customer-focused survey tools, assessments and hosted survey offerings.
TOM KUHNE / Managing Partner and CTO
Tom joined TruScore in 1995 and has served in a number of roles, including Data Analyst, IS Manager, and VP & CIO. In his current role as Managing Partner and CTO, Tom is the driving force behind TruScore's technology vision for the present and the future. He manages all aspects of TruScore’s information systems, ensuring all systems meet the highest functionality and security standards.
Tom enjoys working hand in hand with clients and partners to make sure TruScore® delivers the technology and advancement that has become expected of it as a leader in the online assessment marketplace.
DEREK MURPHY / Chief Executive Officer
Derek joined TruScore in 1996 and has served in a number of roles, including Data Analyst, Operations Manager, and President & COO. In his current role as CEO, he is responsible for planning and implementing the strategic direction of the company. In addition, Derek is involved in product development and overseeing the day-to-day business operations for TruScore.
TruScore founder Dr. Daniel Booth, a pioneer in the field of assessment of leadership and management skills, served as a mentor to Derek for more than a decade. During this time, Derek became certified on TruScore’s full line of management and leadership assessments. He currently uses these skills to lead content debriefings with customers and partners on a regular basis.
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Leaders are celebrated, while managers are often criticized, but a combination of the two could be just what the economy needs.
There's been an ongoing debate for the past five decades and I'm not talking about Medicare or why the Chicago Cubs haven't won a title since 1908. This debate has to do with leaders and managers.
In fact, a quick Google search of the phrase, "Leaders vs. Managers" produces more than 15 million results. Clearly, this is an issue people care about and are searching for the answers.
After all, should a manager also be a leader? Must a leader utilize management skills?
Before I attempt to answer those two questions, let's look closer at the differences between leaders and managers.
Organizational consultant Warren Bennis is widely known as the pioneer in what is considered the contemporary field of leadership. In his book, "On Becoming a Leader: The Leadership Classic" he delved into the qualities that define leadership, which included describing the differences between managers and leaders.
Leaders are celebrated, while managers are often criticized, but a combination of the two could be just what the economy needs.
There’s been an ongoing debate for the past five decades and I’m not talking about Medicare or why the Chicago Cubs haven’t won a title since 1908. This debate has to do with leaders and managers.
In fact, a quick Google search of the phrase, “Leaders vs. Managers” produces more than 15 million results. Clearly, this is an issue people care about and are searching for the answers.
After all, should a manager also be a leader? Must a leader utilize management skills?
Before I attempt to answer those two questions, let’s look closer at the differences between leaders and managers.
Organizational consultant Warren Bennis is widely known as the pioneer in what is considered the contemporary field of leadership. In his book, “On Becoming a Leader: The Leadership Classic” he delved into the qualities that define leadership, which included describing the differences between managers and leaders.
According to Bennis:
Okay, so it seems that the leader is the innovator who brings out the best in their employees through inspiration. The manager, on the other hand, is more focused on metrics and efficiency.
It’s no secret that leaders are admired, while managers can be unpopular among direct reports. How else can you explain the infatuation with Steve Jobs? I’m fairly certain no manager has ever reached the same amount of pop culture fame, except perhaps in a negative light (aka Office Space).
Still, if you’re a leader and hate the idea of also being considered a manager, and if you’re a manager and don’t believe you must also lead; you’re shutting off a big opportunity to advance your company to a higher level of success.
Think about it, while the economy is ever changing, I think it’s safe to say that budgets will be tight for some time. Instead of having 10 people to work on a project, companies would rather just pay five and get the most out of those employees. The same can be said for managers.
John Kotter, author of “John P. Kotter on What Leaders Really Do” wrote, “Leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary systems of action. Both are necessary for success in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment.”
Since both are needed, isn’t it possible that a person can be both a leader and a manager?
Connecting the two skills-sets
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, top executives should collaborate with others to create effective programs that boost productivity. In other words, they control a group for the purpose of coordinating and harmonizing that group toward accomplishing a goal. You know what that sounds like? Management.
At the same time, decision-making, being assertive with ideas, communicating more clearly, and clarifying goals and objectives while inspiring creative commitment are all competencies that have increased in today’s management role.
It looks like today’s managers are faced with additional responsibilities as they take on the traditional competencies utilized by a manager, while also needing to apply leadership skills.
It almost seems like a requirement for leaders and managers to perform both roles at different points in time, depending on the circumstances of course.
Here’s another reason why you should encourage managers to learn some leadership competencies and vice versa: some leaders are promoted through the ranks so fast that they are not able to acquire the management skills necessary for their role. I think it would cause fewer headaches if your company already encouraged your workers to learn both leadership and management skills.
Okay, I fully realize this is not an easy concept. So, I’m going to include some tips for both managers and leaders to start them on the right track.
Managers, learn how to take some risks
Leaders create the strategic initiatives of their organizations. Now when you, the manager, are approached with a new idea, do you recognize it, support it, and put it to work? Effective leaders are bold thinkers and take calculated risks. This quality goes a long way toward motivating colleagues to meet the innovative changes the leaders have envisioned.
As the manager, there’s no reason you can’t serve as a role model for innovative thinking. You should work hard to gain the self-confidence to take risks and define your risk tolerance comfort zone.
Development Tips
Leaders, involve others in the process
Just because the leader is considered the one to produce the so-called “great ideas” for the company, you shouldn’t make decisions in a vacuum and base those decisions on your limited perspective and your emotions. Not only may the quality of your decisions be limited, but you may also alienate those around you who have much expertise and creativity to offer.
It’s commonly known that management succeeds when it elicits creative and innovative ideas from team members so that everyone feels a shared responsibility for the success and quality of the team’s output. This shouldn’t change just because someone adds leadership to his or her title.
After all, rarely is any one person smarter than the team.
Development Tips
I believe most people who have some sort of responsibility for others in the workplace require some blend of leadership and management. And that’s a lesson that may endure the next five decades and beyond.
