The Catalyst Effect presents
Lead at the Next Level
Strengthen your skills. Elevate your impact.
A hybrid leadership cohort for emerging and newer leaders
Are you ready to lead with more confidence, clarity, and impact? This cohort is built on our proprietary research-backed, behavior-based model and led by experts who have done the work themselves.
You’ll get real, confidential feedback from your manager, peers, and direct reports through the action360® assessment, then work privately with a certified coach to turn it into a plan.
— RESERVE YOUR SEAT —
The highly interactive cohort runs from October 14, 2026 to December 16, 2026 • Limited to 18 leaders
Six sessions: three in person, three virtual, three hours each
$1,200 per participant • In-person sessions delivered at Hinkle Fieldhouse, Butler University
Built on the leadership model behind the bestselling book The Catalyst Effect — praised by Adam Grant, Angela Duckworth, Brad Stevens, and Stephen M.R. Covey. Grounded in field research, facilitated at Butler University, and have impacted hundreds of emerging leaders.
Why This, Why Now?
You’ve been asked to lead. But no one handed you the playbook.
Most leaders step into their role with solid technical skills but with minimal formal preparation for leading people. This program ensures leaders build their skills to effectively lead teams, have thought deeply about how they lead others, and experience a highly personalized assessment + a personal coaching session.
Lead at the Next Level is different because it doesn’t start with a personality quiz or a generic framework borrowed from a textbook. It starts with a single, integrated, behavior-based leadership model, built from real research on what separates leaders who successfully elevate everyone around them from leaders who don’t.
A Model Built on What Actually Works
The Catalyst Effect model is grounded in original, in-depth research — across business, sports, and the arts — to identify the specific behaviors that make someone a catalyst for the people around them, regardless of title or authority.
It is deliberately behavioral, not style-based. Personality assessments are interesting to read; but they rarely change what someone does on Monday morning. This highly interactive program focuses on skills and habits that can be practiced, observed, and improved. The same 12 Catalytic Leadership Competencies detailed in the book The Catalyst Effect, praised by leadership researcher Angela Duckworth and organizational psychologist Adam Grant.
Why This Works, By Design
Comprehensive Action360® feedback and 1:1 coaching — for every participant.
Every participant completes a full 360 assessment and receives a private 1:1 coaching session to translate feedback into a personal action plan.
A research based, behavioral model, not just “personality‑based”.
The model measures what leaders do, so every participant leaves with behaviors they can actually practice and change.
Led by practitioners, not just trainers.
Every coach and consultant has led real teams and real P&Ls before coaching others through it — this isn’t theory from people who have never managed a team.
Rockstar guest speakers.
They’ve lived leadership and achieved incredible results. Experience their story and the challenges that launched them to the next level.
Local and genuinely value-priced.
$1,200 per participant, delivered at Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler University — below what comparable cohort-based leadership programs typically charge.
A small, interactive cohort.
So every voice is heard and every leader gets real facilitator, and coach, attention.
Program Format & Schedule
Lead at the Next Level runs October 14 through December 16, 2026 in a 3-by-3 hybrid format: three live sessions at Hinkle Fieldhouse, Butler University and three virtual sessions.
Oct. 14, 2026
VIRTUAL — Kickoff
8:30am – 10:00am
- Lead From Wherever You Are™
- Confirming Learning Goals, Expectations, Deliverables
Oct. 21, 2026
LIVE — Indy location — Butler University
8:30am – 11:30am
- See How You Show Up
- Building Trust and Credibility in Your Teams
Nov. 4, 2026
VIRTUAL
8:30am – 11:30am
- Accelerating Your Teams’ Cohesion and Working Relationships
Nov. 18, 2026
LIVE — Indy location — Butler University
8:30am – 11:30am
- See How You Show Up: Your 360 Feedback
- Strengthening Accountability without Creating Friction
Dec. 2, 2026
VIRTUAL
8:30am – 11:30am
- Prioritizing your Development Goals
- Understanding How to Coach and Develop & Others
Dec. 16, 2026
LIVE — Indy location — Butler University
8:30am – 11:30am
- Leading Through Change, Pressure, and Ambiguity
- Articulating Your Personal Approach to Leadership with Confidence and Clarity
What’s Included? Everything, No Add‑Ons
Here’s exactly what comes with your seat:
Your personal action360 assessment
One-on-one executive coaching
A cohort built for real connection
Public recognition – a completion certificate and LinkedIn feature
Take-home tools
Coaches and contacts you can lean on when the program is over
Meet Your Facilitators
Bettye Ellison
Senior Consultant
Meet Bettye
Bettye brings more than 20 years of applied experience in Talent Management, Learning & Development, and Wellness leadership from her career at Dow/Dow AgroSciences, along with hands-on HR leadership experience in the non-profit sector. She holds a Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology, is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), and is a certified leadership coach. Bettye is committed to helping people grow through candid, practical coaching conversations. With Stalcup and Toomer, she is the co-author of Developing Leaders at All Levels.
Jerry Toomer
Founder & Partner
Meet Jerry
Jerry has spent more than 30 years as a Human Resources executive, change agent, educator, and psychologist, including senior HR leadership roles at Dow Chemical and Dow AgroSciences in the U.S. and Asia. He holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Iowa and is a Diplomate in Counseling Psychology, the field’s highest professional certification. Jerry has served on the faculty of The American University in Washington, DC and as an adjunct professor in Butler University’s MBA program. With Caldwell and others, he is the author of the leadership book The Catalyst Effect.
Marietta Stalcup
Senior Consultant
Meet Marietta
Marietta is a PCC-certified coach with the International Coaching Federation and holds an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, where she received a Teaching Excellence Award. She teaches leadership and serves as an executive coach in Butler University’s Online MBA program, served as a Director of Graduate Programs at Butler for several years, and is co-author of Developing Leaders at All Levels, a companion field guide to The Catalyst Effect.
Featured Guest Speakers
JoAn Scott
Retired Vice President, NCAA Men's Basketball
JoAn spent more than a decade leading the operations behind the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships, including March Madness, before retiring as Vice President in 2026. Before the NCAA, she spent 17 years at Nike and worked with USA Basketball. JoAn speaks with deep experience as to what it takes to lead at scale, under pressure, on one of the biggest stages in sports.
Mike Abrams
Head of Business, Commerce, Google
Mike leads a team of digital marketing strategists who support multi-channel and consumer branded goods clients. He also supports the Talks at Google program, including a past conversation for The Catalyst Effect. Outside of work, Mike runs press and media partnerships for the Broadway Podcast Network, including hosting his own show, The Wrong Cat Died. Mike brings a corporate, high-growth perspective on leading teams and building influence.
What People Are Saying
The best leaders and colleagues have something in common: they make everyone around them better. This is a hands-on playbook for building that capability in your team.
Adam Grant — New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take, Originals, and Option B
I truly love the ideas in the book. Thoroughly researched and full of practical suggestions, The Catalyst Effect lights the path for every person in every organization to see themselves as leaders. It shows us that everyone is a leader and can get better at leading, if they recognize that truth.
Angela Duckworth — Founder & CEO, Character Lab; bestselling author of Grit
The action360 is a game changer—a life changer. As a coach, the action360 provides the framework to create an incredibly powerful and transformational conversation with a client. Thank you Catalyst Effect team for helping coaches coach and leaders grow!
Reed H. Steele, PhD — Leadership Coach
Who This Program Is For
Those who have recently started to manage or supervise other people, or those who play key leadership roles on their teams and seek to grow their skills and influence.
Participants do not need to have direct reports: Leaders can “lead from wherever they are” in a team based, project based environment.
Highly committed learners who want an honest, feedback-driven experience. Not another lecture-based seminar: heavy on interactive learning
Talented professionals who value being part of a small, local, in-person-connected cohort vs. a large, impersonal online course.
Investment
$1,200 per participant
That covers all six sessions, your personal action360® assessment, private 1:1 coaching, workbook, guest speaker sessions, and your own copy of The Catalyst Effect. Comparable cohort-based leadership programs commonly run $2,500 or more per participant — Lead at the Next Level is priced to be genuinely accessible without compromising substance or personal attention.
Only 18 seats. The sessions begin October 14, 2026.
Lead at the Next Level is designed so that every participant gets real attention, robust feedback, and a valuable peer network. Reserve your seat before the cohort fills.