1. NTUA Leadership Development Program Framework
Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA)
“Enhancing our employees’ lives through excellent
leadership development”
Prepared by: Tony Dixon, Training Coordinator
v2.3 August 2016

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Program Charter………………………………………………………………………………………………….…..3
1.1 Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………….…3
1.2 Mission…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….3
1.3 Vision…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…3
1.4 Values……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...3
1.5 Goals………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..3
1.6 Unique Program Identity………………………………………………………………………………………….4
1.7 Stakeholder Positions and Roles…………………………………………………………………………….…4
1.8 Timeline………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...…5
1.10 SWOT Analysis………………………………………………………………………………………………………..6
1.11 Program Analytics…………………………………………………………………………………………………..7
1.12 The Casefor Adding aTraining and Development SpecialistPosition in2017…………...7
Chapter 2 Professional Development Pathways……………………………………………………………………….9
2.1 Coaching and Mentorship…………………………………………………………………………………………9
2.2 Primer…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….9
2.3 Front Line Supervisors………………………………………………………………………………………………9
2.3 Middle Managers……………………………………………………………………………………………….…….9
2.4 Upper Managers……………………………………………………………………………………………………..10
Chapter 3 Additional ProfessionalDevelopment Services……………………………………………………….12
3.2 Internal Consulting…………………………………………………………………………………………………12
Appendix A: Topics List………………………………………………………………………………….…………………....…..14

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Chapter 1 Program Charter
1.1 Executive Summary
NTUA’s professional development program is an internal comprehensive solution to the needs
of leadership and management training and development for NTUA staff. The curriculum
leverages both theoretical and applied leadership and management knowledge both classic and
modern to provide a grounded and balanced approach. The program’s customized content
reflects the unique position of NTUA as a tribally owned, non-profit, multi-utility service provider
to an economically challenged and geographically dispersed population. Training staff are
working to identify the best way to leverage the existing relationship between NTUA and
Collaborative Learning for training related to this topic and others.
1.2 Mission
To provide practical and relevant leadership development that exceed our employees’
expectations
1.3 Vision
Enhancing our employees’ lives through excellent leadership development.
1.4 Values
 Empowerment: Developing leadership builds competency. Leaders held accountable
breeds trust and respect for the position. Combined these attributes enhance
empowerment of the entire organization.
 Collaborative Learning: Employees working together across departments to learn
encourages teamwork and respect paving the way for innovative ideas on improving
customer experience, safety and health and community engagement and support.
1.5 Goals
1. Provide professional development support for 95% of supervisors on a continuous basis.
2. Achieve a 50% coaching and mentorship rate by 2018.
3. Offer professional development to 100% of permanent full time employees in 2017.
The goals may appear ambitious or even overly so at first glance, however they are very
realistic in their ambition and again, reflect the stated desires of employees expressed in
focus groups as well as organizational goals set by NTUA leadership.

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Through the Strategic Leadership training NTUA has already achieved a roughly 95%
participation rate and we intend to use this as our benchmark. Providing training on
coaching and giving feedback in 2016 and implementing a formal coaching and
mentorship program in 2017 should reasonably support a 50% coaching/mentorship
participation rate. Through formalized professional development events for supervisory
staff,the primer course as wellas the companion website and internal consulting offering
NTUA can offer professional development to 100% of permanent full time employees.
1.6 Unique Program Identity
NTUA may decide to designate a unique name to this program, but has not done so yet.
1.7 Stakeholder Positions and Roles
Upper and Executive Management: At the upper end of their careers. Succession
planning is an issue as several employees are moving toward retirement. Professional
development can help speed up the readiness process for those stepping into new roles
as others retire. Certain specific issues such as customer service, knowledge sharing and
operational efficiency have caused professional development to be thrust to the
forefront.
Middle Management: Looking to possibly advance into upper and executive roles in the
next few years. Need additional skills to prepare them for these high level roles. Met with
the challenge of overseeing managers and staff simultaneously. Several time constraints
due to the demanding operational nature of their job.
Front Line Supervisors: May have very little experience or knowledge in leadership and
management. Must balance being a supervisor and potentially managing people with
several more years of experience. Some individuals serving in these roles were promoted
to supervise the same crew with whom they worked creating pressure to prove
themselves as being more than an individual contributor. Needs to be groomed for next
level position. Has to balance being involved and supervising. May stay busy in the field
or office doing tactical day to day work and not feel they have much free time for
development because their people need them.
Line Level Employees: Some have remained in line level positions for several years
without interest in advancing into management. If these individuals are doing their jobs
well then they may be excellent training resources in the knowledge sharing practice.
Other line level employees’ desire advancement and want to set themselves apart.

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Training Department: Challenged with balancing multiple project requests and demands.
Professionaldevelopment has been identified by upper management, particularly NTUA’s
Board of Directors, as a priority over most other projects. The training department’s
purpose is serving as an internal support department and in that spirit this program is one
with large organizational application and influence thus giving the department the
opportunity to affect the greatest number of people possible through the creation of this
program.
1.8 Timeline
A brief history of professional development at NTUA:
 Prior to Fall 2014 leadership development trainings occurred intermittently.
 Fall 2014 - NTUA contracted with Collaborative Learning to participate in their Access
Leadership program. This was a one-time event with no follow-up training, development
or meetings to reinforce the content covered.
 Summer 2015 – NTUA hires Mary Lowery as Training and Development Supervisor,
discussions began in the summer of 2015 to put a leadership development program in
place for NTUA.
 Fall 2015 - Collaborative Learning was contracted to conduct a needs assessment and
focus group sessions in the ESD and ECD.
 Collaborative Learning was contracted to provide a four day Strategic Leadership training
broken up into two different two day sessions for all NTUA staff in supervisory roles
(approximately 125).
 The Strategic Leadership training was another one-off program meant as a starting for
creating a sustainable internal professional development program
 March 2016 - Employees were grouped into 5 different cohorts with the first cohort
beginning in January 2016 and the final cohort occurring in.
 March 2016 - NTUA hires a new Training Coordinator, Tony Dixon, with an expertise in
leadership and organizational development.
 The Training Coordinator was charged with, among other things, evaluating past
leadership development efforts at NTUA and to design, develop and implement a
customized full scale in house professional development program incorporating
principles of leadership, management and personal development.
 April 2016 – Tony Dixon designs the program framework and begins work on developing
program scope, components, curriculum, timeline and budget.
 May 2016 - The second Strategic Leadership session occurs.

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Next Steps:
A more detailed program timeline is available in Appendix A. The program is being created from
the ground up and will undergo design and development phases projected to be 26 weeks in
length and completing on 10/7/2016. The delivery and program management phases of the
program will be on going and interweaving phases scheduled to begin 1/9/2017 in order to align
with the current training schedule.
1.10 SWOT Analysis
Strengths
 An internal program is owned by the organization and can be tailored as needed or
desired to meet organizational needs
 An internal professional development program can be far more cost effective than using
outside consultants especially given the depth and breadth of services available when
the program is in-house
Weaknesses
 The time resource required of the limited training staff to build a customized and
comprehensive in-house professional development program reduces the department’s
ability to support other training initiatives, especially over the first 6 months of the
program’s design and development phases
Opportunities
 Increased percentage of supervisors receiving quality professional development
 Offering professional development for all employees regardless of position or
employment status
 A raised standard of professionalism in NTUA
 Increased employee morale, satisfaction and retention
 Potential program expansion to other Navajo Nation enterprises
 Continuous improvement of the program’s capabilities and results due to analytic data
tracked and measured
Threats
 If certain key individuals in upper management change who currently champion
professional development, the program could face reduced or lost executive support

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 Tony Dixon has an advanced specialized background in leadership development and as
such it is unknown how well someone else will be able to take on the program manager
responsibilities in the future
1.11 Program Analytics
Data will be recorded and evaluated quarterly with a comprehensive annual review. The
intention is measuring the program’s effectiveness, impact on the organization and need for
program changes.
Specific items to be measure include: year over year changes in employee retention, employee
satisfaction, management climate survey results, change in frequency and severity of safety
incidences, competency knowledge testing, and training costs per person.
1.12 The Case for Adding a Training and Development Specialist Position in 2017
As of the time of this writing the training department has been tasked with several project and
training requests. Currently Bernice L. Tsosie works full time administrating the apprenticeship
program, Tony Dixon works full time on the professional development program, individual and
professional development plans, and researching project management certification and training
for NTUA employees. The scope of Tony’s first two projects are large and require considerable
time in research and development prior to implementation. The dynamic of the projects to which
Tony is assigned limits his ability to effectively manage additional projects. Mary Lowery is
responsible for overseeing all other training department needs with the help of a temporary
Administrative Assistant, Dorothea James. Anthony Bill was hired as Training Scheduler to
support day to day administrative and logistical operations.
Research and development for training and organizational development projects and programs
requires familiarity in a broad number of topics including: business, research methods, learning
theory, training and organizational development principles, access to research, and knowledge
of program framework design typically requires an advanced degree given the nature of the
work. Tony possesses this specialized background, that when leveraged, gives NTUA the greatest
value from him as an employee.
2017 leadership development related costs are anticipated at $94,765 which reflects a 64.47%
decrease in annual leadership development expenses compared with 2016. The four day
Strategic Leadership training and the 2 day Q3 leadership training proposed internally total 6
days of leadership development for NTUA leadership in 2016. 2017 is currently projected to offer
5 total days of leadership development to NTUA’s leadership. It is also recognized the scope and
cost for Strategic Leadership is different than what is being proposed, but serves as the best

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baseline for comparison. Additionally, internalizing leadership development yields benefits of
increased flexibility in content and delivery to meet organizational needs.
With the cost savings Tony can deliver on just this one program, hiring a Training and
Development Specialist will not create an increase in the department’s expenses. In fact, all
things being equal, the department will actually reduce its expenses. The intention of this
additional position is so that Tony can conduct the higher level tasks of researching and
developing training and organizational development initiatives. He would then work with
the Training and Development Specialist on the delivery and management aspects. This
two stage process will greatly increase the number of training and organizational
development initiatives the training department can effectively accept and manage further
increasing the amount of cost savings possible across NTUA. This person would learn about
delivering and administering training and development programs and become familiar with
the research and development aspects as well.
End of Chapter 1

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Chapter 2 Professional Development Pathways
The curriculum design is intended to provide consistency however, individuals may be
recommended by their manager for a levelother than what they would otherwise be designated.
A one week intensive course covering all pathways is being considered as a “catch all” for those
whom it may be appropriate to provide more robust training. Additionally, the analytics from the
each year’s training events as well as participant feedback and strategic objectives will inform
changes to avoid redundancy and remain relevant. An exhaustive topics list is provided in
Appendix A.
1. Primer
2. Front Line Supervisors
3. Middle Managers
4. Upper Managers
2.1 Primer
The leadership primer is a voluntary self-paced leadership and management fundamentals
course for non-management or supervisory employees. It is a tool for those wanting to prepare
for promotion. It is also a tool for managers to develop high performing employees.
2.2 Front Line Supervisors
Front line supervisors include department supervisors, foremen and similar positions who
oversee employees with no supervisory or managerial authority. This level focuses on tactical
skills usedfor day to day operations including: safetyand riskmanagement, project management,
business fundamentals, leadership and management fundamentals, communication and team
development. Length: 2 separate 2.5 day sessions conducted semi-annually
2.3 Middle Management
Middle management includes Field Superintendents, District Managers and others with direct
report supervisors. This level focuses on operational skills including: ethics, managing multiple
projects, situational awareness, emotional intelligence, and high performance teams. Length: 2
separate 2.5 day sessions conducted semi-annually
2.4 Upper Management
Upper management includes utility managers, some who directly report to executive
management and others. This level focuses on strategic topics including: industry
benchmarking, setting a mission, vision, values and goals, how to create and sustain high
performance teams, leadership and management in the 21st century, leader vs leadership,

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management and leadership overlap, leading change. Length: 2 separate 2.5 day sessions
conducted semi-annually
End of Chapter 2

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Chapter 3 Additional Internal Support Services
It is intended that additional internal services are provided to supplement formal training events.
Examples include: one on one consulting, workbooks, and a resource website.
3.2 Internal Consulting
Complimentary access to Tony Dixon, NTUA’s current leadership development expert, shall be
available based on scheduling availability. The purpose of this service is to discuss specific
individual topics, answer questions and provide an additional stream of support separate from
an employee’s direct supervisor and manager.
Tony Dixon-Bio
Tony served nine years in the Army Reserve as a Human Resources specialist assigned to a postal
unit and deployed to Iraq in 2005. During his time in the Army, Tony conducted trainings on first
aid, combat medicine, administrative tasks, weapons and physical fitness. He was assigned as
Platoon Sergeant and received an Army Commendation Medal, three Army Achievement Medals
and numerous additional awards and decorations.
Tony spent 10 years teaching kung-fu and tai chi at White Dragon Martial Arts where he earned
both his Black and Senior Black Sashes in Kung-Fu and competed in Taiwan on the U.S. Men’s
National Push Hands team in 2006. He was promoted to Chief Instructor in 2010 after being
recognized as one of White Dragon Martial Arts’ top instructors. While Chief Instructor, Tony
oversaw all major business functions for one of White Dragon’s locations, created new programs
to build customer service and retention, expanded community outreach, and designed and
implemented a performance evaluation system.
In 2012 Tony was recruited by Laz Parking. He was instrumental in the management of a parking
division with over 80 locations where he redesigned new hire training for lot attendants.
Additional responsibilities included: property management, staffing and managing special
events, sales, cash control and reporting and client relationship management.
In late 2013 Tony began consulting on topics of business, management, organizational
development and leadership. This work included facilitating roundtable discussions, workshops,
dialogues and one-on-one coaching.
Tony’s academic achievements include a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of
Science in Organization Leadership from National University in 2010 and 2014 respectively. Tony
presented original research on the topic of leadership and neuroscience at the 2014 International
Leadership Association’s annual conference. In 2014 Tony published The Diamond Effect: How
inspiring leaders change the world. In 2015 Tony began a Doctor of Education in Leadership

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program at City University of Seattle and in 2016 authored a peer-reviewed chapter in the book
Supporting the Successes of Adult and Online Students: Proven practices in higher education
(volume 5).
End of Chapter 3

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Appendix A: Topics List
1. Accounting and Finance
2. Aligning the Organization with its Missions, Vision, Values and Goals
3. Business Fundamentals
4. Coaching and Mentoring
5. Communication
6. Corporate Social Responsibility
7. Customer Service
8. Emotional Intelligence
9. Ethics and Professionalism
10. High Performing Teams
11. High Potential Employees
12. Industry Benchmarking
13. Inspirational Leadership
14. Leaders vs Leadership
15. Leadership and Management History
16. Leadership in the 21st Century
17. Management and Leadership Overlap
18. Management and Leadership Styles
19. Managing Multiple Projects
20. NTUA as a Learning Organization
21. Organizational Assessments
22. Organizational Development
23. PDPs and JPEs
24. Personality Styles and Characteristics
25. Presentation and Public Speaking Skills
26. Project Management
27. Safety and Risk Management
28. Setting a Mission, Vision, Values and Goals
29. Shaping and Fostering Organizational Culture
30. Situational Awareness
31. Succession Planning
32. Synthesizing the Tactical, Operational and Strategic Levels
33. Team Development
34. Technical vs Adaptive Change

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Recommended Pathway Topics
Primer: 4 Topics
1. Business Fundamentals
2. Communication
3. Customer Service
4. Ethics and Professionalism
5. Personality and Styles and Characteristics
6. Safety and Risk Management
Front Line: 18 Topics
1. Accounting and Finance
2. Business Fundamentals
3. Coaching and Mentoring
4. Communication
5. Customer Service
6. Ethics and Professionalism
7. Leaders vs Leadership
8. Leadership and Management History
9. Management and Leadership Overlap
10. Management and Leadership Styles
11. Managing Multiple Projects
12. PDPs and JPEs
13. Personality Styles and Characteristics
14. Presentation and Public Speaking
15. Project Management
16. Safety and Risk Management
17. Team Development
Middle: 14 Topics
1. Aligning the Organization with its Missions, Vision, Values and Goals
2. Coaching and Mentoring
3. Customer Service
4. Emotional Intelligence
5. Ethics and Professionalism
6. Inspirational Leadership
7. Management and Leadership Overlap
8. Management and Leadership Styles

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9. Managing Multiple Projects
10. PDPs and JPEs
11. Presentation and Public Speaking Skills
12. Project Management
13. Safety and Risk Management
14. Situational Awareness
Upper: 18 Topics
1. Aligning the Organization with its Missions, Vision, Values and Goals
2. Coaching and Mentoring
3. Communication
4. Corporate Social Responsibility
5. Customer Service
6. Emotional Intelligence
7. Ethics and Professionalism
8. High Performing Teams
9. High Potential Employees
10. Industry Benchmarking
11. Management and Leadership Overlap
12. Organizational Development
13. PDPs and JPEs
14. Presentation and Public Speaking Skills
15. Setting a Mission, Vision, Values and Goals
16. Shaping and Fostering Organizational Culture
17. Situational Awareness
18. Technical vs Adaptive Change