Daren Holdaway

About Daren Holdaway

I\'ve spent my entire adult life where leadership was the difference between a mission that succeeded and one that didn\'t. I\'ve lived in leadership environments where the margin for error is zero. Special Forces. Intelligence operations. Tactical law enforcement. Active Secret Clearance — TS-SCI eligible. These aren\'t resume lines. They are the environments where I learned what leadership performance actually looks like under pressure — and what it costs when it fails.That experience drove me into graduate study in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. What I found confirmed what I had seen in the field: the gap between the leaders organizations have and the leaders their missions demand is almost always measurable. And almost always closeable.Leadership performance is not a personality trait. It is a system. Systems can be assessed, designed, and strengthened — when you know where to look.What I DoI assess leadership performance and organizational resilience using validated psychometric instruments — EQ-i 2.0, EQ 360, and the ARSENAL Operational Stress Assessment, a specialized tool for measuring how leaders respond under operational stress. These instruments surface what observation alone misses: the specific drivers behind how leaders actually behave when the pressure is real.From those assessments, I design development systems that create measurable change in decision-making, team performance, and leadership execution — not just awareness.Results30% operational efficiency improvement across six functional areas, generating $192K in documented cost savings. Leadership development for 300+ students annually, contributing to a 25% increase in engagement and retention. Multi-million-dollar asset accountability in high-risk environments with zero loss or discrepancy. 2021 Army ROTC Instructor of the Year, ranked nationally among Senior Military Colleges.CredentialsMS, Industrial & Organizational Psychology (June 2026) — PMP — Lean Six Sigma Green Belt — Active Secret Clearance, TS-SCI Eligible — EQ-i 2.0 & EQ 360 Certified — SHRM-CPWho I Work WithLaw enforcement agencies. Government and defense-adjacent organizations. Educational institutions under leadership stress. Organizations where the gap between current and required leadership performance is a mission risk — and where the commitment to close it is genuine.I work selectively. The stakes must be real.If that describes your organization, let\'s connect.

Experience

1. CEO Practicum Leadership Assessment & Organizational Development

   High Performing Systems, Inc

   Feb 2026 — Present · Watkinsville, GA, US

   Most leadership assessments produce reports. This work produces change.Embedded with High Performing Systems - a globally recognized psychometric assessment practice founded by Dr. Henry L.(Dick) Thompson, Ph.D, experimental social psychologist and author of The Stress Effect. HPS serves Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and international organizations operating in high-consequence environments.• Executive Feedback: Deliver EQ-i 2.0 and EQ 360 executive feedback sessions, translating psychometric data into behavioral development plans that name what is actually happening, not what leaders wish were happening.• Stress Architecture: Diagnostics Certified in ARSENAL Stress Diagnostics - identifying organizational fracture points before they manifest as leadership, cultural, or performance failures.• Psychometric Integration: Completed FIRO Element B certification under Dr. Thompson\'s direct supervision, expanding a multi-instrument assessment portfolio used in executive development engagements.• Systems Design: Applied Lean Six Sigma discipline to consulting workflow architecture - structure as a force multiplier, not overhead.Assessment Portfolio: EQ-i 2.0 • EQ 360 • FIRO Element B • ARSENAL Stress DiagnosticsMandate: Assessment without development is diagnosis without treatment.Core Competencies: Psychometrics • Executive Coaching • Emotional Intelligence • Organizational Development • Stress and Performance Architecture • Lean Six Sigma

Education

• Western Kentucky University

  Certificate, Organizational Leadership

• Western Kentucky University

  Bachelor of Arts - BA, Criminology

• Purdue Global

  Master's degree, Psychology

• Western Kentucky University

  Certificate, Interactive Training Design

• Upper Iowa University

  Associate of Arts - AA, Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration