Our Approach

Research-backed, field-tested approach to help teams lead with more clarity, confidence, and care.

 

We develop leadership that’s grounded in values, shaped by context, and built to adapt.

How Untapped Leaders Works

Untapped Leaders begins with diagnostic sensemaking. Before recommending training, retreats, or leadership development, we help organizations understand the context shaping leadership capacity—across people and systems. This ensures any intervention is grounded in reality, not assumptions.

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Contextual Agility: The Core of Untapped Leadership

Today’s leadership challenges rarely come with clear instructions. Leaders must navigate complexity, shifting team dynamics, social context, and systemic realities—all while remaining anchored in values and clarity of purpose. That’s where Contextual Agility comes in.

Context includes both people (behaviors, relationships, leadership norms) and systems (roles, structures, policies, incentives, and decision pathways).

It’s not about having the “right” answer. It’s about asking the right questions, recognizing the patterns at play, and choosing leadership behaviors that fit the moment.

This means:

  • Understanding the past that shapes how your team operates today

  • Observing the present with nuance, not misaligned prescription

  • Anticipating the future with a strategy that reflects both values and realities

This is what sets our work apart. We don’t deliver plug-and-play frameworks. We build leadership capacity rooted in your context so your team isn’t just developing skills but deepening its ability to thrive in uncertainty together.

Contextual Agility is the ability to assess your environment, understand its history and nuance, and respond with intention—not impulse.
— Dr. Jenny Vazquez-Newsum, Founder

The Ethos Behind Our Work

The Conditions That Make Contextual Agility Possible

We believe Contextual Agility doesn’t happen by accident. It’s cultivated in environments where people feel grounded, connected, and invited to grow. That’s why our work is rooted in three core relational practices:

  • Curiosity: We approach every space and situation with open inquiry. Curiosity allows us—and the teams we support—to pause assumptions, ask better questions, and stay engaged even when things get complex.

  • Candor: We believe in truth-telling with integrity. Candor builds clarity and trust, helping teams address what's actually happening, not just what’s comfortable.

  • Care: We center the human experience. Our engagements are designed with intention, compassion, and respect for both individual dignity and organizational needs.

A diagram titled 'Foundation for Contextual Agility' with overlapping circles representing curiosity, care, and candor as components of contextual agility.

Our Framework

Untapped Leaders helps organizations understand and strengthen leadership capacity by diagnosing context and developing leaders within it.

An outlined logo with a circular design and a brown diamond shape at the center. The logo includes the phrases 'SELF', 'FUTURE', 'WISDOM', and 'BREAK' arranged around the circle with arrows connecting each phrase.

We focus on 5 essential elements TO Cultivate High-Performing, Contextually-agile Teams:

  • Personal Leadership Development: We help your team members better understand and own their unique leadership styles—aligning their work with their personal strengths, values, and goals. This builds confidence, clarity, and stronger engagement across roles.

  • Systems Thinking: We support leaders in recognizing the organizational patterns and dynamics that influence decision-making, growth, and inclusion. By learning to see the full system, your team can lead more effectively within it.

  • Context-Responsive Leadership: We equip your team to adapt their leadership approach based on real-world contexts, organizational culture, team dynamics, and lived experiences. This builds empathy, nuance, and trust across teams.

  • Future-Focused Visioning: We guide leaders in clarifying a compelling, purpose-driven direction for their work—one that’s grounded in values, aligned with organizational goals, and resilient through change.

  • Real-Time Application: Leadership development doesn’t stop at the session. We integrate practical exercises and decision tools into your team’s day-to-day flow so that learning turns into immediate, visible impact.

What This Looks Like in Practice

These offerings are selected after diagnostic sensemaking clarifies what will have the greatest impact. Our work shows up through:

  • Team Retreats and Offsites

  • Multi-session Leadership Cohorts

  • Custom Trainings + Toolkits

  • Strategic Consulting Engagements

  • Executive Coaching Programs

Everything is customized. Everything is built for your context.

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Next Step

Whether you’re planning a retreat, navigating change, or sensing deeper leadership challenges, the best place to begin is a diagnostic conversation to understand what’s shaping your context.

Get In Touch