Telos

What Telos does

The telos institute is a privately-held leadership and organizational development consulting firm headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, founded in 2006. The firm serves senior executives, leadership teams, and organizations undergoing transformation across multiple industries, with named enterprise clients including United Airlines, Children's Hospital Association, and Benjamin Moore. Its core offerings are organized into five practice areas: Leadership Elevation (executive coaching and vertical development), Team Cohesion (team transformation programs), Culture Cultivation (values-based culture work using the Barrett Values Centre framework), Experience Design (immersive leadership retreats), and AI Enablement (delivered through the Project Horizons joint venture with Socratix AI).

Telos is differentiated by proprietary intellectual property, most notably the trademark-pending Leadership Aperture™ framework (built on two capacities, Range and Wisdom) and the Liminal Space methodology codified in the published book 'Unleashed: Harnessing the Power of Liminal Space' by co-founders Rick and Amy Simmons. The firm runs flagship programs including The Vertical Frontier (a six-month cohort experience held at Wingspread), Leadership Ventures (a 12+ month travel-based immersive development program), LeaderCore OS (an AI-integrated leadership system), and the telos Leadership Foundation's Emerging Leaders Fellowship.

The business operates on a professional services revenue model, monetizing long-duration coaching retainers, cohort-based development programs, multi-month organizational consulting engagements, and bespoke experience design work through an enterprise field-sales motion. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. In June 2026, Telos extended its offering into applied AI enablement through the Project Horizons joint venture with Socratix AI, accompanied by a strategic financial investment in Socratix, broadening the firm's relevance to organizations navigating AI-driven transformation. The company has 11-50 employees, a leadership bench drawn from firms such as FranklinCovey, and claims a global operating footprint.

Name

Telos

Legal name

the telos institute

Website

https://thetelosinstitute.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The telos institute is a Cleveland-based leadership and organizational development consulting firm serving Fortune 500 senior executives, leadership teams, and transforming organizations through executive coaching, cohort-based programs (Vertical Frontier, Leadership Ventures), culture work, and AI enablement via its Project Horizons joint venture with Socratix AI.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Leadership Development Consulting

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

DEI, Inclusive Leadership & Cultural Intelligence Coaching (EDABANAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Technical Enablement & Adoption Services (Change Management, Adoption, Champions) (BPAEANAC)

Keywords

• Leadership development consulting
• Executive coaching services
• Organizational change management
• Culture transformation consulting
• AI enablement consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Cleveland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Executive Coaching Engagements: Fee-for-service coaching engagements, typically scoped for individual senior leaders or cohorts, delivered over sustained periods (often 6–12 months). Revenue is project/engagement-based with multi-session structures.
2. Leadership Development Programs: Cohort-based programs such as The Vertical Frontier (flagship six-month developmental experience) and Leadership Ventures (12+ month immersive development experiences). Revenue recognized per participant or cohort.
3. Organizational Consulting and Culture Work: Culture transformation, team cohesion, and organizational change consulting engagements, often delivered in partnership with the Barrett Values Centre for values-based diagnostics. Scoped as multi-month or annual engagements.
4. Project Horizons AI Enablement: AI readiness and enablement offerings including executive briefings, leadership and team learning experiences, culture diagnostics, AI adoption strategy, applied experimentation, and capability-building programs—delivered through the telos and Socratix AI partnership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The telos institute delivers executive coaching, leadership development, team cohesion, culture cultivation, and AI enablement services to senior leaders, teams, and organizations. Its work is anchored by proprietary frameworks including Leadership Aperture™ (built on Range and Wisdom capacities) and the Liminal Space methodology, delivered through flagship cohort programs such as The Vertical Frontier and Leadership Ventures. The firm sells bespoke enterprise engagements and high-touch developmental experiences rather than packaged software or commodity training.

Product overview

The telos institute is a leadership and organizational development firm offering a portfolio of interconnected services. Its core offerings include Leadership Elevation (executive coaching and vertical development), Team Cohesion (team transformation programs), Culture Cultes (values-based culture transformation), Experience Design (immersive journey creation), and AI Enablement through the Project Horizons joint venture with Socratix. The firm is built around its proprietary Leadership Aperture™ framework and the concept of liminal space. Flagship programs include The Vertical Frontier (six-month senior leader development), Leadership Ventures (travel-based development), and LeaderCore OS (AI-integrated leadership system). The telos institute operates as a consulting and professional development organization, not a software product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Leadership Aperture™: A breakthrough framework for decision-making clarity in complexity, built on Range and Wisdom capacities.
• The Vertical Frontier
• Leadership Ventures
• LeaderCore OS
• Project Horizons
• telos Leadership Foundation
• Sustainable Leadership

Products and services

• Leadership Elevation Executive coaching and vertical development programs that help senior leaders expand their capacity to navigate complexity, uncertainty, and change through immersive experiences. Targets Fortune 500 senior leaders and C-suite executives.
• Team Cohesion Team transformation programs that guide intact leadership groups through liminal spaces where perspectives differ and tensions surface, moving toward deeper trust, alignment, and collaboration through intentional facilitation and shared practice.
• Culture Cultivation Values-based culture transformation services using the Barrett Values Centre framework to help organizations uncover the patterns that shape how people work and belong, turning insight into pathways for growth, including cultural renewal, post-merger alignment, and M&A cultural compatibility work.
• Experience Design Immersive journey design that creates transformational experiences from intimate leadership retreats to large gatherings, weaving together purpose, people, and place to turn insight into action.
• AI Enablement (Project Horizons) AI enablement offering delivered through Project Horizons (joint venture with Socratix AI), focused on the human side of AI transformation across four arenas: Automation, Analytics, Innovation, and Relationships. Includes executive briefings, leadership and team learning experiences, culture diagnostics, AI adoption strategy, applied experimentation, and capability-building programs.
• The Vertical Frontier Program telos's flagship six-month developmental experience for senior leaders, designed to expand their Leadership Aperture™ by upgrading both Range (capacity to work across levels of complexity) and Wisdom (choosing the right aperture for each situation). Features immersive live events, cohort learning, and weekly insight drops at the Wingspread venue.
• Leadership Ventures A 12+ month development experience using immersive travel to liminal spaces (Canadian Rockies, Grand Canyon, Iceland, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Patagonia) to challenge paradigms and bring about personal and professional transformation.
• LeaderCore OS AI-integrated leadership experience (July 27-28, 2026) that harnesses AI to help leaders create a personal leadership operating system integrated into their everyday work rhythm. Reimagines leadership development with AI enablement.
• Leadership Foundation (Emerging Leaders Fellowship) Foundation initiative providing transformational development opportunities for the next generation of diverse leaders, including the Emerging Leaders Fellowship featuring the 'Liminal Intensive' week-long catalyst event.

Quantifiable outcome

• Participants in the Vertical Frontier Program report improved ability to stay present and attuned to others' perspectives, more impactful workplace conversations, enhanced ability to absorb different perspectives and develop solutions to complex problems, and improved awareness of others' personal development journeys.

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Socratix AIcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 June 2026The telos institute and Socratix AI jointly launched Project Horizons, a strategic partnership to help organizations navigate the human side of AI transformation. The partnership combines telos' leadership, culture, and organizational transformation expertise with Socratix's applied AI capability. As part of the partnership, telos has made a strategic financial investment in Socratix AI. Project Horizons focuses on four arenas: Automation, Analytics, Innovation, and Relationships. The initiative includes executive briefings, leadership and team learning experiences, culture diagnostics, AI adoption strategy, applied experimentation, and capability-building programs.
• Barrett Values CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partnertelos partners with the Barrett Values Centre to use values-based diagnostics for culture work. This partnership enables telos to assess and interpret organizational culture using the Barrett Values framework, making culture visible and actionable for clients seeking cultural renewal, post-merger alignment, or re-engagement of a changing workforce. telos has developed a Cultural Compatibility Playbook for M&A contexts using this framework.
• Wingspread (Conference Venue)minorOthersWingspread is referenced as the immersive setting chosen for The Vertical Frontier cohort program—a distinctive venue for stepping away from day-to-day demands and engaging in focused leadership work with greater presence. It is a partnership in the sense of a curated experiential venue.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• FranklinCovey: FranklinCovey is a global leadership development and executive coaching firm best known for 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.' It is a direct peer of telos given overlapping offerings in executive coaching, leadership programs, and culture change. Notably, telos's Chief Delivery Officer Bob Drovdlic was formerly FranklinCovey's Managing Director of Executive Coaching.
• Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm combining executive search, leadership development, and talent consulting. It directly competes with telos in executive coaching and senior leadership development for Fortune 500 clients, with much greater scale and geographic reach.
• Center for Creative Leadership (CCL): CCL is a top-ranked global provider of executive education, leadership coaching, and leadership research. It competes directly with telos's executive coaching and cohort-based leadership development programs, with comparable emphasis on vertical development and immersive experiences.
• Development Dimensions International (DDI): DDI is a global leadership and talent development firm offering leadership training, executive coaching, succession planning, and culture change services. It is a direct peer to telos in the Fortune 500 enterprise leadership development space.
• The Ken Blanchard Companies: Blanchard is a global leadership development and management training company known for 'The One Minute Manager.' It directly competes with telos in leadership development programs, executive coaching, and culture/team transformation work for enterprise clients.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Heidrick & Struggles is a premier executive search and leadership advisory firm with a dedicated Leadership Consulting practice that includes executive coaching, team acceleration, and culture shaping, all areas where telos operates.
• Egon Zehnder: Egon Zehnder is a global executive search and leadership advisory firm offering executive coaching, leadership development, and team effectiveness services. It directly overlaps with telos's senior executive and leadership team engagements at the C-suite level.
• RHR International: RHR International is a leadership consulting firm specializing in executive coaching, senior team effectiveness, and CEO/board advisory. It is a direct peer to telos in boutique executive coaching and senior leadership team transformation for Fortune 500 clients.
• BTS Group: BTS is a global professional services firm focused on leadership development, strategy execution, and sales transformation. It directly overlaps with telos's leadership development, cohort-based programs, and culture/strategy execution engagements for enterprise clients.
• Linkage (a SLOne brand): Linkage is a leadership development and talent management firm offering executive coaching, leadership academies, and culture transformation programs. It is a direct peer to telos in immersive leadership development and women/emerging leader programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-telos-institute
• Xx.com/telosinstitute
• Facebookfacebook.com/thetelosinstitute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Telos