Below are testimonials organized by category: coaching clients, colleagues, and graduate leadership students from a self-development course I designed and taught.
Coaching Client Testimonials
Dave has helped to motivate me to really look at my law practice and break things down in the way that I manage my office and staff...Our phone strategy sessions are useful because Dave helps me set up goals to try and reach after each session. I’m trying to tackle some important but non-urgent tasks that are typically long-range in nature. Dave’s listening skills and forward-looking thinking have also helped guide our phone sessions. As a result, I look forward to these sessions and get a lot out of them.
Before working with Dave, I felt unsatisfied with the traditional educational and career path I was following, but didn’t know how to get out of it. By working with him, I was motivated and able to develop strategies to change direction. I am now on track to pursue a creative career I am truly passionate about.
My experience with Dave has been very effective and pleasant. With a style both professional and friendly, he helped me to identify my inner drivers and make them a compass for my progress in life. He will confidently and patiently…let you authenticate and own your intentions through the process of translating vague dreams and wishes into a solid game plan.
I knew that I wanted a different approach to personal development, something that would help me to focus and build my confidence by setting and achieving goals. My relationship with Dave has provided me with the encouragement and constructive feedback to move forward with my life, and I’m grateful for that. I have already recommended him to others.
In a mere 5-6 sessions, Dave helped me develop good questions to improve communication with my foster son, and he helped me reach a better work-life balance by helping me to articulate both my goals and small steps toward achieving them…I was more fully engaged in productive communication with my foster son and put into action my desire to expand my spiritual practice by scheduling retreats, campouts, and seeking space and time to teach more yoga…I also happened to discover a new community to call my spiritual home in Pittsburgh, which had been a several-year longing!
When I went looking for help in areas of my life where I knew I was having difficulty, I found Dave, and as a result I found so much more. Dave has given me a new way to approach my life and helped me to approach challenges with purpose and clarity. If you want someone to tell you what to do, don’t look here. Rather, if you want to be shown how to identify your strengths and weaknesses, taught how to make goals and stick to them, and learn how to manage your life accordingly, Dave is the man to have with you along the way.
Dave is professional, knowledgeable, and truly helped me discern what matters most to me in my professional life. I highly endorse him!
Dave has given me some tools that will enable me to refocus and get on an authentic path because I’m more clear now about how my values may play into my choices. Dave’s sharing of his expertise and abilities truly are gifts that he is sharing with the world.
Working with Dave was great. He helped me to break down where I wanted to go in life and what I wanted to be. He then helped me to develop strategies and plans to help achieve each objective that I created for myself along the way. Dave had a very good way of listening and offering feedback and suggestions while still leaving me responsible for implementing them as I saw fit. With Dave’s coaching, I have been able to make really rewarding changes in my life and try things that I might not have otherwise considered. I would recommend him to anyone.
Dave has been extremely supportive throughout my coaching with him. He has helped me understand my own obstacles in moving forward with my life. He is a great listener and facilitates your growth as a person.
Colleague Testimonials
Dave and I were in the same cohort in graduate school and he was a constant source of encouragement and good information. Maybe the most telling thing I can say about Dave is that he isn’t the kind of guy who just does you a favor when you ask him; instead, he actively looks for opportunities to reach out and help others.
I recently ran into Dave during a mutual friend’s charity event. I discussed a less than satisfactory situation I was in...Through just a brief conversation, Dave was able to help me identify the issue, the actions I was taking to perpetuate the problem, and asked me what was keeping me from rectifying the issue. He was able to cut to the quick with his unique perspective. Dave helped me immensely and it was so easy that I didn’t realize it while it was happening. I am extremely confident in Dave’s abilities to assist anyone who is looking for help gaining clarity in identifying and achieving their personal goals. I highly recommend his services.
Dave brings the skills, open mind, temperament, and creativity to the situation when you are in need of a helpful perspective of challenging work and life situations.
Graduate Leadership Testimonials
Dave created and taught a self-development course to community leadership graduate students, incorporating a range of coaching psychology concepts.
My self-awareness has increased a great deal as a result of this class. I am much more cognizant of the way I respond to adversity...I am so thankful to have been taking this class while dealing with the most adverse situation...My ability to cope so well has made a major difference...I remained committed to my own vision. Thanks, Dave, for all of your positive feedback.
In sharing my impressions of this class I thought of trying to find a place that I have never been to without directions...We certainly can achieve life’s assorted goals in due time, but we make it so much easier on ourselves and so much more of an efficient process if we simply bring that map...those personal visions that have the final destination already down on paper with detailed steps that help us get there. We all have the right to alter those visions with new perspectives, wants, and needs...but we will always get to the finish line faster with our directions.
One of the most important things I learned was identifying values and being able to see how they can work together as opposed to being in conflict. Also, I can reframe events–instead of being frustrated that a certain goal is not being met, I can see that I am responding to a higher value.
This course has helped me put things in perspective. It’s not always the end of the world now for me. It’s about taking what you have and making the community you want instead of simply being in the community you’re in.