Testimonials

--Ruth Gassman, Director, Prevention Insights at Indiana University

 

Our work with OWLS has been the best thing to happen to us in the past 10 years!

 

--Amy Guardino, Director of Health Information Management

I believe the IntelliPrev™ system would be an excellent resource for companies dedicated to assisting their greatest resource, their employees, in gaining wellness in their personal and professional lives for the benefit of themselves and their employer.

 

This class was very affirming! First, I learned that to be successful I need to reflect on how to begin work towards grounding myself and develop my “Heart –Centered” Leadership Skills. Second, I would like to thank Joel and Michaela for the wonderful class, amazing books and support and guidance along the way. I am excited to dive into the foundational resources that will further guide my through my journey of Well-being.

This program is of high integrity, high value and on target for what is needed to move the world of wellness forward. I have learned so much, on so many levels from my participation in the Workplace Champion Certification training program. The most powerful message was the “power of one” and our ability to influence and inspire personal change and cultural wellness through one’s own individual well being and practices. I am already applying insights in my own work and will be doing so for years to come.

(Team Awareness) Program had "staying power" and positive outcomes were evident the following year. 

 

--Don Jorgensen, PhD, Former President Of Employee Assistance Professionals Association

Team Awareness addresses aspects of workplace culture, teamwork, communication, stress, policy, substance abuse prevention and more. Team Awareness also increases awareness and utilization of EAPs.

 

 --Crew Chief, Small Construction Company

Team Awareness has helped me to take the perspective of workers and the stresses they face. It has helped us as a business to work together and improve the overall climate.

 

 --Human Resources, Large Municipality

We saw decreases in undermining between employees and supervisors, number of sick days, number of minor injury/worker's comp   claims; and increases in overall quality of communication, satisfaction between co-workers and supervisors, trust,  support, work motivation.

 

 --HR Administrator, Research Agency

Team Awareness changed the whole environment of our substance abuse initiative. Instead of being viewed as punitive in nature, our efforts to deal with workplace health were seen as a commitment to getting help for our employees. Moreover, we reaped the benefit of having a work force attuned to taking collective responsibility for workplace health.

 

 --Robert E. Quinn, M. E. Tracy Distinguished Professor Of Organizational Behavior And Human Resource Management At The University Of Michigan Business School

On Heart-Centered Leadership: "This book cracks the code. Leadership happens on the inside, where everyone is sure it isn't and not the outside where everyone is sure it is." 

 

--Johnny Boatman, National Guard

Dr. Joel Bennett has been instrumental in assisting the National Guard in developing a prevention based program that has helped men and women cope with the stresses of war and other military operations.In early 2007, the National Guard (NG) received funding from the Department of Defense to develop a Prevention, Treatment, and Outreach (PTO) strategy to support a dozen U.S. States in developing a new program that focused on providing substance abuse and mental health services to guard members and their families. The NG decided to incorporate an evidence-based substance abuse prevention program, Team Awareness, previously shown to be effective in reducing alcohol and drug (AOD) risks among adult employees. Between April of 2007 and January 2009, the applicant (OWLS) has worked with NG to adapt Team Awareness into a new program, titled Team Readiness that fits the NG military culture. This program helped to decrease tolerance, enabling, and stigmatization of problem behaviors. It enhanced group responsiveness to problems; improve attitudes toward policy, and increased help seeking, counseling or use of other resources.Dr. Bennett trained over 40 different trainers in the raw coping power toolkit from the team readiness program. This greatly helped our service members deal with stress. Especially it helped many recognize that one of the tools in raw coping power could help those who recognized their own limits when it comes to severe stress that many guard members face. This is the ability to reach out and ask for help if necessary. In fact, by implementing this training and using many of the tools, we saw a 300% increase in help seeking behavior and so we were able to get soldiers help who would otherwise never reached out for it.Dr. Bennett is also a very accomplished consultant and speaker. He was able to navigate discussions with high-level leaders while, at the same time, inspire our service members through conference addresses, workshops, and key-notes. I recommend him highly.

 

--Mim Senft, CWWS GBA AAI RYT, Optum

Wellness Champions course has been a journey that has gotten me more focused on personal, community and professional goals. No one has all the answers, but together we will continue getting closer to better solutions as we collaborate (play!) together. I have gained additional tools, resources, and a larger network of professionals to reach out to for sharing ideas, problem solving and support. I look forward to staying in touch with my fellow champions and look forward to seeing what we can do together.

 

--James Campbell Quick, Professor Of Organizational Behavior; Director, Doctoral Program In Business Administration, Center For Research On Organizational And Managerial Excellence, University Of Texas At Arlington

Heart-Centered Leadership is both accurate and compelling, centering in on an essential issue for today.

 

--Wally Doolin, CEO, La Madeleine French Bakery & Cafe

Heart-Centered Leadership will...stimulate your intellect as it is based on research that reinforces the conclusions in a logical way.