Testimonials

Joshua Willis

Dell Technologies
Sr. Manager, FBE&O Transformation & Production Support

“As I entered my second professional opportunity to lead a team of people, I was confronted with the question “What guides your thinking when leading others?”.  The answer was somewhere in the range of “I don’t know” to “show up every day and do what needs to be done.”  Not feeling comfortable with my inability to articulate any kind of model for my new role, I contacted Matt at Thrive Leadership Development.  Matt thoughtfully listened and understood where I was in my leadership journey and where I wanted to be.  He broke down the concepts of leadership for me into practical actions I could intentionally take every day to provide leadership to my team.  But, we didn’t stop at leadership.  He emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance between team development and caring for those I lead.  At the end of our time I was left with one word that has transformed how I show up to work – intentionality.  I now strive to approach every engagement with my team proactively and intentionally.

Regardless of whether you are a formal leader or an individual contributor, I would recommend working with Thrive.  Their leadership models help you clearly define the best approach to leading others with confidence.  The practical tools Thrive provides will both change your approach to leadership and will prove productive as you engage with your team.”

Chris and Nicole Kroger

Roots Church (Monument, CO)
Senior Pastor

“Thrive Leadership Development was a game changer for us at Roots Church. Thrive helped us to intentionally pour into our team, develop our leaders, and integrate our leadership model. Being a new church plant, with a new church plant team, Thrive helped us get on the same page from our first training; providing an effective biblical framework that was easy to implement with our entire staff and vision of our church. Any organization would benefit from the skills and wisdom Thrive Leadership Development brings, and be better because of it.”

Steve Franklin

Compassion International
Director of Global Security

“I’ve been through leadership training in the military, the federal government, and with other private organizations, but Thrive is some of the best leadership training I’ve ever had. The lead/develop/care model is simple, but it encompasses everything you will encounter as a leader. Each session we talked about one of the concepts, then ran through a Biblical example, and then a real-world scenario. Those scenarios seemed like they could have been plucked from my own jobs. Matt and Brandi identified my strengths and the areas where I could improve and talked about how to put the model in action. Since this training I’ve applied the concepts whenever I’ve felt stuck in a course of action. I would recommend this training to any leader, or anyone aspiring to leadership in ministry or the secular world. It provides an easy to apply set of tools that will help you in your leadership journey.”

Janina Goodwin

Pikes Peak Library District
Director of Adult Services

“I’ve worked as a supervisor in public libraries since 2011. Over the years I have attended several training sessions and read a multitude of books on a variety of helpful topics including management, communication, accountability, strategy, coaching, discipline, etc. While each of these resources has provided useful tools that I have recalled in different circumstances, I often struggled to apply them in ways that solved the problems that I encountered. The tools were a little too neat for situations that would feel sort of messy.

The leadership framework that I learned through coaching sessions with Brandi at Thrive empowered me to identify the best uses for the tools I already had, equipped me with new tools, and has ultimately led me to solutions.  By far the most valuable impact has been that I can assess my employees’ needs through the LDC Primary Responsibilities exercise, regardless of what is going on with their coworkers. This has helped to show me where I can support my team that works at a variety of levels. They are all unique, so of course the individualized approach is better suited to their optimal performance and growth. This practice has helped me to support people whose expertise once intimidated me, improved my relationships with each of them, and facilitated improved relationships with each other.

I have used these principles to customize tools that work for me and am better prepared to adapt my approach for each of them, which seems to have unlocked the solutions I have needed all along. I feel like this training has given me permission to focus on areas needing the most attention and apply appropriate techniques based on specific needs. I would certainly recommend Thrive’s leadership framework to anyone who works with a team of people.”

Kent Nolley

Terebinth Ministries (Uganda)
Founder and Executive Director

“Thrive Leadership Development was the perfect training for my organization. As the leader of an international charity in Uganda, one of my biggest challenges is on how to lead people coming from very different worldviews. The leadership principles taught were unique compared to most leadership courses I have attended. What Thrive offers is leadership training that is focused on the person as opposed to the entire organization. An organization is made up of individuals, and it’s crucial each individual in the organization is led, developed and cared for. My employees have responded superbly as we worked together as a team to implement a new leadership model. I highly recommend Thrive’s training to anyone searching for a model of leadership at work, or even in the home setting. It’s works for every situation where there are people working together for a common goal.”

Chris Kuhlmann

Peak Gymnastics and Fitness
Owner and Founder

“All of our staff members are strong individuals.  They are typically leaders even though they are high school aged.  We invited Matt and Brandi to coach our leadership team and thought, “We are pretty good leaders already.”  But as they taught us new leadership concepts, we began to realize some blind spots and identified areas for improvement.  As gymnastic coaches, we are constantly on the go.  It is a very active, hands-on type of job, and we work hard at developing our coaches.  However, our senior leadership team realized that we are a little too reactive and need to be more intentional and proactive with our staff.  One of our biggest takeaways from Thrive’s training was the concept of intentionality.  Although we do our jobs pretty well, the result of our training led us to ask, “How can we connect with and care for each gymnast?” and “How can I build a better rapport with every staff member?”  We now desire to model to each staff member the virtuous character traits needed to help them become trusted leaders.  We want to lead, develop and care for all of our team in such a way that they desire to stay with us longer and increase employee retention.  The leadership model Thrive uses really impressed us.  We are currently working with them to invest in our leaders and staff to create a more effective and intentional leadership culture.”

Olara Samuel

Terebinth Ministries (Uganda)
Operations Director

“Right after the training I was thinking how to immediately implement what I learned.  When I got back home, I started setting up times to speak with those who report to me about how to lead, develop and care for them and how they can pass that down to those they lead.  We came up with a system on how to do this.  I have been doing leadership for quite a number of years, but I didn’t have a model, and this was a perfect solution for me.”