Coaching Testimonials

Here’s what our clients have to say about Harmony Coaching and Consulting.

Diane Reid, Executive Director of United Cerebral Palsy of the MidSouth, speaks about her coaching experience with Bill.

Over the past year I’ve had the absolute pleasure of working with Bill as my executive coach.  His unique ability to quickly assess my leadership skills and guide me through the development of a very pragmatic action plan was invaluable.  Bill routinely provided thought provoking exercises and reading assignments which further helped to refine my leadership skills and problem-solving techniques.  The other benefit I gained from my coaching experience was his truly holistic approach to my development as a leader.  I was appropriately challenged to integrate my personal goals into my professional action plans.  He expertly reinforced the need to balance all aspects of my life with a focus on self, career, community, family and spirituality. I would strongly recommend Bill as a premier executive coach who will profoundly impact your business and personal life!
– Gene Fernández, FACHE, Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare

I have gained many insights through my coaching experience with Bill. These insights have resulted in changes that have impacted my approach to leadership, family and self-management. Among these insights and changes are how to be more effective in my communication with leaders, employees, peers and internal customers; increased confidence in my own abilities; using coaching skills to help grow and develop my team; ability to better balance my passion for work and my time with family and expanding my repertoire of techniques for ensuring I meet the needs of the business. These changes are evidenced in improved execution on business objectives, stronger relationships with employees, peers and leaders and my promotion to Senior Director.
– Hobbs Dewitt, Senior Director, Category Supply Management, ServiceMaster

I think one of the most helpful parts of the coaching experience was the opportunity to take the assessments. They really helped me better understand some of the things about myself that I’d known but was unable to express. Knowing more about myself helped me when engaging others.

Bill was an excellent coach. He seemed to know just what to say and how to say it so that it would be meaningful to me. He was always professional and made this a very memorable experience. I will definitely take the things I learned in coaching with me throughout my career.
– Vanessa Roberts, Team Services Director, Memphis Child Advocacy Center

Working with Bill to both assess and improve my leadership skills has been not only a professional gift but a personal one that I can apply to all relationships in my life. His ability to ask powerful, thought provoking and challenging questions is a highly effective way to lead his clients to do the proper self-assessment and discover a better way forward. He took the time to know me as an individual and to understand my context and working environment as he supported my journey. By far, the best employee benefit I’ve ever received in my professional career.
– Lynne Walker, EVP, Director, Affinity Banking Strategy, First Tennessee Bank

I have had the opportunity to work with Bill as a coach when I was promoted into a new position.  I had specific objectives relative to accelerating my transition in to the new position and successfully accomplished each of those goals with the help of Bill as my coach.  I found Bill’s coaching insightful, constructive and motivating.  Through the coaching engagement I learned more about myself, increased my portfolio of skills and found more fulfillment in both my business and personal life.  I would highly recommend Bill as a coach for anyone serious about their learning and professional development.  He is a good development partner for executives.
– Mary Kay Runyan, SVP Supply Management, ServiceMaster

Though I have had many experiences developing new businesses and leading teams over several decades, I was having trouble leading myself.  I was working extremely hard, travelling constantly.  I was conflicted between significant immediate reward/success in my business and my long-term personal goals.  Bill provided simple clarity; a kind, unwavering, and unbiased voice, which held me accountable to my personal goals while also eliminating conflict with professional goals.  The result has been a smooth transition to a much more enlightened and effective way of life, a deeper connection to family and friends, and a host of new business opportunities!  I cannot thank Bill enough.  His company’s services continue to be a great investment for us.”
– Jim Burkhead, Owner, Synesus Inc.

My team and I are both benefiting from the coaching that I received from Bill.  I was impressed by some of the immediate success that I had with more effectively engaging my team.  Those achievements fueled me to take on some more challenging people management issues with success and confidence.  Companies really ought to invest in coaching for new managers more often instead of waiting to invest in coaching for executives.
– Manager – Medtronic

I just ran the financial report for my business this morning, and discovered our numbers are up!  Bill Burtch’s guidance as my business coach is the main reason for this growth.  In coaching sessions with Bill, I came to know our business’s values and strengths. Bill inspired me to create new programming that plays to those strengths.  Now we are serving more clients than ever, in a way that feels authentic. I knew our business had potential for growth and success, but I had no idea we would see results this soon.
– Leah Bray Nichols, Owner – Evergreen Yoga

Through Bill’s coaching, I have a more complete understanding of my leadership style and how to optimize it to achieve both near and long-term career goals.  I found Bill’s program and coaching techniques to be highly effective and they have accelerated my professional growth – to a much higher degree than the other coaching/leadership programs I’ve been through. Specifically, my ability to influence & lead others, navigate hostile environments, and build stronger working relationships has never been better and have resulted in new levels of success.  I highly recommend Bill’s program to anyone challenged with navigating complex business relationships and/or achieving results in a matrix-style environment.
– Jack Watkinson, Senior Director, Financial Planning & Analysis – ServiceMaster

Working with Bill has been the best professional development experience of my career. He started by helping me internalize where I was starting from and where I wanted to go.  He provided me with practical tools and techniques to make small, steady improvements.  I didn’t feel like I had to change my personality overnight, I was able to fit improvements into my existing work style, and see results almost immediately.  Bill held me accountable for making the changes “stick”, and I left the coaching experience with a lasting foundation for continued growth and development.
– Raj Midha, Vice President Customer Experience, American Home Shield/ServiceMaster

Working with Bill Burtch was an enjoyable and provocative experience.  I told him he was the nicest, pushiest coach I ever had!  The coaching experience gave me the authority to work on myself and Bill provided the accountability, challenging me to grow and stretch in a way that was authentic to my personality.  His recommended books were so impactful that I recommended them to friends with similar situations.  The overall coaching experience helped me to navigate the cultural waters by thinking differently, which then changed my behaviors and actions, resulting in improved performance.  The Harmony Coaching experience was a tremendous investment and payoff in organizational effectiveness and myself.
– Bernadette Gray, Manager, Process Improvement – Service Experience Leadership, FedEx Corporation

Bill has been a great coach, mentor, and confidant over the past year for me and several members of my team.  He has deep knowledge in how to develop professional relationships and navigate complex change processes.   Bill is also a subtle but powerfully effective driver of behavior change: we identified opportunities and solutions together through his Socratic method and then he was a terrific “forcing function” to make sure that my agreed to deliverables were met.

And, as an added benefit, it was surprising how much of the skills he helped me develop helped me away from work as well!  (I’m sure my wife would write a similarly glowing testimonial!)

I would enthusiastically recommend Bill as a coach on any dimension of personal development and relationship management.
– Jim Kunihiro, SVP Corporate Strategy & Marketing, ServiceMaster

Bill Burtch’s executive coaching program has helped me to become a more effective and successful business leader.  He led me through a process in which my strengths and weaknesses were evaluated in a very straightforward but nonjudgmental way.  We then developed a plan that incrementally improved my leadership capabilities.

Through working with Bill I learned how to develop and strengthen my business relationships.  He helped me gain perspective on complex situations as well as how to deal with various difficult personalities.  I was able to develop confidence in my personal interactions, from the board level on down.  I am now better equipped to anticipate and meet the demands of my superiors.  I have also learned the value of developing a team and having my expectations clearly communicated and acted upon.

The result of the work we did together is that I have a high level of confidence in my abilities and I know how to approach my day so that I can reach my full potential.  This has not only helped in my work life but it has provided me with an overall sense of accomplishment and well being.  The coaching program I undertook lasted several months and required substantial commitment and effort, but it was well worth it.  It easy for me to recommend Bill Burtch as a coach, he’s the best.
– Joe Jones, Controller

Thank you for providing me with a wonderful executive coaching experience. You applied a wealth of knowledge and experience to all your coaching sessions, as well as to your preparation and follow-up coaching. I acquired excellent leadership tools, guidelines, methodologies, and best practices for my leadership development. During the coaching sessions and activities, I learned to apply appropriate techniques to handle complex and varying work situations. By working through these sessions, my level of confidence and leadership skills have dramatically increased. As a result of this coaching opportunity, I learned to establish a healthier work-life balance. I feel better equipped to successfully handle the consistently changing work environment and corporate initiatives. Your willingness and openness to share knowledge, experiences, techniques, and strategies positively impacted my professional growth, as well as benefiting FedEx. This coaching opportunity helped me professionally and personally and you have proven to be an invaluable coach.
– Elise Michaelson, Manager of Customer Identity, FedEx

I’ve had incredible success with the coaching process. My enhanced understanding of my strengths, blind spots, and communication style have increased my ability to see the same in others and manage, lead and coach more effectively! With Bill I’ve been able to maximize my leadership style to create a more knowledgeable and empowered staff with a strong vision for the hotel’s future. The chances I and my management team have made resulted in a climate survey score increase of 29 percentage points and an annual decrease in turnover of 25 percent! Bill has great ideas, is a great resource for brainstorming and leadership development and stays focused on attaining the concrete business results we identified at the beginning of the coaching relationship.
– Mary Eckhoff, General Manager Embassy Suites

I would recommend Bill for those who are going through a significant career change and/or are in the position of helping others make a significant career change. Bill’s expertise in coaching and personal experiences in the work setting give him a powerful set of skills and tools that will guide leaders to achieve positive changes in their professional and/or personal lives. He is truly an active listener which leads to a dialogue that is personally impactful and on target. His rich experience based examples and thought provoking questions will undoubtedly facilitate insight and growth for anyone fortunate enough to work with him.
– Ginger Bryant Whelan, Performance Associates

Enlisting the services of Harmony C&C and Bill Burtch was on of those key “life experiences” in my professional development. I was able to achieve and even exceed the goals we set at the beginning of the engagement. The accountability aspect with the coach was one of the most profound components of the process. In many cases, Bill served as my conscience by asking challenging questions, and providing the framework for me to identify the “root causes” of challengers on my own, and then establishing a safe environment for me to think, talk through and crystallize my thoughts and necessary next steps. Bill’s background and credentials make him qualified, but his attitude, approach, and wit make him exceptional as an executive coach and consultant. Working with him on a path of discovery and introspection allowed me to discover my own strengths and understand how I can be more effective as a business professional and leader.
– Managing Director, FedEx Express

The power of Bill’s coaching is in the results — greater productivity, a more cohesive team and achieving more of my goals at a faster pace. What’s more, looking in the mirror at your leadership habits isn’t always fun or easy, but Bill makes the coaching process enjoyable. I highly recommend working with Bill. It has made me a better leader.
– SVP Marketing — Fortune 50 Company

Working with Bill was an excellent experience. I came to Bill at a time when I was unhappy with my career and I was looking to make a change. Bill helped me to identify my strengths and weaknesses. He helped me determine my goals and how to take steps toward achieving them. Bill’s honest, realistic approach was refreshing and meeting with Bill was a joy! I always felt Bill was supportive and encouraging and Bill also provided me with a constructive feedback. His energy was motivating and his knowledge and experience was a valuable tool. Bill held me accountable and helped me make significant progress. I am truly grateful for my coaching experience.
– Career Coaching Client

Based on the coaching I have become more thoughtful in determining my work and personal needs, plan more effectively, and think through projects in a more timely and orderly way. I learned more about myself and my direct reports which is allowing us to work more effectively together. Bill is a great “modeler” of behaviors that I want to employ such as listening carefully, noting key facts, encouraging assumptions and asking questions.
– Nancy Williams, Executive Director, Memphis Child Advocacy Center

Bill helps to fill-in foundational tools that may not be learned through self-discovery and self-education. His coaching is a definite for those who plan on growing in their professional endeavors.
– Tracie Robinson-Woods, Corporate Director, Recruitment Services Methodist-Le Bonheur Healthcare

When I began my coaching experience with Bill, I did not know what to expect. However, at the conclusion of the first meeting, I was more energized about my non-profit position than ever before. Through Bill’s coaching, I have been able to address human resource, time management and over commitment issues that had cluttered my work day. Six months after, I find myself asking “what would Bill advise?” when dealing with difficult situations or tasks at work. Thank you Bill, for helping me regain my sanity and performance level.
– Brady Tanner, Director of Development, UCP of the Mid-South

Bill did a great job of keeping the process on track and ensuring that I followed up on my commitments. As a result we continued to accomplish the goals of the process. We could have easily let some things fall through the cracks but Bill did an excellent job of making sure we covered all that was planned. I feel like I learned a lot about my style and how I come across to others as a result of this process and that will very much help me on a go forward basis.
– Karl Haas, Senior Vice President of Operations, Storage USA

I can truly say that your guidance (Bill) has led to some of my best growth and professional development in years.
– Director, First Horizon National Corp.

Overall, I was extremely pleased with the results.
– Vice President Acquisitions, medium-sized service organization

I came to the coaching process when I was at a crossroad in my career. Through the assessment of my personality and tendencies, ongoing dialogs about what I wanted to accomplish and the evaluation of my decision processes, I am feeling more confident in my abilities and not as hesitant to take calculated risks. With the help of coaching, I was able to make critical decisions about my current job and find a new position in a very short time. The coaching process has been instrumental in charting the course for the future of my career. I am more confident in my abilities to be a successful manager and leader.

The coaching process is the one completely selfish activity that I am doing for my career and myself. Bill is the only person that is completely neutral in all interactions and has no hidden agendas. His is the person that is consistently on the sidelines cheering me on and asking me key questions about vital decisions. After our sessions, I am excited about how far I have come and how much more I can accomplish. He and the process force me to look at each side of every issue before making a decision that matches my natural strengths and abilities.
– Jennifer McNary, Executive Director of GMAQ

I enjoyed and benefited from the individual coaching sessions. Bill is very easy to talk to and I appreciated, very much, his insights. Bill really helped me to see the bigger picture like “manager as leader” not just task supervisor. I was skeptical going in to this experience about what coaching would be like. I’m very glad I did it. I leaned a lot of practical things — like tools and skills — and also examined and improved my mindset. Thanks!
– Kim Campbell, Intervention Services Director, Memphis Child Advocacy Center

Bill attempts to gain a deep understanding of who I am so that he can help me better my life. In addition to the actual coaching, Bill provides me with ideas and tools on how to resolve those “difficult” issues that are getting in my way. He definitely expects a lot but I know that he is genuinely interested in my progress.
– Financial Analyst, Buckman Labs

Coaching isn’t about re-hashing the past, it’s about focusing on today and the future. With Bill’s help, I have learned to create specific goals and have developed the courage to put them into action. He challenges me to step out of my comfort zone and reach for what I want and need. His expertise has given me insight, and his encouragement and support have given me the motivation to keep trying.
– Teresa Franks, Entrepreneur

Under Bill’s gentle but firm guidance I have been able to understand the “self’ roadblocks that keep me from fully excelling in my corporate role and then take a planned approach to trying something different to see if I get more effective results. Bill also challenged my sense of balance by helping me come to an understanding that “Renewing” myself would make my hours spent on the projects at work more effective and leave more of me for the other roles in my life.
– Jill Bridges, HR Legal Strategy Manager, Union Planters Bank Corporation

Thanks Bill. I have enjoyed our sessions together. You are very talented, knowledgeable and challenging. You have made it fun, informative and interesting.
– Area Sales Manager, regional banking organization

Bill started our coaching relationship with a self assessment profile which provided me with detailed insight about my natural leadership style and what was needed for the job. This allowed for us to have discussions around how I may approach my new position. This process has helped me both professionally and personally and has created self-awareness around my strengths and my development area. The thing that I value most about my relationship with Bill is his ability to be positive and supportive yet provides me with constructive feedback when needed. My coaching relationship with Bill has proved to be invaluable to me achieving my professional goals.
– Angela Moss, Senior HR Business Partner, Regions Bank

In particular, I find Bill’s ability to adapt to different situations the most valuable. His coaching is demonstrating great awareness to the needs, or quirks, of senior managers as well as the ability to work with coaches who have different needs.
– A Coaching Sponsor, First Horizon Corp.

Bill, we just finished our fiscal year and I had a terrific year and got an outstanding raise. I would give you ALL of the credit but then you might want some of my raise. I will have a drink in your honor though. I really do want to tell you that I appreciate what you did for me last year!
– Certified Public Accountant, Executive Coaching Client

I had a great start to the year. I haven’t been this enthused about my work in a long time. I can thank you (Bill) for that.
– Solo-Entreprenuer Coaching Client

The coaching not only helped my professional development, but also my personal development. I have leaned so much about myself and how I interact with others. I am a more effective communicator and this is essential in my development and directly impacts my organization. I loved the way Bill offered professional suggestions, but he also “kept it real.” He is approachable and realistic about situations; I learned so much just hearing myself talk. He really knows how to make you think and solve issues from within. It was great!
– Tony Billings, Human Resource Manager, Independent Bank

My life is good but I want to make it GREAT. I initially started the coaching process to focus on my career goals, but it has taken on a much more holistic approach. Working with a Coach (Bill) helped me define my core values and how to apply these to every aspect of my life. It’s a very deep process that requires self-examination and contemplation. I will continue to use coaching as a tool to help me identify and achieve my dreams.

I think one of the most helpful parts of the coaching experience was the opportunity to take the assessments. They really helped me better understand some of the things about myself that I’d known but was unable to express. Knowing more about myself helped me when engaging others.

Bill was an excellent coach. He seemed to know just what to say and how to say it so that it would be meaningful to me. He was always professional and made this a very memorable experience. I will definitely take the things I learned in coaching with me throughout my career.
– Vanessa Roberts, Team Services Director, Memphis Child Advocacy Center

My work with Bill focused on leadership style, effectiveness, process, and team development. Bill brings a wealth of real world business experience/acumen as well as a deep rooted passion for coaching and mentoring to the table, rendering him extremely effective. Throughout our journey, Bill deftly employed a host of tools, educational materials, and insights to drive actionable behavioral realizations. Bill is extremely prepared, thoughtful, and steadfastly focused on driving results through accountability. My time spent with Bill was extremely effective and valuable as evidenced by my growth and performance as well as the growth and performance of my team.
– Rob E., Director