Testimonials

I have been in leadership positions for over 25 years. I have been to leadership and management training with at least ten different companies. I have used dozens of agencies to assist with hiring and employee development support. When it comes time for me to make the most important hires, the biggest team or personnel decisions, maximize a well-staffed team’s performance, or bring a group of extremely diverse views together for the greater good of the business, Giombetti Associates is the one place I return. They understand business and they understand people better than any similar entity I have ever worked with.

—Jeff Carpenter, CEO: ProTech Industries

This program provided me valuable and honest feedback about myself that has allowed me to excel in all aspects of my life. As cliché as it sounds, this program has changed my life, and without this program, I would not be as successful as I am today.

—Kristin Rheault

Hey guys,

I wanted to take a few days to reflect and absorb the training and see how some of the suggestions and realizations from last week played out once I was back in “the real world”, before sending this email to you. I won’t lie and tell you that I did not come into this training with a certain amount of skepticism. I have done a few of these types of things over my career before and quite frankly, I thought they were a great way for the people presenting to make a living. I mean, you get to stand up in front of a room full of people and tell them how to be a better (fill in the blank here), and how to contribute to their companies in a more effective manner. And get payed for it!

A few things that I observed to help make this a different dynamic are as follows.

1. You all sat at the same level as us.
   • There wasn’t any feeling of this being a PRESENTATION. It truly felt like a discussion. Which I’m sure was by design. It made it so comfortable to actually share thoughts and ideas. It’s much easier to check out when you are being “talked to”.
     1. I have tried to be mindful of my body language and positioning when I have had discussions with team members, co-workers, or family.
2. You allowed us to have different goals.
   • What I mean by this is, you allowed us to have different end games for this training. I know some of the team wanted to try to reach problem employees or be a better manager, while some others wanted to focus on how to be a better husband, father or friend. As well as the evolution of that goal. Some of the statements about the takeaways at the end were not in line with what they thought they would get out of it.
     1. No names, but several folks that said they wanted to be a better manager or better leader at the end talked about not being real or open with personal relationships versus the professional aspect. I think the correlation between who you are outside of work, as a person, and who your team thinks you are was eye opening. At least it was to me!!
     2. I have made a concerted effort to try to make sure that I am sensitive to the fact that different people want/need different things. And that’s OK!
3. You were real!
   • This is huge for me. I like to think that I have a pretty good B.S. meter and the minute the needle starts to move; I tend to shut down and just get through the interaction as quickly and painlessly as possible.
     1. From the second we came in, you all had big smiles and warm invite
     2. You shared personal stories that left you out there, vulnerable. This helped me be real and open.

I can’t tell you how much warmth and genuine compassion I felt from all of you during the training. I know my goodwill score is 96, which I’m sure contributes to me being a bit sappy at times, but I was a bit surprised that I got emotional in a room full of strangers when I talked about how I want to make things better with my family. I know that is a direct result of the environment that you ALL built over the course of the 3 days.

Not to keep going on, but I wanted to share a couple things that I have already done differently that I know was appreciated, even though nobody said a word. The first was as my family sat down for our weekly board game night, I made sure that I was the one to make sure that everyone had drinks, snacks whatever we needed before we started. That has always just been handled by Michelle, my wife. There is NO reason that she needs to be the last one to sit down, even if she doesn’t complain. Another thing is we were going to the grocery store and I turned the radio station to the one that my family likes. The world stopped for a minute…LOL . I despise 95% of the music on “their” station! I mean how can you go wrong with listening to Boston or Van Morrison??? But in that moment of pain and despair of listening to the latest and greatest from, whatever the flavor of the week was, I noticed all 3 of them kind of bounce their heads a bit to the rhythm. That was cool. I mean really, why should I get to decide what music we listen to ALL THE TIME? Just because I happen to be the one driving, which oh by the way, I don’t want anyone else to drive but me??? To quote a very wise man…that’s BAD, BAD, BAD. STOP IT! Haha, I must have heard Rick say that 40 times last week!!

Seriously guys, thank you all for the love and compassion that I felt from all of you. It means more than I can tell you! I look forward to speaking with you soon. Take care.

—Ernie Edgell, Manager C&I Field Sales: IGS Energy

I’ve partnered with Giombetti Associates for many years, and their impact is consistently exceptional. Their executive coaching approach strengthens leaders and teams in ways that directly improve business performance. What sets them apart is their ability to develop leaders from the inside out—their process is practical, insightful and deeply effective. They have been a trusted resource for every organization I’ve worked with.

—Lindi Lee, Vice President, Human Resources : Kopin

We have been working with Giombetti Associates for the past eight years partnering with them both on candidate selection and development. The candidate selection process provides us a deeper level of evaluation of each candidate and insight into how the candidate may perform and behave. The assessment results enhance our ability to dig in deeper to ensure we are selecting the right candidate for the role. In addition, the Giombetti team has become an important part in the continued development of our people.

We work with Ross and Amanda to understand the potential of each person and to determine how to manage and guide them through their individual development needs. Our employees appreciate the feedback, even though it is tough at times. This feedback allows them to become more self-aware of their tendencies and behaviors and adjust accordingly.

Giombetti has also been instrumental in teambuilding within our business and facilitates sessions focused on team dynamics and performance. This provides the atmosphere for people to have raw conversations, get to know each other on a deeper level and increase trust and respect. Giombetti has been a great partner to IGS and an asset to our people.

—Jenni Kovach, Chief People Officer: IGS Energy

I truly believe I am leaving here better prepared and much more aware of what a true leader is and the traits I need to get there.

—Justin Scheithauer, Plant Manager: Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc.

WOW! This program is a polite kick in the pants! If you truly want to improve, this program gives you the roadmap to follow for ultimate personal and leadership success. A must do for anyone at any level. I highly recommend this to EVERYONE!

—Nancy Marryat, Bank Manager: 360 Federal Credit Union

ComDoc has had the privilege of working with Giombetti Associates for over 20+ years. Initially, our intent was to incorporate their behavioral testing tools to identify talent and add an element of science to our recruiting process. Although these behavioral assessments and tools have provided a foundation for decision making on incoming personnel as well as our existing talent, the real value has gone well beyond these basic tools. As an organization, personal and professional development has become an integral strategy to the growth of our business which has allowed us to retain our leadership team, and in turn, our organization’s talent at all levels.

The impact that Ross Giombetti and his team has had relative to succession planning, leadership development, and improvements in teaching and coaching have all contributed to our exceptional growth in both revenue and profitability. Currently, our organization is undergoing a tremendous amount of change and transition. Our relationship with Giombetti Associates will help us navigate through these challenging times and provide outside perspective that reinforces how important leadership and development are to an organizations’ success.

One very specific example is a tool identified as the “User Manual” in which approximately twelve of our senior leaders have developed and refined in an effort to improve the strength of our team. This tool, developed by Giombetti, is a roadmap that our leaders can share with their teams to provide a very transparent picture of their leader’s style, strengths, vulnerabilities, and expectations. This tool has stimulated tremendous dialog with our leadership team and reinforces the value of servant leadership and provides a very clear picture of what it takes to be a successful leader at ComDoc. Having Giombetti facilitate these tools and provide face-to-face feedback to our leadership group, along with senior leadership involvement, has been instrumental.

Our partnership has strengthened over the years with Giombetti due to their ability to add tangible and measurable outcomes for our leadership team and our entire organization. I want to share my personal thanks to Ross and his entire team for adding tremendous value to the most important ingredient to our success, and that is our people!

—Stu Wise, Regional President: ComDoc, A Xerox Company

Eager to take things to the next level in our organization. We retained Giombetti Associates to strengthen the existing leadership team and attract other high performers to our organization through their screening process. In less than one year, we have seen remarkable improvements in individual and team performance.

—Rocco Falcone, President and CEO: Rocky’s Ace Hardware

I’m normally not a fan of the management and team building processes or classes that I’ve taken in the past—they tend to fall on the cookie cutter side where the same one or two solutions fit everyone and generally these classes are a waste of time. I feel the approach you take is much more tailored to the individual and group and therefore much more beneficial to everyone involved.

—Paul Leanza, Director: Interstate Gas Supply, Inc.

At Incline and across our portfolio companies, we operate at a fast pace and hold teams to a very high standard. Giombetti’s 360 Degree Review program gives us a clear, well-rounded view of how our leaders are showing up across the organization—not just what they deliver, but how they lead. That perspective is invaluable for focused coaching and for building aligned, high-performing teams in demanding environments.

—Jack Glover, Managing Partner: Incline Equity Partners

Tremendous content, real life examples. Hit home on many levels. It has knocked home the traits that I need to improve, as well as the traits I need to manage. With this knowledge, I should excel.

—Kenneth Smith, Plant Manager: Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc.

My experience shows through in my everyday life. I came to realize my patience level was beneficial in school during group projects, and that I needed to strengthen my dominance to assert my needs. Overall, this program has given me skills and valuable lessons that brought me to the success I have today.

—Grace Beaupre

For nearly 30 years, our team at Riverlake Partners has engaged Giombetti & Associates to help improve our odds of success for key hires across our portfolio companies nationwide. As we build executive teams, we rely on Giombetti’s Performance Dynamics® to assess the qualities and characteristics of each leader, with the goal of assembling highly functional teams where individual strengths and weaknesses complement one another.

One of the first steps in building our leadership teams is the implementation of Giombetti’s 360 Degree Review process, beginning with the CEO and expanding from there. This approach creates buy-in, encourages honest feedback and provides real data to address challenges and build on strengths. Without real feedback, credibility—and ultimately success—is difficult to achieve.

—Erik Krieger, Partner: Riverlake Partners

This is an opportunity you should not pass up. It will change your life almost immediately if you give them your attention. Both in the long and short term, you will learn lessons that it can take other people years to figure out and some may never realize!

—Matthew Garbecki

I highly recommend the services and programs of Giombetti Associates. Our experience with them has been a very successful and prosperous partnership over the last 8 years. We’ve had over 300 individuals utilize their assessment, training and development services with great results. During our engagement with them, we believe they’ve had a direct impact on our company’s bottom line. Since 2001, our revenue has grown from $350 million to over $1.1 billion this past year. They’ve helped us to understand and cultivate the best we have in our people, and it has proven to be well worth the investment.

The culture of our company, Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS), is something we take very seriously. It is critical for those partners we engage to understand and realize it’s not just what our people do that makes us successful, but that they do so by growing, developing and reaching their potential which matters most to us. Giombetti Associates has developed an innate understanding of ADS as a company. They’ve helped our people realize what they need to work on along with providing the tools and training that mesh with our company’s core values and culture, which is why it has been such a positive experience for us.

In these very challenging economic times, we can’t afford to make mistakes with our most important asset – our people. If we’re not investing in their growth and development, they’re going to go somewhere else and get it. Our employees take pride in what they learn from Giombetti, and their approach to what they do for us and how they do it has helped us to hire, retain and develop top performers.  We’ve leveraged several of Giombetti’s services including:

• Pre – Employment Assessments

The majority of our critical new hires are assessed by Giombetti before they’re offered a position. Giombetti’s assessment feedback provides us with an objective perspective which has helped us to improve our hiring rates over the years. It also helps us to identify potential areas of improvement in those we do hire so we’re already aware of what we can help them work on.

• Leadership Development

Every year, we have dozens of our high-potential employees participate in Giombetti’s Performance Dynamics training. This has helped them develop their leadership, management and interpersonal skills to the point where many of them have become top managers leading different organizations and initiatives within our company.

Since our initial engagement with Giombetti, they have become a true partner – one that knows what they’re talking about and is able to customize and implement truly beneficial and successful programs and training. We have employees who will tell you that it has changed their lives for the better, both personally and professionally. And, it has genuinely boosted employee morale because they see our investment in their future by providing opportunities for growth and development. We are a better company for having worked with Giombetti Associates.

—Erick Piscopo, Director: Human Resources: Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc.

Exceeded my expectations. It was more than hype and psych. This program had meat to its bones.

—Mark Puett, R&D Director: Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals

Giombetti Associates has been a big part of our Leadership Development strategy for nearly 20 years. They are a great partner that understands our culture, they have been pivotal in our hiring and developmental strategies. They provide candid feedback and really help you connect the dots with their profile assessments.

—Mike Huebert, Vice President Sales: Advanced Drainage Systems

They did an amazing job of individualizing their advice to each of us. They recognized where our strengths were and found our weaknesses, but only sought to improve them.

—Will Ryan

Ross, Rick and their team create an atmosphere of focused learning in their leadership workshop. The tool (Performance Dynamics assessment) that they have developed and refined creates a level of self-awareness that all leaders should be in tune with. They allow you to understand that you can manage that which you appreciate.

—Peter Brunault, Director of Human Resources: Williams Distributing

The three-day seminar was perfect for me. I needed that deep dive into understanding how each trait is developed, displayed and used to understand me and the impact I have on others. The side benefit is that you get to understand both sides of the coin and that turns the lights on when thinking about how other people in your life create, deal with or flee from circumstances.  If we are to seek to understand rather than be understood, this is a great place to begin by understanding yourself.

—Vance Mauldin, Vice President: Team Fishel