Coaching Recommendations

As the Director of Corporate Training for World Savings Bank I had the opportunity to work with numerous Senior Executives in the facilitation of our management and leadership development programs. One of the aspects that made our company unusual was that we used Senior Managers to facilitate our leadership development programs. This brought instant credibility and “real world” experience to the classroom. One of the best Senior Executives in facilitating these leadership programs is Bob Huffman. Bob has outstanding presentation skills, but more importantly knows how to engage the participants in the learning process. Bob not only understands adult learning principles, but has demonstrated his ability to utilize them in all of his training sessions. Bob’s presentation and facilitation style is one that is always well prepared and insightful. One of Bob’s greatest strengths is his ability to bring story-telling into the facilitation process that emphasizes the key learning points of each session. Bob engages the participants through his questioning and creative activities that create a positive learning environment. Bob’s credibility in the classroom came from that fact that he was highly regarded by everyone that knew him or worked with him, as one of the best leaders in the organization. He demonstrated every day the concepts and processes that he taught in the classroom. Bob was able to rise to exceptionally high levels within the organization due primarily to his outstanding leadership skills and ability. I experienced this first hand as I worked directly with him in two separate organizational disciplines. In observing Bob on numerous training situations he was always encouraging and supportive of participant perspectives and discussions. Bob has learned the critical ability to ask just the right question that challenges the individuals to think deeper into their responses and thought processes. Bob has developed these abilities through years of experience in managing and leading people, and also through his extensive involvement in classroom training. In our organization it was easy to identify the individuals that had a passion for training and development and Bob was one of the top executives in this regard. Not only did he ensure all of his managers had the opportunity to attend the management and leadership development courses, but he also took extensive amounts of his own valuable time to facilitate these multi-day sessions. It is with the highest regard that I recommend Bob Huffman.

Jim Dreher, CEO of Leadership Bound, LLC

Bob is one of the most talented administrative managers that I have ever worked with. His attention to detail is impressive. Bob was in charge of a large West Coast Appraisal organization that was responsible for 55% of the company's volume. Total budget for the Appraisal Department was approximately 100 Million and Bob was tasked with managing a large part of it. Anyone who hires Bob has hired a winner... I just can't say enough about him.

Jim Harris

I had the pleasure of working with Bob during my tenure with World Savings/Wachovia. During that time, Bob was my direct supervisor. If ever there was a man of the highest integrity, honesty, and loyalty, Bob could be just that man. Bob was able to balance compassion for his employees, while still maintaining the standards and practices of the company. He was always looking out for the best interest of his employees in the field, while running an effective and efficient department that was admired by other departments in the company. I believe it was because his employees knew how much he cared for and fought for them, that made them want to work harder and be the best they could be. He was respected, trusted, and admired by employees and managers alike. Bob had an open door policy unlike any manager I have ever worked with. He made himself completely accessible to anyone who needed to talk to him. Everyone from senior managers to field appraisers sought out Bob for advice because they knew he would give them straight forward, honest, and knowledgeable answers. Everyone who I met who had ever worked with Bob in any capacity had only positive things to say about their experiences. He inspired others, including myself, to be better, not only at their job, but also in their personal lives. Many of the projects that Bob and I worked together on were geared towards customer service. Bob had a passion for being the best in service, and he was very innovative in his ideas of how to get the message out to the field; the people who were the “face” of the company. From training meetings to contests, Bob was always thinking “service.” He had a unique skill to make training fun, and he had a way with words that could inspire anyone to be excited about helping others. During our time working together, I was fortunate to witness Bob advance quickly within the company. Senior Leaders recognized the value of what Bob had to offer and placed him in positions where he could make a positive impact on the people he worked with. With each new position, Bob sought out the positive aspects to make them flourish, while finding effective solutions to any problems. Bob would be a valuable asset to any company he worked for. He is the “Complete Package.” He is a compassionate leader, a hard worker, an inspiring trainer, and an overall determined person. I am grateful for the time I was able to work alongside Bob. He taught me so many valuable lessons that I continue to use in my day to day life and in my current work. Any company he works for in the future will be very lucky to have him.

Bonnie Ohlssen Manolas, Real Estate Salesperson at Windermere Lynne French & Associates

Working for the same company for almost 30 years, I've had the pleasure of working for different senior managers including Bob. I consider Bob as a true mentor and a leader of leaders. Bob has the ability to share his vision with his team and inspire confidence and commitment to always aspire for excellence in everything we do. He leads by example and his integrity, professionalism, and caring for every single person in his team even when that team consists of hundreds of people make him one of those truly special leaders. I have seen him in some challenging situations at work yet he never wavers from his core traits of honesty, natural humility, and a true genuine caring and concern for every person that he comes in contact with while getting the job done! I can truly say that, not only have I enjoyed working for Bob for more than 15 years as our Senior Vice President, but he also inspired and motivated me to become a manager like him.

Lou Kestel, Lee Property Investments LLC

Bob is extraordinarily comprehensive, thorough and detail oriented. He excels at creating clear channels of communication for his external clients, internal business owners and team members. His managerial style, combined with his strong sense of business ethics and his firm grasp of technical knowledge, helped to facilitate challenging contract negotiations that could have otherwise ended with less favorable terms. He consistently looks ahead to anticipate future business developments and ensure that his department is well positioned to accommodate changes. Bob is a pleasure to work with and is a strong management asset.

Farrowe Pan Church, Legal Counsel at Twitter

I highly recommend Bob Huffman as a top notch senior leader. Bob and I worked together through a challenging time for our organization. Bob's leadership and focus on the health of the team was inspirational. Bob is also very knowledgeable in business operations and taught me a great deal on setting up new work processes and monitoring procedures. Bob is on my short list of terrific business partners I have worked with in my career. Bob would benefit any organization he joins focused both on the success of the business operation and the people who make it happen.

Michael Hurley, Operations and Organizational Development Leader

It has been my pleasure to work with Bob Huffman for the past 7 years. During this time, I have gained great respect for Bob and his abilities. Bob is a consummate professional, outstanding manager and confident leader, and the respect and loyalty he has gained from both his superiors and subordinates has been clearly evident throughout the course of our association. Bob has always demonstrated the ability to exceed benchmarks and set challenging yet achievable goals for both vendors and employees alike. During his tenure at PMI, Bob’s acceptance of roles of increasing responsibility and his deft management of the various departments under his watch revealed superior skill in dealing with the diverse challenges day-to-day management. I have found Bob to be firm and unwavering in his vision but consistently fair and forthcoming in his communication of expectations. Always ethical yet practical with an eye to the bottom line, I am confident that Bob would be an asset to the management team of any organization.

Jeff Wickham, Co-Founder / President at Valligent Technologies

I had the pleasure of receiving professional and life coaching from Bob and highly recommend him for this service. He helped me tremendously to explore and identify my passion and my vision for the type of work that matters to me most. In addition, I was going through a difficult career transition and Bob was very skilled at helping me learn from my past, dig deep into understanding more about my self, and lifting up my gifts and talents to the world. His coaching is inspirational, motivating, caring, and practical in helping people discover what they care about professionally and taking effective steps to bring one's vision to reality.

Hugh Vasquez, Senior Associate at the National Equity Project

Robert Huffman is a Great Friend of mine and has been a very influential person to me for the past 6 years, he has used his knowledge as a Life Coach and extensive experience to help guide me through some of my life's most important challenges, we currently still meet on a regular basis for continuing guidance and support.

Scott Parkinson, President / Cypress Plumbing

Bob is an ethical and motivational leader with superior skills in building teams that deliver. I had the pleasure of working with Bob for three years at PMI Mortgage Insurance Company, collaborating on challenging projects including creating and developing internal teams as well as executing company driven re-organizations. Throughout our work history Bob consistently emerged as a natural leader, actively building and demonstrating mutual trust among his team members, consistently bringing out the best in others. Bob’s high standards coupled with his commitment to integrity and fairness easily earned the respect and loyalty of his peers and team members. Another particularly impressive quality is Bob’s ability to create operational efficiencies with an eye toward the bottom line. Bob is adept at change, easily channeling a strategic vision into a concrete plan of action. This rare mix of leadership and operational knowledge sets Bob apart from the rest of the pack and explains why everyone enjoys working with him -- no matter where they fall in the organization. I have truly enjoyed working with Bob. He is a generous human being, an effective leader and an operational authority and will be a great asset to any organization.

Harlen Derringer, Managing Director of Human Resources at Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau

I worked with Bob when I was employed with PMI. He is an extraordinary leader, manager, and person. During my employment with PMI Bob was promoted to Sr. Director of Compliance Underwriting and became the head of my department. Even though Bob had little experience in compliance underwriting his leadership skills are what led our team to be so successful, at least in the beginning because it wasn’t long before he was rolling up his sleeves to gain knowledge and understanding of what his team does. He is extremely intelligent, a quick learner, and a team player and I believe that is what helped him to grasp what our team was responsible for. It was truly inspiring to watch him learn so quickly. He always had an open door policy and had the ability to make a person feel right at home. He values people, no matter what position they hold, and everyone in our department knew that about him. His high integrity and humility made me want to work that much harder for the team. I appreciate him as a manager and miss working with him. He is truly one of a kind! If I ever had the opportunity I would absolutely love to work with him again in the future!

Sandy Conners, Mortgage

I worked with Bob Huffman and he was a great source of advice and guidance while at PMI. I learned a lot from Bob and his Life Coaching skills, really benefited me, not just at work, but throughout my personal and daily life. I continue to this day using Bob's encouraging words in my current position. Bob always had time for anyone who needed him in any capacity he could help. He is a kind, and valuable employee wherever he goes.

Cathleen Slaga, Administrative Secretary at City of Hercules

What sets Bob apart from the rest of the field is that he both genuinely cares, and he communicates honestly and directly. Bob's advice and counsel came at exactly the right time, I was looking for a new job. Bob helped me to consider so much more than just a good career path Through our time together we identified key strengths and passions that helped me to understand what I was looking for in a workplace environment and in my relationships. His relationship based approach of working with you as an individual allows for some really neat discoveries that can be applied not only to work, but to marriage and friendships as well.

David Hasegawa Sr., Treasury Analyst at Micron Technology

Robert came to Los Medanos College after meeting the Business Student Club President during a networking function. He graciously offered to talk to interested students about their Strengths. As someone who also uses Strengths to help students with career and personal development, I attended the seminar and was very impressed. Robert had all students in attendance engaged and immersed in his presentation. He greeted students as they walked and got to know them personally which carried over to the seminar. After the seminar many students came up to Robert to ask questions and he stayed as long as was needed to interact with each one. I have since been able to implement more Strengths-based programming on campus based on Robert’s initial seminar. It really jump-started conversations on campus. I would definitely recommend his seminars.

Kristin Conner Dean, Counseling Services at Solano Community College

I hired Bob to help me in my career development. Bob has all the qualities you need in a coach. He truly cares about you and your journey. Through his unique training, assignments, and conversations, Bob helped me connect the dots. He speaks honestly and genuinely. I know that our work together will be a catalyst for my continued growth and success. And most importantly, I now have a new friend and mentor in this journey.

Jason Hanson, Sales Director @Wrapify

We had Robert Huffman speak at a recent Women's Networking Group at the Concord Chamber of Commerce. He is a great speaker and captivated the room. His common sense approach to recognizing and utilizing your leadership strengths resonated well in our group. We would love for him to return another time to speak again!

Marilyn Fowler, President/CEO Concord Chamber of Commerce

I hired Bob to help me focus on my strengths and decide how to further my career. Bob is an enthusiastic and always positive coach. The plan he laid out for our coaching sessions was clear and the results were meaningful. Some of the conclusions we came to confirmed what I already knew and others were truly eye-opening. But all of them were valuable. The insight I received has helped me be more assertive in my job, helped me write a better resume and perform better in interviews and helped me understand who I am and where my passions lie.

Joel Farr, Experienced Project Manager and Business Analyst

Robert, thanks so much for the opportunity to attend the Strengths seminar in Walnut Creek. The notion that of that we can accomplish so much more by focusing on our strengths versus our weaknesses is a powerful concept. Thanks for using your strengths as a presenter, trainer and facilitator to inform and inspire all of us who participated! I look forward to attending more of your seminars in the future.

Timothy Murrill, Owner & Business Coach at Coaching Centers

I highly recommend Robert Huffman’s Strengths-Based Performance for Managers and Teams Seminar, managers at every level should attend. Bob’s presentation was very informative, his approach is engaging and thought provoking. You will learn a lot in a short period of time and will leave wanting to know more. Bob uses The Gallup’s Strength Finder to impart how to use employees’ strengths when managing and building a company culture. We learned how managing in the “strengths-zone” plays out in our work roles and improves employee engagement and productivity. When you are building an organization, keep your employees strengths in mind at performance evaluation time; learn how to manage to the employee strengths for the success of the organization and the development of the employee. This style of management also supports employee retention and takes the pressure out of the tough conversations you have to have. Bob’s seminar captures so many of elements that will assist managers elevate themselves, their employees, and their organization to the next level – to an environment where everyone thrives and wins.  Thank you Bob for putting on an impactful seminar that changes the way we look at our roles.

Edna Castillo, Financial and Mortgage Operations

Last month we hired Bob to provide strength based training to our group of Valuation Analyst. As a leader, understanding the makeup of my team and learning how to motivate and empower them is invaluable. I was surprised and pleased at the level of detail and personalization he was able to infuse into our event. His thoughtful preparation enabled him to walk into the room of 25+ attendees like he knew each of them on an individual basis. As a facilitator, Bob is so relatable and genuine that interactive participation happens organically. The content and materials shared included a special packet that was individualized for each manager to take and continue strength-based leadership with their team, going forward. If you are looking for a way to capitalize on the positive and natural strengths of your team, I would highly recommend Bob Huffman and his workshop.

Rachel Beam-Jares, Valuation Field Manager -Eastern US at Fannie Mae

I recently had the opportunity to participate in one of Bob's Strength-Based Performance training sessions and found it to be highly enlightening and extremely beneficial. Bob is a great coach and a catalyst for team building as well as personal and professional development. I highly recommend taking advantage of his services.

Tom Lamb, VVM West Team Lead at Fannie Mae

I worked with Robert Huffman, Leadership Strengths Coach, on an individual basis. I was intrigued by his underlying philosophy of utilizing one’s strengths to catapult performance vs. looking at one’s areas of weaknesses and focusing to further improve one’s natural strengths and talents. In our society, we typically are trying to improve areas of weakness and take for granted our strengths, oftentimes not recognizing them as such because they are just part of who we are. The benefit of working with Robert is identifying, enhancing, and embracing our natural talents to up-level in all areas of life. It is easy to work with him as he is genuine in wanting the best for his clients. His insights are keen in drawing connections that are valuable to the process. I highly recommend Robert Huffman whether you are looking for a leadership coach to help you further your career, or a manager looking to enhance team/company performance.

Tonya White, Financial Advisor

I worked with Bob as an individual coach and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Over the course of several sessions we explored each of my CliftonStrengths and discussed each in great detail. This brought a whole new level of understanding into each of my top five Signature Themes. For example, I never knew 'harmony' was one of may top themes and, despite the name, was a strength I could leverage. I've utilized my understanding of my strengths as I explore new opportunities and evaluate new environments. I would highly recommend the Clifton Strength Finder approach and Bob as a coach to guide you through the program.

Bill Horning, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications

Bob conducted a fabulous half-day "Strengths Training" seminar for our organization's senior leaders. The Top 5 Strengths assessment and discussions were incredibly insightful for the participants and, more importantly, applying these Strengths during group exercises demonstrated to our leaders how to interact more productively with each other. Bob skillfully explained the benefits you will derive from focusing on your strengths. All of our participants gave rave reviews of Bob's seminar and we highly recommend his services to any organization looking to strengthen their performance.

Dan Temple, PMP Program Support Manager at Defense Governance & Management Team

I attended the strengths discovery workshop today and I left with a lot of interesting information and tools to help me develop my team based on their strengths since I had them take the assessment too. It will be easier to specialize their roles and assign projects to them based on what I learned about their best natural talents. I took a lot of notes and learned a lot about myself too. Definitely recommend this workshop to those who manage people and want to invest in their team.

Courtney Khashabi, State Farm Agent

I would highly recommend inviting Robert Huffman to present the strengths training workshop to your employees. whether that be at your place of work, or to sign up for a workshop that Robert holds. My colleagues found this information so valuable, and has helped us as a team.

Tamara Hunter, Director of Putnam Clubhouse

Bob is an awesome, trustworthy and a genuine person. He assisted my team in understanding their strengths better with his well-rounded knowledge and skills. During our training session, Bob provided valuable coaching and was quick to point out when we were using our strengths clearly showing his expertise on this subject. The session was well organized using visual aids of interest that kept the attendees engaged throughout the workshop.  Bob exceeded my expectations with his understanding and professionalism in the area of Strengths Based Leadership. Thank you so much for a job well done!

Jeff Lewis,Government Technology Group, Senior Consultant

Our team has been working with Bob for a few months. He is insightful and his coaching is excellent.

Barbara Langsdale, Experienced Nonprofit Executive

Bob conducted numerous strengths trainings for the Putnam Clubhouse's staff and members. The workshops provided inspiring information that allowed our participants to learn more about themselves and increase their confidence. Bob is thorough, engaging, dependable, and a pleasure to work with.

Hannah Monahan, Assistant Director and Client Relations Specialist

I've known Bob Huffman for over 20 years and I have the utmost respect for him and his ability to inspire excellence in those around him. He is an amazing strengths based coach and facilitator who listens to his audience. He knows how to pull out the best of the participants and help them maximize their strengths.

James Reeve, Senior Vice President, Deputy Chief People Officer at First Republic Bank

I recently participated in a strengths training workshop facilitated by Bob and it was a wonderful experience! I gained so many insights that are revolutionizing how I approach my work. A very valuable, and fun, experience!

Lisa Justice, Education Specialist at Explorit Science Center

Are you tired of mediocrity, feeling average, experiencing burnout, or lack direction? We all need transformation in our personal lives and the workplace. Everyone desires living an abundant life. Bob Huffman has one of the most rare and unique abilities to identify problems, develop goals, and provide solutions that lead to transformation. Pick Bob Huffman because his humility, creativity, selfless attitude, teachable mindset, and compassionate listening are used not for his own benefit but for the advancement of your goals, which will lead to complete transformation and changed lives. Be ready to experience a journey of life no longer held captive to the struggles of this world. Begin to envision a fruitful life and meaningful workplace under the tutelage of Bob Huffman because I already have!

Daniel Khaleel, Podiatric Physician

I can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed, and learned from, a recent 1-day Strengths workshop with Robert. His skillful guidance through engaging activities and thoughtful conversations helped me own and understand my specific strengths, and how I can leverage my strengths as “superpowers” to be more effective in my work and my life. Robert’s gift is not just a deep understanding of the Clifton Strengths, but the ability to draw out the best in each workshop participant and build up their confidence to use their individual strengths for excellence. I left inspired to continue to learn, and with some practical ideas for how to do that on my own. Overall, this workshop was a great experience, and one I highly recommend.

Rebecca Ligtenberg, AFC®, Personal Financial Manager at United States Coast Guard

It is my great pleasure to recommend Bob Huffman. When we were looking for a Strengths Finder 2.0 coach in the San Francisco Bay Area, his name came up on the list. From our very first conversation, Bob was easy to work with and determined to meet the specific needs of the members of our team. He made himself available throughout the process as we all went through the assessment and learned about our strengths. He did an outstanding job conducting the Strengths Development Workshop and customizing it to our non-profit organization’s mission. It was fun and we all learned a lot about ourselves and our colleagues. Our organization is planning to have Bob come back and help other teams go through the same process.

Kim Coull, Development Director at Yosemite Conservancy