About

“Good is the enemy of excellence. Leadership is the challenge to be something more than average.”

Jim Rohn

Don Frericks is driven by the sole purpose of helping clients to improve their company culture through increased leadership effectiveness. He is passionate about creating a trusting environment to implement customized development programs to truly change behavior and foster effective new habits.

With 40 years of experience in corporate training, development and leadership performance, Don has a proven track record of helping companies to create transformational change and achieve measureable results.

His approach, insights and genuine dedication to creating exceptional leaders has made Don a trusted resource for C-suite executives and top leaders around the country. He has partnered with nationally recognized brands to provide outstanding leadership development services and act as a strategic advisor on team development. He is a member of the Talent Magnet Institute, author of the book Best Boss Ever, and public speaker.

 Don understands the challenges and opportunities for each company is unique. He brings value to an organization by uncovering the purpose-driven potential of its leaders to mobilize their strength into profit generating skills.  Trust the process and celebrate the results.

General Manager

Under the guidance of an extraordinary facilitator and coach, Don Frericks, I gained invaluable insights and honed my leadership skills to unprecedented levels. The program equipped me with a comprehensive toolkit, enabling me to unleash my full potential as a leader by tapping into my strengths and leveraging them effectively. The overall effectiveness of the program exceeded my expectations, providing me with the confidence and capabilities to navigate complex challenges with ease and to inspire those around me towards greater success.”

GENERAL MANAGER

    Solution Lead – Microsoft Teams Voice

    I greatly appreciate you building into me to make me a better leader and person – thank you!

    Neal Marksberry

      Director – Business Market Operations

      I worked with Don over a six month period and gained practical advice, thoughtful insight and knowledge based on his extensive experience working with other companies.  Don had great suggestions on how to tackle post-COVID work issues, and provided ideas to generate higher team engagement, specifically getting my teams to perform at a higher level, along with “growing talent”.   Not only the ideas but the importance of measuring the results.  I thoroughly enjoyed my coaching sessions!

      Jenny Ferneding

        Senior Director

        I worked with Don for a short period of time and it was a great experience. I didn't know what to expect from coaching and quickly found that I could be completely transparent with him. As I talked about my challenges, specifically with some high level interactions with senior management, meetings and presentations, I started to see what I had been doing. I had created anxiety from the self-talk, personal critique/judgment that I had of myself. Don taught me how to be myself and build relationships through commonality with others. I've been able to develop much greater trust with different styles and I no longer worry or have anxiety in high pressure situations. I feel liberated and thank Don for leading me to this breakthrough!

        Doug Martin

          CEO

          Working with Don has been a great experience. He quickly became a trusted advisor to my team. His authentic and humble style creates volumes of trust.He used his expertise to teach my leadership team to lead more effectively. Don role models how to inspire and motivate others to high performance. His profound strength is in developing others and my team benefited greatly.Don’s insights helped me confirm my observations and exposed some things about people that I had not seen. I trust his feedback, suggestions and intuition about people. I highly recommend working with Don. He is purpose driven and will help you and your team become better at leading your organization.

          David Velie

            Microbiology Technology Leader

            Working with Don as a coach was a wonderful experience. He has a reassuring, calming persona that helps you open up and see yourself as others see you. If you have an open mind and listen to his advice, trust in his knowledge and truly want to improve your leadership skills through regular practice, you can accomplish a lot in a short period of time.

            Joe Benzinger

              Vice President

              I had the privilege of working with Don for just over a year. During that time, Don provided executive coaching and helped me to focus on improving several key leadership competencies. Don’s approach identifies current strengths that with practice can be leveraged into to be profound strengths. Don’s approach also provided a framework to practice and improve those skills during my normal interactions. I have attended many leadership classes and seminars in my career, none of which were as meaningful and impactful as working with Don. The one-on-one approach allows for nuisance and truly situational skill improvement in lieu of a canned approach to leadership. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Don and truly believe that after working with Don, I am an improved leader.

              David Kottmyer

                VP HUMAN RESOURCES

                We hired Don as a coach for an experienced, technical employee. Don was very effective engaging the employee in the coaching process and utilizing tools that the employee could take into the future past the coaching experience.

                Fran Nunan

                  FOUNDER

                  Don has been a partner in training newly promoted P&G Marketing Directors from around the world. His module is consistently rated as one of the highest by classes for the relevance of the content and the quality of the delivery. Don is an expert in the use of adult learning principles as a way to increase the probability of content retention and post training application to improve job performance. It is my pleasure to recommend Don to anybody who is interested in improving bottom line profit contribution through improved employee productivity and leadership. Don is the "real deal".

                  Ed Burghard

                    CEO

                    Don is an outstanding business professional with the highest ethical standards. I'm grateful that I've had the opportunity to remain in contact with him over the years and witness his continued success. I would jump at the opportunity to work with Don again because he delivers results to those he's serving in a positive and energetic way.

                    Tracy Ruberg

                      INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT

                      Don is a born professional. Guided by faith and personal belief. He has principles. Business principles and personal principles that guide him through life. He approaches everyday with a smile on his face and humility. Two qualities lacking on this planet. A Great person to have on a senior management team.

                      David N. Muchemu

                        PRESIDENT

                        Don provided me with executive coaching for almost a year as I transitioned into a broader leadership role within my firm. As my leadership accountabilities expanded, I needed to adapt my leadership style and add new skills to make me effective with a broader range of constituents as well as learn to "manage up" effectively. Given I joined the firm 20 years ago, I needed skills to get others in the firm to see me as I was currently performing, not reach conclusions from older experiences when I was an immature leader. Don did all of this effectively. I have subsequently been promoted multiple times and now run a newly launched international division of the firm. Many of his counsel, tricks and tips replay themselves in my head and all the right times. During this difficult process, I never felt judged or lacking during this process, the approach was build on your skills and minimize your weaknesses.

                        Christine Mackey-Ross

                          VICE PRESIDENT

                          Don, your candor and insight is invaluable. Leadership is not a switch that can be turned on. It is set of tools, some we may have, some we may not. Some which may need sharpened. All of which need brought to light and utilized. Your ability to identify the skill potential and areas of improvement is outstanding and sets the tone for the growth. I appreciate the great deal I have learned from you and appreciate the passion you carry with you each and every day.

                          Dustin Rohrbach

                            SENIOR PARTNER AT EXECUTIVE SEARCH FIRM

                            I needed to adapt my leadership style and add skills to get others in the firm to see me as I was currently performing, not reach conclusions from older experiences when I was an immature leader. Don did this effectively. I have subsequently been promoted multiple times and now run a newly launched international division of the firm. His counsel, tricks, and tips replay themselves in my head at all the right times. During this difficult process, I never felt judged or lacking during this process, the approach was built on your skills and minimizes your weaknesses.

                              CONSUMER PACKAGED GOODS EXECUTIVE

                              Don has been my leadership coach for almost a year, after a chance encounter in a global training. I was impressed by his authenticity. His coaching sessions have accelerated my personal growth by gently nudging me to explore sources of personal growth I would not have considered on my own (for example, non-intuitive cross-training versus linear focus to get better at something). I would highly recommend him to anyone committed to discover and fulfill one’s potential in life, professionally and personally.

                              Sameer Srivastav
                                {"video_yurl":"true"}
                                >