The City of Chesapeake has had the pleasure of working with LaMountain & Associates since 2004. LaMountain & Associates was tasked with assisting us in formulating a Leadership Development Initiative in anticipation of a large number of our senior-level workforce approaching retirement. We contacted LaMountain & Associates based on a strong recommendation from another municipality and because of their first-hand expertise in the area of leadership development.
Dennis facilitated the development of our Leadership Competencies, capturing the thoughts and ideas of our department and agency heads and converting them into comprehensible behaviors. He conducted workshops for the department and agency heads on the 360 assessment process and served as administrator of both rounds of the process. He provided practitioner training on interpreting 360 feedback assessment results and assisting participants in developing IDPs. He introduced the concept of behavioral coaching to the same audience to assist in developing mentoring relationships with staff.
Dennis has been very responsive to our ever-changing needs and direction throughout the process. He has provided invaluable guidance, advice, and insight which have allowed the Initiative to run as smoothly as possible. I would highly recommend LaMountain & Associates to any organization, public or private, and look forward to a continued relationship with them.
Nicole M. Clark, SPHR
Human Resources Administrator
City of Chesapeake, Virginia
I had the pleasure of taking the “Hiring and Firing” class under Dennis and Camille’s tutelage. Dennis’ experience and knowledge of human behavior helped me to understand what motivates people in an organization. Camille, from years of working in the nonprofit world, understands the issues that arise when recruiting staff and volunteers. Thanks to them, I approach the entire selection and retention process with more efficiency and enthusiasm.
Cora A. Doggett, SPHR
Administrative/Donor Development Manager
American Cancer Society
South Atlantic Division
I started the 360 process with LaMountain and Associates to help identify my development gaps and to help me improve in those areas. I found the process to be very, very, helpful. It provided me with meaningful feedback on not only my development gaps but also how I am perceived. There was a larger difference then I expected between how I perceive myself and how others perceived me. In addition, I found the coaching which followed the initial 360 feedback process to be essential in helping me to make the changes needed to improve my effectiveness. Camille, in particular, was great to work with. She helped me to focus my efforts and guided my through the process as I learned and implemented new skills. She provided me with useful resources (books, handouts, etc.) but also coached me on how to apply my new skills in real-life situations. She was understanding but persistent. Without the follow-up coaching, the changes I needed to make would have been delayed or they may not have happened at all. The 360 feedback process is a real eye-opener. I would strongly recommend it to anyone how is serious about personal growth and development.
Eric Hammel
Profile Engineer
DuPont
It has been helpful to have Dennis’ expertise not just with the 20/20 Insight software, and being responsive to our needs, but also to have his expertise in the coaching process. It has been a real benefit to have someone who knows how to coach the coaches as well as he does to come to us and train our coaches. That has been as wonderful a service as having the software itself, and we really appreciate that.
Sheryn R. Holinsworth
Manager
Employee Development & Training
Henrico County
Camille has been of tremendous inspiration and help to me both personally and professionally since meeting her in the fall of 2005. From the beginning of our acquaintance, she showed great ability in her knowledge of people and business skills. I have found her insight and suggestions to me as a business owner of tremendous benefit. She has given 100% in her coaching with me and, without a doubt, is one of the most beneficial people I have ever met when it comes to helping others with their business skills!
Gloria Clifford
Fine Artist
This past year, Dennis has served as Chairperson of our Leadership and Learning Committee. Dennis and his committee worked tirelessly to improve and enhance our LMR retreats. The end product was well executed and many in the class remarked that the Fall Retreat was the finest professional retreat that they have attended.
Dennis has a wealth of knowledge, experience, and ability to help shape and present an outstanding training program. He is exceptionally responsive to the requirements of our organization and can always be relied upon to deliver an outstanding product.
Personally, I have served on many committees with Dennis and have always come away richer for the experience. I have no hesitation in recommending him or his associates.
Gwen Sarsfield
Program Director
Leadership Metro Richmond
The information from the Managing and Developing Staff class that Dennis and Camille facilitated really inspired me to look at delegation differently. I had reservations about delegating to staff, but now I can see that delegating helps employees to move forward and be confident in themselves and their jobs. This benefits both the employee and the organization. The terms and theories that Dennis and Camille introduced in this class are beneficial both to new supervisors and to people who have supervised for a long time. The class challenged me to look inside myself to determine what experiences I have had that have determined my management style. In doing so, I have gotten a better understanding of why I manage the way I do.
LaVater Walker
Project Coordinator, Family Intervention Specialist
CHIP of Greater Richmond
I’m happy to recommend LaMountain Coaching. I have worked with Camille Harris of LaMountain since June on professional advancement and job seeking. While I have not been diagnosed with AD/HD, a short diagnostic tool, as well as observation, suggest that I have some traits that are at least similar to AD/HD. Camille has been excellent in helping me to figure out what my challenges are, and how to best deal with them. She has also helped me identify and accentuate my strengths.
She started working with me, and it became clear that some of my challenges in the workplace had similarities to traits experienced by those with AD/HD: among these were the tendency to get focused on one subject to the exclusion to all else, impatience with distractions and organizational challenges. Camille emphasized that, while she could not diagnose AD/HD (and I might choose to be evaluated), the strategies she was familiar with might be of help to me anyway. She was right.
Among the ways she has helped me are:
- She has helped me make changes, and encouraged (pushed) me to do things I was extremely reluctant to do. It took a little cajoling on her part, but these decidedly uncomfortable steps have been among the most rewarding developments of the past few months.
- She helps me make goals and specific plans for the periods following each coaching session. What will I do, exactly? How? When?
- She holds me accountable to meeting those goals. If I didn’t meet them, what happened? What needs to change?
- She helps develop planning and organizational strategies, something that is a challenge for me.
- She teaches strategies for dealing with stress, such as mindfulness and breathing exercises.
In the end, I would say that the word coach describes Camille well. A good athletic coach both pushes and encourages, and knows when to do which. A coach also knows the strengths and weaknesses of each player, and how to best motivate them. Camille is excellent at reading her clients, knowing where they are, and what they need. She does this by getting to know the client, building trust, and using her training and insights to tailor a specific strategy for each client.
I would also say that she goes above and beyond what I expected from coaching, and I would recommend Camille highly.
Informational Professional (Anonymous)