Lauren R. Powell, PhD, MPA
Lyndon Friesen has been working with us at the Virginia Department of Heath, Office of Health Equity as a facilitator, since June. However I have been in correspondence with him and members of the Outback Training Team, since late March. Early on, I found Outback Training to be most helpful, thorough, and very customer service oriented. I'd hoped that the facilitator we would be paired with, would be the same. Now that we are roughly 3 months into our 5-month contract for services, I can honestly say that Lyndon has far exceeded any expectations I had going in to the summer professional development series designed for my office.
Lyndon is attentive, creative, and insightful with his approaches to facilitation. In my young career, I've been privy to a number of different leadership courses, trainings, and retreats. I've been mentored and guided by some of the most elite institutes of leadership in the country and am an alumnus of Harvard's Center for Public Leadership. So, when it comes to leadership trainings, I kinda feel like I've seen/done it all. Given my previous exposure and experiences, I often feel like leadership and professional development courses can be mundane, predictable, and boring. Lyndon's facilitation is the complete anti-thesis to this. He makes topics relatable through the use of personal anecdotes, presents topics in a modern context, and engages attendees in thought provoking exercises that often lead to profound personal revelations.
Lyndon is meticulous in his creation of programming for each session. We spend time corresponding via email and phone, on goals for upcoming programming, and also discuss outcomes from our previous sessions. While our programming is on-going (our last session is in October), Lyndon has met with my team once a month since June and I have seen tremendous improvements in team work dynamics, office culture, and communication.
Very rarely have I had the honor of being in the presence of someone who not only knows their purpose, but also walks in it, and uses the gifts and talents tied to their purpose, to improve the lives of others. This is the epitome of Lyndon.
I would strongly encourage you to do yourself and your team a favor, and find a way to work with him!
Thank you for the opportunity to share my experience working with Lyndon. I remain astonished by his gifts. If I can be of any additional assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me!
Lauren R. Powell, PhD, MPA Director, Office of Health Equity - Virginia Department of Health