Client stories

Andy Stewart, Regional Vice President, Guild Mortgage

“The market stall in Fall of 2018 sent employee morale and the culture of our mortgage company into a stale and worry filled environment. The market pressure made existing problems more visible and pressing, including communication problems between divisions such as sales and operations. The negativity was intense and concerning.

My District Manager's husband had participated in one of Dr. Gifford's training sessions and his enthusiasm and the change she saw in him showed us there was a viable option that could help.  We took it on faith, knowing we really needed something to invigorate and connect our people, and hired Liz and her team to provide a leadership and culture development program for the Reno, Truckee, and Arizona divisions of Guild Mortgage. This included leadership coaching and an experiential training program for 160 employees.

Four years later, we are still feeling the positive effects of this decision. 

Liz's work with us brought the entire office together across various silos that had long divided us, connected everyone in a sense of shared purpose, and gave the entire workforce extremely useful tools to improve communication and relationships with their colleagues and clients.  I personally continue to use these tools today. Employees reported that this program had a profound impact on their personal as well as their professional lives, and were grateful to me and the leadership team for providing it. All of this dramatically helped improve morale, the relationship culture, and our ongoing productivity.  Importantly, Liz's coaching helped turn the people I had put into leadership roles into more effective leaders, transforming their confidence and skills in ways that proved crucial in the years to come. All of this made—continues to make—a difference in my life and the life of our company.”

Gordon Schectman, MD, Former Director of Primary Care, Veterans Health Administration

“As the former Director of Primary Care for the Veterans Health Administration, I was aware of the need to improve health care delivery for our 9 million Veteran patients, most of whom receive out-patient primary care throughout our system. Dr. Gifford’s program became a powerful force to animate clinical practice and administration and clearly improved customer service and patient centered care. These changes created fertile ground to implement other related improvement initiatives.

Administration and primary care leaders typically found the experience transformational to augment their own development as leaders and improve their ability to inspire better team interaction and performance. Indeed, survey data showed significant impact in employee engagement and satisfaction (measured in Best Places to Work), psychological safety, civility, and trust in leadership and management. These changes created fertile ground to implement other related improvement initiatives. 

In summary, I was profoundly impressed with Dr Gifford and her ability to develop and implement this program. Adjectives that describe her include “insightful”, “very bright”, “creative”, “energetic”, “always positive”, “strong motivator”, “empowers staff”, and “amazing patience.”

Shannon Peters, Director, HomeBased Primary Care

“The Bath VA Medical Center, our grateful team and organization, owes a whole-hearted thank you to Liz Gifford. We are transforming because of her vision and passion. Inspiration now lives here, and her legacy will live on as we continue to grow and thrive in this ever-changing environment. 

I don’t think you can serve people, Veterans, without being connected to one another and to our organization’s values of integrity, commitment, advocacy, respect, and excellence… without Liz’s program we were just talking about it. With her program, we’re living it, celebrating it, talking about it, walking it, recognizing it. When you don’t have this experience and you don’t have those connections, you’re just reading words. 

On a personal note, Liz’s program has been a true blessing in my life, providing a safe and compassionate environment for me to expand my comfort zone and grow both personally and professionally. For that I am grateful…But even more amazing is what each day brings when you embrace life from this perspective….I am honored by the stories that connect us as humans and unite us in purposeful, compassionate, joyful living. I honestly see the world differently because of this vision that Liz Gifford so passionately brought to life.  

Liz leaves us with this beautiful gift of vision, hope and what really matters in this world- connection!  I am eternally grateful because this is now a part of who I am.”

Dr. Steven Holt, Lovell FHCC Director Captain James H. Lovell Federal Health Care Center. [The Apollo Newsletter: Readying Warriors and Caring for Heroes. Official Newsletter of the Captain James H. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, Aug.-Sept.-Oct. 2016 ]

“As we continue to grow as an integrated family bringing together the members of two great agencies, we also are looking at unique ways to define our special culture here at the FHCC. One of those efforts started this summer with the first group of senior leaders participating in the two day transformative Lovell Voices experience. 

This employee engagement experience concentrates on how we examine our humanity and that of our work families (colleagues). Our humanity defines the best in us and lays out what we can become. It is central to our living an extraordinary life of meaning and contribution versus a monotonous life of stifling routine. It also allows us to connect in very meaningful and fulfilling ways to those around us. That connection translates into a special understanding, consideration and care for those around us and helps us live extraordinary and meaningful lives. It also helps us – Lovell FHCC employees – provide better, more compassionate and more meaningful care to our patients and their families. 

The Lovell Voices experience has grown out of a very positive set of experiences used elsewhere in the federal government….the Voices experience was customized for the FHCC and our integrated family.  At the end of the experience, it was almost unanimous: it was the best training/transformative experience the attendees had ever participated in. Participants felt their whole approach to their work family and their connection with their work family had fundamentally changed for the better. It was heralded as an overwhelming success in bringing together FHCC staff from varying departments and backgrounds in ways never before achieved.”