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Executive Coaching

PRESTON KEVIN LEWIS, Senior Vice President, Warner Bros. Sales and Retail Business Development
“David J. Pollay is an advisor to whom I regularly turn for his concise, accurate and practical coaching and feedback. Why?

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David gets results. Read his glowing testimonials from executives and leaders around the world.

David is a thought leader. Study his best-selling books about overcoming negativity and creating daily fulfillment.

David is an experienced executive. He has held senior positions at global brand name companies, including the chief executive officer of a national nonprofit.

David’s work is science-based. His books have been endorsed by the  world’s top research psychologists, and he helped found the International Positive Psychology Association.

David is authentic. He cares about his clients’ success, both professionally and personally, and he partners with his clients to make it happen. David challenges you, encourages you, and helps you create and live the best version of yourself.

I recommend David J. Pollay unreservedly.”

LOUISA JEWELL, M.A.P.P., Speaker, Author, Well-being Teacher and Founding President, Canadian Positive Psychology Association

“David J. Pollay’s executive coaching has been extremely valuable to me for many reasons.
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First, he understands how important it is for me to live a balanced, passionate life that meets my criteria for business success and my criteria for living a happy, healthy life.  David’s pioneering leadership in positive psychology differentiates him from other coaches, as he has many science-based tools he offers to help me maintain high levels of well-being while mastering my goals.

Second, David never forgets what my goals are and keeps me laser focused and accountable for them. As a result, I doubled my income last year and considerably raised my profile in my field.

Third, he is always on my side, and when I fall, he is there to help me brush myself off and get back up. He offers ‘life’ insights from a place of such profound wisdom, compassion and understanding that I am instantly back on my feet and motivated to engage in my next challenge.

Fourth, David’s unique ability to recognize, understand, and explain complex business relationships has revolutionized my thinking, and most importantly, my actions.

Finally, I would like to say that David has become not only an important coach and mentor, but he is also a friend who is easy to talk to and have a good laugh with.  Sometimes that is just what I need to stay on track!

I would highly recommend David to anyone who wants to move their career and business to a bigger playing field.  I am so grateful to David for everything he has done for me.”

ROBERT ALIOTA, Founder and President Carolina Seal, Inc.

“As a results-driven person, my work with David Pollay has translated into achieving sustainable thinking and behavior.
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“As a results-driven person, my work with David Pollay has translated into achieving sustainable thinking and behavior.  The best investment decision for leaders and executive level professionals to make is to work with an executive coach, someone on the outside of your professional and personal world you can trust, respect and confide in about your goals, challenges and ambitions in life.  The next challenge is finding the right coach.

 

I have sought David’s coaching and guidance for over a decade on a variety of important decisions and pivot-points in my career.  I have interacted with many coaches, advisors and leaders in my twenty-five-year career and can say with absolute conviction that David possesses an extraordinarily rare blend of intellectual perspective, experience and judgment with a sincere interest in your personal well-being.  He is truly committed to helping you achieve lasting results!  It is rare to find a coach with his level of education, training, and insights, and with the human qualities that deserve your trust, respect and confidence.

 

I would recommend David Pollay to everyone because of his character, ethics and wisdom.  Anyone would be fortunate to have David as their coach, and even more fortunate to have him as a friend!”

 

CRIS ARENS, Managing Member, Total Logistics Solutions, LLC

“I met David in college over 25 years ago in a global leadership organization.  What amazed me then, and continues to amaze me,
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“I met David in college over 25 years ago in a global leadership organization.  What amazed me then, and continues to amaze me, is his ability to see strategic opportunities while being able to motivate the people driving for success.  I have seen very few public speakers who can energize and lead small and large groups as effectively as David, and that is because he genuinely cares about people on an individual level.

 

After college, we kept in touch and he went on to be very successful in the private sector and then started his own consulting firm while writing books on positive psychology. I started a software company soon after college and in 2006 we merged with a larger overseas competitor to pursue a global opportunity.  As with any merger, there was uncertainty and anxiety within our team post-merger.  David helped coach me through this process.  We also brought him to Chicago to help with our executive and middle management teams where he organized seminars and one-on-one coaching sessions in strengths-building exercises.  The feedback from these events was spectacular and our merger was a success with zero internal turnover.  I would highly recommend David to any executive looking for support in team building; he will definitely help you find your competitive edge.”

BEST-SELLING BOOK CONSULTING

 JANET A. COURTNEY, Ph.D, LCSW, and Founder of FirstPlayÒTherapy

“I met David Pollay when we both spoke at TEDx Delray Beach in May, 2013. I was very impressed with his talk and when I was ready to seek a publisher for my children’s book,
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“I met David Pollay when we both spoke at TEDx Delray Beach in May, 2013. I was very impressed with his talk and when I was ready to seek a publisher for my children’s book, I was struggling to create a cohesive book proposal and needed some help. I hired David. Through his skillful coaching and attention to detail he assisted me in crafting an excellent, professional book proposal, and within three months I was accepted by a wonderful Literary Agent to represent my work.

 

A year later when we sent a query to an Acquisitions Editor at a major academic book publishing company, I was asked to submit a proposal for another book of mine. Because I already had the template of all the ingredients that go into a solid book proposal via David’s coaching, I was able to plug in the new information. The process that then followed was a peer review of the proposal that was arranged by the publishing company. Not only were the reviewer’s comments highly positive, but one of the reviewers, a Dean of a prestigious university department wrote a comment to the Editor stating, ‘Mary, this is a first-rate proposal, and you know that you have sent me a lot to review.’ I must give credit to David Pollay for that comment and his excellent coaching skills.”

 

 

 PAULA DAVIS-LAACK, Founder & CEO of the Davis Laack Stress & Resilience Institute

“First, he helped me to hone in and craft a version of a pivotal life story that I could use to incorporate into my presentations.
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“First, he helped me to hone in and craft a version of a pivotal life story that I could use to incorporate into my presentations.  I’ve learned over the years that storytelling is truly an art, and David knows how to unlock important story elements that connect with an audience.

 

Second, David’s support, advice and coaching have been invaluable as I start the publishing process for my first book.  The publishing world is truly a mystery, and it is such a relief to work with a coach who has “been there done that.

 

Most importantly, David is just a wonderful person.  We typically spend the first few minutes of every call talking about the Green Bay Packers, our beloved football team.  From those conversations, he’s helped give me the courage to do some additional sports writing, which I truly love.  I can’t thank David enough for all of his help and wisdom!”

 

 

 

KEYNOTE SPEAKING & STORY CRAFTING

CAROLINE ADAMS MILLER, M.A.P.P., Speaker, Educator, Performance Coach and Best-selling author of Creating Your Best Life, My Name is Caroline and Positively Caroline

“David Pollay’s input, expertise and coaching were invaluable in helping me prepare for my TEDx talk in September 2014.  He never tells you what to do;
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“David Pollay’s input, expertise and coaching were invaluable in helping me prepare for my TEDx talk in September 2014.  He never tells you what to do; one of his many skills is that he poses questions that result in your best possible answers, and that’s a sign of a masterful coach. That TEDx speech helped me land a book publishing deal for “Getting Grit” (SoundsTrue 2017) and speaking contracts with top companies around the world.”

 

 

 

JOHN “SEAN” DOYLE, Attorney and Author of Being Human

“I reached out to David Pollay as I was finishing my chapbook Being Human: A Love Letter.
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“I reached out to David Pollay as I was finishing my chapbook Being Human: A Love Letter. At the time I was transitioning jobs and navigating all of the other tasks and challenges that come with adulthood.  David helped me secure an agent while keeping me on track with the writing. His continued support has been invaluable as I am now finishing my second book.  David’s advice is sound and practical and he enables me to think more clearly. He knows when to push me, when to pull back, and when I need a pick me up.   David Pollay is someone you can count on to be there for you, and HE has been a partner in my success.”

 

 

 

MARGARET GREENBERG, Co-author of Profit from the Positive and Founder of The Greenberg Group

 “I have been presenting to corporate audiences for over two decades, however, in four days I was about to give my biggest speech ever — to an international audience of 3,000 leaders and 23,000 streaming live. 
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“I have been presenting to corporate audiences for over two decades, however, in four days I was about to give my biggest speech ever — to an international audience of 3,000 leaders and 23,000 streaming live.  I met with David to get his advice.  Through powerful questions David helped me find the courage to tell a personal story that I had only told to a few dear friends.  David’s coaching made a good story great and moved the audience to action. “