Case Studies
| Case Study: Business and Financial Services, University of California San Diego |
| Case Study: Academic Affairs, University of California San Diego |
| Case Study: Jacobs School of Engineering, University of California San Diego |
Testimonials
"This course is life changing. I wish I had this training twenty years ago."
-Senior Program Manager, Microsoft
“This is the best training program I have attended during my 25 years at UCSD! An excellent combination of practical and theoretical concepts. I learned a lot about leadership and honed the skills I already have while learning new things. This was a program I looked forward to coming to. New managers should be given the opportunity to take this, and experienced managers would benefit from a refresher. Attending this program with my colleagues was amazing. Having this time together was a great team building experience.”
-Chief Operating Officer, Electrical and Computer Engineering, UC San Diego
"I’m extremely grateful you were able to present this to our team. This has touched me in ways you may not realize, you have no idea how much this will impact me. I’ve been experiencing many challenges , pressures and feeling emotionally drained. This profile explained so much on how I’ve been feeling at work in my professional environment. I’m also reaching out to you not only to let you know that this has changed my life for the moment but because I would love to know how may I take this opportunity to introduce this to my husband and my two teenage children? I try to work on always building a strong foundation in my household to always be united and I feel this questionnaire will help us tremendously with the obstacles we are facing as a family as well."
-Payment Services Administrator, UC San Diego
"The Leadership Excellence Course is an extremely helpful program for developing new leaders or strengthening existing leadership. It is structured extremely well for groups, allowing for interdepartmental communication and collaboration. I cannot recommend this program enough for companies who value their employees."
-Senior Software Engineer, Yakima Chief Hops
“This is the best leadership course I have ever taken (and I’ve done many.) It is action-oriented and has very good quality material.”
-Project Manager, General Communication, Inc. (GCI)
"I have never felt more energized to take leadership lessons and begin implementation. This course takes theory and turns it into action."
-Commander, Air Dominance Combined Test Force, Edwards Air Force Base, CA
"Such an incredible experience to be able to complete this course with my co-workers. We all learned so much about ourselves and our own leadership styles and I’m honored we were able to take the course together. Thank you Jay Pullins for being a great coach. Thank you ProWest Constructors for giving us this opportunity."
-Administrative Director, ProWest Constructors
“The results have been spectacular! Staff thoroughly enjoyed learning more about themselves, colleagues and leadership through the Energize2Lead Workshops. The supervisors and managers were grateful for the development opportunity and feel empowered by the 9-module program. Many have commented on the tremendous bonding experience and are eager to continue exploring the topics addressed. All found it to be incredibly worthwhile, not only due to the knowledge gained but also by the connections we all made. It definitely brought us together and made us a true team.”
-Executive Assistant Dean, Finance and Administration, Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego
"This is the best leadership course I have been to. Very personal, allows a lot of focus. Thank you!"
-Officer, 176th Air Defense Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard
"The Leadership Excellence Course covers keys to successful leadership and personal growth in thought provoking and digestible modules. Leadership is a broad concept that is sometimes hard to conceptualize or whittle down to the fundamentals, but Academy Leadership does just that. The content and coursework offer relevant, real-world, actionable teachings. You will get out of the course what you're willing to put into it."
-Inside Sales Manager, Yakima Chief Hops
"It was honestly the best training course I have participated in (in a 38-year career). I'm looking forward to seeing how our new knowledge and skills will help strengthen our Region. You are a gifted instructor."
-Deputy Regional Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
“I've been through several managerial trainings and courses but I feel like I've achieved the most "aha" moments through this program and your facilitation. I feel that all of the MAE managers really benefited from the training also.”
-Fiscal Manager, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego
"Thorough, full of information and tools that are applicable and can be used in reality in your day-to-day role. Interactive, full of discussion and the opportunity to learn from peers as well as the course leader."
-Head of European Sales - Craft, Yakima Chief Hops
"This is different than any other leadership training I have ever been part of. This is the bigger WHY and the HOW to not just be an effective leader, but to reproduce leaders around you. It is education, but also a call to action with measurable metrics."
-President & CEO, Arctic Energy
"This program is a must for anyone in a leadership position that strives to be the best version of themselves for both their organization and their own professional growth. Promote this course to companies as a mandate for new leaders within their first year in their role."
-Locomotive Maintenance Operations Supervisor, Alaska Railroad Corporation
"The course is very beneficial. I learned new techniques on how to better be a leader to set goals, communicate, and handle conflicts."
-Deputy Director of Logistics, Air Dominance Combined Test Force, Edwards Air Force Base, CA
"The 3-day course provides tools and techniques to improve leadership skills. The course focuses on building communication skills, conflict resolution, time management, accountability, and goal setting. The class time is spent working on skills through discussion and exercises while the course materials provide great resources for reference. Homework assignments and follow-up coaching provides tools to make sure the course tools are translated into action in the future."
-Biologist, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
"Very informative. Great sequence of learning and going through all the critical phases of becoming a leader. Very influential for future career goals."
-Architectural Construction Manager, ProWest Constructors
“This course really helped distill the most critical aspects of successful leadership in clearly organized and articulated teaching modules and memorable take-aways. Jay did a great job relating the points made to our lives.”
-Chief Admin Officer, Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego
"I sure learned a lot about myself. That was the best leadership seminar I have been to. I am really excited to get back to work next week and implement what I have learned!"
-Master Sergeant, 176th Air Defense Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard
"While this program is focused on leadership within the workplace, everything that's covered is in fact far more widely applicable to one's own life at large. It's a holistic space of skill development and sharing; it's a place to expand your tool box and revisit tools that may have gotten lost or damaged over the years. This course was not at all what I expected and instead was delightfully insightful, considerate, compassionate, and dare I say, fun."
-Director, Graduating & Advancing New American Scholars Graduate Pathways, UC Santa Cruz
"The course is very great and Jay knocked it out of the park with the coaching. I learned a lot of useful resources that I will apply to my everyday work. I would highly recommend this course for leaders who are willing to expand their leadership skills to the next level."
-Shipping Manager, Yakima Chief Hops
"The program has been very helpful in my journey of self-discovery as a leader, and in developing and improving my leadership skills and philosophy. The format was very engaging and sought active participation from all attendees in a safe and supportive environment. Jay has done an amazing job facilitating thought-provoking discussions and inviting participants to share their perspectives. I particularly appreciated learning specific techniques and strategies I can implement in my daily routine that help be the most effective leader."
-Assistant Director, Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego
"The program is tailored to you and your team (providing insights and recommendations) for improvement. The program goes beyond the surface and digs into specific challenges with honesty and discretion. Additionally, the program is geared to create a lasting habit with the 90 day follow up with individuals or teams. I would recommend this program at the Mid-Level NCO and officer level for the DOD as this hasT been effective in revealing strengths and weaknesses in a way that you can address them, learn to mitigate or enhance them, and still have a thriving/diverse team."
-Senior Arctic Advisor, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
"An energizing, in depth and focused leadership coaching course that introduces numerous ideals, strategies and tools to Supervisors and Managers at all levels. The course was brilliantly instructed by seasoned leadership professional (Jay Pullins), I highly encourage any supervisor or manager to pursue this course. It is well worth the time and effort! There is so much content that this could easily extend additional days without losing interest or sight of the end goal."
-Fleet Manager, Alaska Railroad Corporation
"The program is a very personal program and provides a variety of useful tools for leading teams. I have learned so much and am excited to implement new tools in the future."
-Financial Manager, Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego
"Your presentation was awesome, inspiring, motivating and engaging. Thank you!!!!!!"
-Director of Sales & Catering, Vesta Hospitality
"This program helps quantify and guide you through leadership principles. It accomplished this through valuable techniques and a very valuable and inspiring facilitator with Jay. It is inspiring and will make you want to be a better leader and overall better person."
-Senior Sales Intelligence Manager, Yakima Chief Hops
"This leadership class was unique in my experience in that it started with a profile of how we prefer to operate and then built off that, tying the course modules back to how the lessons can be interpreted by people with different preferences. The guided discussion was very good at highlighting how the material can be applied to our organization's specific needs. The setting of an action plan at the end of the course made it more likely for me to apply the lessons learned in my everyday life. The facilitators did a great job presenting the material and tying it to our specific situations that came out of the group discussions."
-Director, Combined Test Force, Edwards Air Force Base, CA
"The program is packed with practical strategies that I can immediately apply in my daily routine and become a more effective leader."
-Executive Director for Student Success, Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego
"Excellent leadership education for promoting a healthy and productive team, with real life examples and situations. It is thought provoking and requires self-analysis for your growth and development. It is presented at a good pace and not stale in delivery. I have completed a few other leadership/coaching courses and I found this information applicable, helpful and in tune with today."
-Lead CT/PET/XR Technologist, Imaging Associates
"The course is structured in a way to help guide us to understand that SMART goals are vital in the success of a business. Jay helped me to understand how objectives are necessary to establish goals and to measure them. We spoke about conflict, clarity, coaching and being better leaders in communicating our expectations. Overall I recommend this opportunity to all within UCSC."
-Director, Education Opportunity Programs, UC Santa Cruz
"A great, in depth introduction to developing leadership skills or becoming a better leader."
-Sr. Legal Assistant & Records Admin, Koniag Native Corporation
"The course is very compact and supplies a lot of information in a short amount of time. However, the information is helpful in not only learning more about yourself but also about other team members and how to better communicate and interact with them. It helps to put what could be thought of as instinctive or common practice into perspective and really help find those gaps in your own knowledge and expectation and be able to help come up with a plan to improve upon those items."
-Production Planning Manager, Yakima Chief Hops
“This program helped me realize the areas I need to work on to become a better leader. Specifically, time management and developing others were very beneficial to me. Also, the Energize2Lead profile will be helpful in recognizing my leadership style, as well as recognizing the leadership style of others. I also can't discount the portion covering "high payoff activities" that will benefit me both in my professional and personal relationships. The materials and instructor were excellent.”
-HSE Manager, ASRC Construction
"The Leadership Excellence course goes over a ton of resources and information to help improve a supervisor in all aspects of leadership, coaching, motivating, setting goals and setting expectations for themselves and others. It is intense but you get out of it what you put in. It also facilitates the sharing of information with other supervisors in the same point of their careers."
-Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego
"This is an intense learning opportunity to both educate or remind participants of successful 21st century skills and techniques. It is adaptive to any organization that desires to improve leadership and followership. Our Academy Leadership instructor, Jay Pullins, delivered the lessons and content of the course in such a way as though it was especially designed for our Team and our organization (not an easy lift). We're very grateful for Jay, and for his tremendous efforts."
-Tribal/Community Liaison, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
"Fulfilling, enlightening, inspiring, encouraging. Jay is exceptional at motivating, inspiring and encouraging me to become a better leader."
-Mechanical Department Coordinator, Alaska Railroad Corporation
“Jay was fantastic and did a great job facilitating the discussion and the content.”
-3rd Wing Commander, U.S. Air Force
"I truly enjoyed the concept of creating a Leadership Philosophy to share with my team. I think this is a highly valuable tool to set standards for your team and help them understand expectations and leadership style."
-Senior Key Accounts Manager, Yakima Chief Hops
"If you want to take the next step in your leadership abilities this course is the answer. It was an intense 3 day course that you much prepare for. It is not just a sit down and listen. You will be challenged. However to be an effective leader the challenge is warranted. I took a lot of info back from this course that I will be applying to my direct reports. I appreciate the honesty and dedication of the course facilitators. I am pretty reserved and don't like to speak up. Jay and Eric had me thinking and actively participating the whole time."
-Project Manager, Air Dominance Combined Test Force, Edwards Air Force Base, CA
“The course walks you through each critical area that builds a foundation for high quality solid leadership skills that can move a unit forward. The Personal Leadership Philosophy was a highlight in drilling below the surface to pull out core values that help others work well with you and vice versa. Good investment of our time. The program is really well formatted and the support provided is quite solid and useful as you move through the curriculum and run into challenges. Having that resource has been incredibly helpful in making real change.”
-Chief Administrative Officer, Colleges Business Office, UC San Diego
"Unbelievably eye-opening course! A must for the Air Force supervisor!"
-Senior Non-Commissioned Officer, 176th Air Defense Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard
“Highly engaging and effective. Provides theories and concepts with applicable tools to leverage in support of practicing what was learned.”
-Functional Project Manager, UC San Diego
"This is not like any other Leadership training courses I have seen. This training had practical, tangible, and usable leadership tools that were taught. I really appreciated walking out the door with both an action plan, and a Leadership Compass that is instantly implementable. This was true leadership training. The facilitator modeled real time coaching with his approach and guided us through to our desired goals with the training. *My Legos will sit on my desk going forward!! Such a helpful reminder."
-President, Global Fuels, LLC
"Jay was a great facilitator. The materials were made relevant by his examples and engagement with the group. The course was designed for upand- coming leaders, as well as offered strategies that individuals that have held leadership roles for many years could benefit from. The perspectives offered gave insight into many strategies that can be applied up- and down-stream in an agency."
-General Ledger and Cost Accounting Manager, Yakima Chief Hops
“An excellent program. It has great material and very thought-provoking topics. The way it was formatted with small groups brings value to our group. Energize2Lead and Personal Leadership Philosophy were the biggest gain to my professional development.”
-Management Fellow, Resource Administration, UC San Diego
"This program is very helpful. As a newer Supervisor, I knew there was room for improvement. I only knew what I knew or what I thought I knew from what I've witnessed from previous bosses or direct supervisors. This training gave me some great tools that I can put into place and officially be the leader I want to be for my team."
-Lead Sonographer, Imaging Associates
"The program was very insightful and taught me a lot. Jay Pullins was fantastic and very knowledgeable and engaging."
-Fund Manager, Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego
"The program was really in depth and touched on a lot of topics that make you deliberately consider how you lead, provided tools to bolster and develop areas where you may need to improve or have blind spots, and helped highlight areas where you were already succeeding. There is a tool that gave insights into your own personality about leading and being led, and we got to see how that related to other attendees' leadership and communication styles."
-Executive Assistant, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
"Writing a Personal Leadership Philosophy and being coached through the process gives you time to reflect on your values, an opportunity to be intentional with your management practices, and a tangible outcome that can be used for years."
-Senior Application Developer, Yakima Chief Hops
"The program is broken into three days and three sessions. There is a journal to help you track what you are learning along the way, there is homework to keep you more engaged with the information, and in class training worksheets that will prepare you for the short term and long term commitment that you are making to become a successful leader."
-Director, American Indian Resource Center, UC Santa Cruz
"The course offers facilitators with excellent backgrounds in leadership and high quality curriculum materials."
-Deputy Director, Combined Test Force, Edwards Air Force Base, CA
“The Personal Leadership Philosophies are hugely useful and got me to see things from a new perspective. I highly recommend this program.”
-Student Affairs Director, Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego
"Out of other leadership classes I have taken this one is the most beneficial. Instead of just talking about ideas it provided the tools to implement the ideas and actually see results. The Energize2Lead profile was surprisingly accurate and gave me insight into my personal traits and behaviors. Being able to view these things summarized will be helpful in implementing my leadership philosophy. Jay provided a great atmosphere and wonderful feedback."
-Project Manager, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation SKW Eskimos
“I recommend the program without reservation not only because of the content but because of the quality of instruction provided by Jay Pullins. I appreciate his sincerity and expertise, and I am inspired from his teaching. You can tell right off the bat that he lives and breathes leadership. He is a great role model and the right instructor to lead this training.”
-Principal HR Analyst, Office of the Exec. Vice Chancellor, UC San Diego
"The Leadership Excellence Course was greatly beneficial in using reading materials, live coaching and team discussion in identifying personal leadership opportunities and blind spots. Upon that discovery, reflection and discussion, action items were clearly identified to use in real-life moments."
-Marketing Director, Yakima Chief Hops
"Even if you consider yourself an effective leader, this course will make you a better one. by focusing on your abilities and your areas that need improvement. Great course!"
-Officer, 176th Air Defense Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard
“Thank You for the very informative and enlightening presentation. I have already received multiple positive feedback from attendees. I personally will integrate this information in my efforts to know my team members better and align my organization. I definitely will keep you in mind for future such activities.”
-Chief Operating Officer, Health Sciences and Senior Associate Dean, School of Medicine, UC San Diego
“We all agreed – your intensive workshop facilitation prowess and pertinent anecdotes made wading through the challenging stuff a true joy. Thank you, and we look forward to participating in another of your events in the future!”
-Lead Software Engineer, Yakima Chief Hops
"The course is very informative and covers a lot of topics of interest to our management. It provides you with tools to deal with all different types of situations including: communication, conflict, team building and collaboration. It also helps you navigate holding employees accountable."
-Program Management Officer/Chief of Staff, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
"I was fortunate enough to have gone through the Energize2Lead training in my previous role, and a few of my colleagues in the Campus Budget Office CBO have also gone through your program. We all have had such a great experience and found the training to be very beneficial."
-Financial Analyst, Campus Budget Office, UC San Diego
“Rich and fulfilling management/leadership training. Hands-on learning that you could immediately apply.”
-IT Service Center Director, University of Alaska Anchorage
"This course is a deep dive into both strategies and practical applications of leadership skills. It’s a program that asks you to implement, in real time, as well as set actionable goals. There was never a point where I thought the information or practice was not relevant - I gained insight at every module and activity."
-Assistant Director, Learning Support Services, UC Santa Cruz
“Jay is a very engaging facilitator who can really hold the attention of the audience. He also offered a lot of great stories that were applicable to the topics we were discussing. The Energize2Lead profile was probably the best self awareness assessment program I have ever participated in. It really digs deep into my preferred, expected and intrinsic styles.”
-Accountant, General Accounting, UC San Diego
"The leadership training through Academy Leadership is wholesome, detailed, and thought-provoking. The material used to teach the information was structured well and leaned into adult learning principles. I enjoyed the teaching moments as well as the time to reflect on what we learned - a skill needed in almost every aspect of life, not just in learning environments. Thank you for granting this opportunity to our team as it will be used for years to come!"
-Director of Administration, Imaging Associates
"The Leadership Excellence Course offered by Academy Leadership is a crucial course for leaders. It recognizes that traditional types of leadership are outdated, emphasizing the need for a diverse skill set. Beyond hard skills like planning, this course focuses on essential soft skills like communication, creativity, collaboration, and motivation."
-Physical Space & Resource Planning, Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego
"This program opened my eyes to a lot of leadership qualities that are often neglected during our daily ops, i.e. documenting and tracking goals, understanding other peoples' personalities and learning how to communicate with them and lead them."
-Senior Non-Commissioned Officer, 176th Air Defense Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard
"The Leadership Excellence Course is a great way to understand yourself and your tendencies and provide concrete methods for interacting with others in an effective way. The creation of your own leadership philosophy requires you to think intentionally about who you are, how you want to communicate that to others, and helps create clarity in your mission as a leader."
-Data Science Manager, Yakima Chief Hops
“I enjoyed talking about the various behaviors that we see in work environments and how to improve ourselves as leaders and to set the example for others. Our facilitator did a great job teaching us concepts, encouraging discussion, and providing feedback to our ideas. Jay did an awesome job! Thank you.”
-Director of Space Planning, Office of the Associate Vice Chancellor, UC San Diego
“A very energizing course that both teaches you and provides many tools on how to apply leadership both professionally and personally. The development of a leadership philosophy is an excellent tool to help understand yourself and how you operate.”
-Project Manager, Federal Reserve Bank
“The creation of my Personal Leadership Philosophy was a great exercise in clarity and communication with my team. The following sessions built on that start. Good team building.”
-Associate Vice Chancellor, Resource Administration, UC San Diego
"An intense and helpful course that improved my ability to mentor and lead my flight."
-Officer, 176th Air Defense Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard
“Life changing, eye opening and simple to implement.”
-Award Accountant, Post Award Financial Services, UC San Diego
"Informative, digestible, reflective, challenging and thought provoking. I've taken several trainings and this has by far has been the most practical."
-Executive Director, Career Success, UC Santa Cruz
“Excellent program that teaches actionable techniques to help leaders improve their ability to inspire their team to be awesome.”
-Project Manager, General Communication, Inc. (GCI)
“Great personal takeaways leading me to adapt my style to my team. Increased relationships at my level and above. Jay brings great background and relevance.”
-Director, Rady Graduate Career Connections, UC San Diego
"Fast paced, participative, highly enlightening."
-Vice-President-Property Management, First National Bank Alaska
“Intensive development program that allows you to develop and articulate a personal philosophy of leadership and integrate it into your daily living.”
-Director, Workforce Business Transformation & Optimization, UC San Diego
"This program was more than just a course that would provide a certificate. Jay walked us through the topics instead of just reading through slides. He presented the topics in ways that provided different view points that we could all relate to and coached us to come up with the solution instead of telling us the answer."
-Food Safety Manager, Yakima Chief Hops
"Transformational, eye-opening and engaging! This course takes all of the things you know you SHOULD be doing and teaches you tools to make them happen AND hold yourself accountable."
-Chief Master Sergeant, 176th Air Defense Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard
“The course really reinforced and provided new tools for us to be better leaders, such as setting SMART goals, managing conflict, conducting productive meetings, and creating our Leader’s Compass. The facilitator was great.”
-Chief Administrative Officer, Division of Social Sciences, UC San Diego
“Hard core, hard hitting and direct training with a lot of information in a very short amount of time.”
-Director of Infrastructure, Yakima Chief Hops
“Enlightening; valuable and amazing.”
-Executive Director, Business Transformation & Optimization, UC San Diego
“Delivered the tools that will bring my leadership to the next level. Thank you, Jay, for your instruction and mentoring. I would not be the leader I am today without your guidance.”
-Director, Technical Development and Infrastructure Services, Great Canadian Gaming Corporation
“The course causes you to step back and analyze how you are as a leader, how you affect others, and where you need to pay attention to differences."
-Director of Grad Admissions/Recruitment, Rady School of Management, UC San Diego
"It really helped me understand myself and others! Will apply in personal life and professional career. I will take this class again!"
-Senior Non-Commissioned Officer, 176th Air Defense Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard
“A good investment of time and effort, with rich content (no fluff) and opportunities to learn, interact and practice. Delivered on my goals for participating in the session.”
-Associate Director, Business and Financial Services, UC San Diego
"The course is designed for current leaders to improve their leadership skillset overall. It touched on a thorough assessment of each participants leadership traits with explanations of the results tailored to each participant. Self evaluations on our current skill sets and ways for us to improve those skills for setting priorities, clear communication, creating a motivational climate, handling conflict, accountability and coaching. We also came away from the course with a draft leadership philosophy."
-Program Manager, Air Dominance Combined Test Force, Edwards Air Force Base, CA
“Great leadership development program. No wasted time or energy. Excellent curriculum, books and presentation. Jay is an excellent and trustworthy facilitator.”
-Pastor, Athey Creek Community Church
"An interactive, engaging leadership workshop that helps you identify and craft what is important to you as a leader. The workshop leaves you with very practical takeaways and prepares you to be more effective as a leader immediately."
-Senior Data Analyst, Yakima Chief Hops
“You will come out of it energized, and you will learn so much about your style in only three days. At the end you will have written your leadership philosophy that you will use as a compass in your work life.”
-Divisional Senior Accountant, Business and Financial Services, UC San Diego
"I walked in thinking this would be a refresher to the Professional Military Education academies I have attended. It was much more enlightening and taught me more than I could have imagined. It was fast-paced and filled with valuable, life-changing (work and family) knowledge."
-Senior Non-Commissioned Officer, 176th Air Defense Squadron, Alaska Air Defense Squadron
“The course was thorough and comprehensive with regards to areas a leader encounters in an organization. It was extremely beneficial for me as a new manager to explore the concepts in this curriculum. Jay is great, approachable, a wealth of practical experience and knowledge.”
-Chief Administrative Officer, Department of Education Studies, UC San Diego
“The Leadership Boot Camp is great for new and experienced leaders to discover or rediscover the essential elements of the leadership discipline.”
-President, Delta Constructors
“The best part of the course is it taught me to reflect on myself as a leader. The Personal Leadership Philosophy is phenomenal and a great tool.”
-IT Support Manager, Division of Social Sciences, UC San Diego
“This program sends you home with truly actionable, tactical activities you can start working on immediately. It is not squishy and fluffy, but instead has specific, scientifically proven things you can do in your role to improve your team and yourself and therefore your organization.”
-Director of Information Technology, Alaska Railroad
“Know yourself and your style. Learn how to communicate and how to be prepared when communicating. Putting on paper your own leadership philosophy. Energize2Lead is a must have tool.”
-Project Manager, Business and Financial Services, Technology & Project Management, UC San Diego
"Outstanding! This program exceeded all expectations in every way! Jay was a great facilitator and was able to effectively relate to our organization."
-Major, 176th Air Defense Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard
“Intensive, thorough, provides great insight and learning, even with topics learned before.”
-Associate Director, Office of Post-Award Financial Services, UC San Diego
"The Leadership Excellence Course breaks down the most important aspects of leadership into a easy-to-understand format, equips you with easy-to-use tools, and paths for increasing accountability with following through on the new tools. 10 out of 10!"
-Flight Test Engineer, Air Dominance Combined Test Force, U.S. Air Force, Edwards Air Force Base, CA
"This program is designed to equip you with essential tools and motivation for effective leadership. Jay fosters and enhances your confidence by providing clear insights into your personal leadership style, highlighting specific techniques that align with your natural tendencies, and offering strategies to effectively engage with individuals who think and operate differently. Although comprehensive, Jay presents the information clearly and concisely, making complex concepts easy to understand and apply."
-Network Engineer, Yakima Chief Hops
“Very thorough and thought provoking. Actually gives you the tools you will need to lead.”
-Non-Commissioned Officer, 176th Air Defense Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard
“The most beneficial aspect of the program for me has been developing my Personal Leadership Philosophy. It was an excellent exercise to help me clarify my thoughts about leadership. The other aspect I enjoyed was the interaction with my colleagues and supervisors. Jay is very congenial and thought provoking.”
-Business Officer, Academic Affairs, UC San Diego
“A great opportunity to learn about your personality and in what areas you are most effective. Writing my personal leadership philosophy is a wonderful way to define and share my style and I don’t know why I didn’t do this earlier.”
-Senior Business Data Analyst, Business and Financial Services, UC San Diego
“Jay is an excellent listener with an uncanny ability to tease out the issue, pinpoint it into context, and provide real life solutions. I’ve been inspired to be a better leader, and now have the tools to get me there. Jay, you are particularly great at giving examples from your own environment, which solidified a concept. Thank you!”
-Chief Administrative Officer, Philosophy Department, UC San Diego
"The program does a great job of helping you to think about and define your leadership style. It goes on to provide lessons and insights to the most important elements of being a strong leader from goal-setting, to creating a climate of motivation, to dealing with conflict, to setting priorities, to creating a culture of accountability and coaching."
-Project Executive, ProWest Constructors
“The program provides several topics and tools for individuals to reflect on their own leadership style, no matter what their position is within the organization. Thank you for a great program.”
-Business Director, Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego
“The curriculum is focused and practical. Jay knows UCSD and makes it relevant. This course will challenge you and make you dig deep. I enjoyed drafting a concise leadership philosophy that I feel comfortable sharing with my team.”
-Asset Manager, Business abd Financial Services, UC San Diego
“A terrific opportunity to reflect on my skills and style, and the result led to a closer connection to my staff. Loved Jay’s very personable style.”
-Director of Career Services, School of Global Policy & Strategy, UC San Diego
“This course has pushed me to reflect on my leadership philosophy and goals, and to really understand the important role my leadership clarity plays in the success of my team and the organization.”
-Director of Admissions, School of Global Policy & Strategy, UC San Diego
“Intensive, insightful, good material, rich, beneficial, not boring! Lots of good discussion led to inspiration and generated creative solutions. Jay did a great job. I really appreciate his dedication and guidance throughout the course”
-Business Officer, Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego
“Allows good discussion with other leaders and gives the opportunity to learn from others’ experiences as well as my own. The content is relatable and useful. I enjoyed learning about co-workers and their Energize2Lead profiles. I also enjoyed writing my Personal Leadership Philosophy and hearing others.’ Jay did a great job! Very knowledgeable and insightful, always had good examples relating to content.”
-Program Analyst, Colleges Business Office, UC San Diego
"It's a course that has enabled me to better understand my strengths and weaknesses as a leader and how to harness these strengths to help me become an inspiring leader both at work and in my everyday life."
-Director of Sales - Canada, Yakima Chief Hops
"The course offers an insightful look into your personal leadership values as well as a how your unique personality traits play into overall leadership effectiveness. Additionally, the course offers helpful tools to establish meaningful long term changes to how problems within the work place are addressed."
-Assistant Maintenance Officer-In-Charge, F-22 Combined Test Force, U.S. Air Force, Edwards Air Force Base, CA
“The course has helped me enhance and implement some of my leadership skills, like running effective meetings, dealing with conflict, holding my staff accountable while allowing them the freedom to exercise their own independence. The curriculum was great, and Jay was great.”
-Chief Operations Manager, Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego
“Thank you so much for facilitating our leadership journey—my goal was to create a cohesive and connected relationship between the Dean’s Office and the departments. We accomplished that! More importantly, you provided some tools for us to become effective leaders.”
-Assistant Dean, Division of Social Sciences, UC San Diego
"The Leadership Excellence Course is a three-day intensive leadership course that teaches you about your personality and behavior and gives you tangible knowledge and tools that help you move beyond managing and into leading your teams. The materials are technical, but easily digestible and the course format encourages group participation and interaction that allows you to grow closer and leave energized."
-Executive Vice President, ProWest Constructors
“The program provides a lot of applicable tools that can be directly applied back in the work setting. The reflection on the modules and putting things into action helps increase the likelihood of putting the things learned into practice.”
-Director of Strategic Initiatives, UC San Diego Health Sciences
"This course was a highly motivational program that helps accelerate those trying to reach personal leadership goals by giving direction and clarity on how to do so. Jay was a great coach who engaged very well with even the most quiet of groups."
-Executive Assistant, Imaging Associates
"The program was comprehensive and informative. I really appreciated the practical information shared and the various self assessments. I really got some good insight into my gaps and areas for improvement. I love the tool kit provided and insightful content."
-Executive Director, UC San Diego Health Sciences
"I wholeheartedly recommend the Academy Leadership program; it was an outstanding and thought-provoking experience. Jay not only provided a comprehensive exploration of leadership principles and practices, but really challenged me to think critically about my leadership style and adapt my approach to various situations. The sessions were dynamic and engaging. Coupling the sessions with practical exercises helped to better understand different leadership dynamics; I feel prepared to implement these strategies in real-world scenarios. This program would benefit anyone seeking to enhance their leadership skills."
-Senior Managing Council, Battelle Memorial Institute
"The program is a hands-on leadership training designed for the newer and also seasoned leader. It provides practical and tangible tools to help leaders think about oftentimes intangible concepts of leadership and how to apply them into your role. Jay is excellent. He has a calming, earnest presence as a facilitator."
-Director, Health Sciences Academic Resource Center, UC San Diego
“Very good information around all aspects of leadership. Provides tools that can be utilized now. Great interaction and discussions allowed everyone to bring ideas and dialog for discussion. It has been a great couple of days and it was well worth the time invested."
-Quality Manager, Delta Constructors
"Informative, interactive, and extremely useful for any level of leadership or for aspiring leaders. Jay was very well versed and was able to keep engagement and interest from our cohort."
-Operational Strategist, UC San Diego Health Sciences
“This class made me realize how much there is to learn about proper leadership. Jay did a great job of engaging everyone, and making the Leadership Excellence Course a fantastic and enjoyable journey. He met individual needs, and did an impeccable job of listening and providing very thoughtful and constructive feedback.”
-Business Systems Analyst, Yakima Chief Hops
"The class was all about engagement and made me write and share what I wanted to learn from the leadership material. Having to articulate my philosophy was a way to help me better understand and tailor what I needed to do to implement the leadership goals I always knew but just only thought about."
-Flight Sciences Lead, Air Dominance Combined Test Force, U.S. Air Force, Edwards Air Force Base, CA
"This program is outstanding. I have taken other supervisor or manager training before, but never one on the leader. This helps to bring about what I learned in those trainings back full circle and I understand them more now that I have taken this course."
-Director, Sponsored Projects Office, UC San Diego Health Sciences
"Leadership Boot Camp was an inspiring and challenging experience. The course offers both high level concepts all the way down to specific tools you can start implementing & using immediately. It’s for all different management styles, managing all types of people. Jay led the cohort to many “a-ha moments” over our 3 days together. Highly recommend!"
-Senior HR and Organizational Performance Program Manager, Tesla
"It is an excellent program not only for entry level managers and leaders, but it can also be a great refresher for those managers and leaders that have substantial professional leadership and management experience. I would describe that the material is detailed and intense. I think it provides very valuable information from goal setting, expectations, communication, and other important topics."
-Accounts Administrator, UC San Diego
“The program is a fantastic way to gain insight into your own leadership abilities. The program will help an individual tailor their skillset to become a better leader, supervisor, mentor, and coach.”
-Senior Master Sergeant, 3rd Maintenance Operations, U.S. Air Force
"The program addresses the challenges that leaders face and provides real world applications to reflect, learn, improve and refine your leadership skills. The program reinvigorated my love of being a leader and inspired me to continue my journey of personal and professional growth."
-Associate Director, Housing Admin Services, UC San Diego
"An intensive course on how to be a leader- a comprehensive guide on the tools that will allow you to succeed in any leadership role. Jay was incredible, so knowledgeable, approachable and talented. I would absolutely take another one of his trainings in the future."
-Training and Reconciliation Center Manager, UC San Diego Health Sciences
"A crash course into how to lead, even if you don't have any direct reports at the time, this course prepares you for how to lead, how to communicate expectations and goals and how to keep those goals. The course encourages you to be your best! Jay was excellent and worked hard to keep us on track at all times, since there was so much content. But, he still allowed us to be ourselves and share relevant stories related to the programs' topics."
-Project Manager & Operations Strategist, UC San Diego Health
“Very insightful course to self-reflect in the areas we need help to be better leaders. The Lead2Energize assessment was very accurate and helped me connect the dots. Excellent guidance on coaching and importance of goal setting. The 90 day plan to reinforce the learning will be very valuable. Excellent delivery by Jay Pullins. I wish every leader in my organization was able to take this training.”
-Director, Program/Project Management, USAA
"This program was very informative; I got to learn about my personality traits and how that follows with my leadership style. It's fun and informative; I would highly recommend."
-Senior Housing Services Manager, UC San Diego
"This class is very informative and empowering. Great instructor who was supportive throughout the course."
-Project Executive, ProWest Constructors
"This was a fun and informative program guided by Jay. I think this should be a standard for any newly promoted supervisors. Every organization would gain so much from having leaders participate. Highly recommend and encourage!! Thank you, Jay!!"
-Executive Assistant to the Vice Chancellor, UC San Diego Health
"This program was engaging and incredibly valuable on anyone's journey to grow as a leader. This program will help improve my overall communication skills and internal relationships, as well as equip me with leadership skills to help my organization thrive."
-Communications Manager, Yakima Chief Hops
"This course covered a balanced variety of relevant leadership topics including different leadership styles, goal setting, developing a leadership compass, time management, coaching, and more. It was a lot of information to cover in a 3-day course but the timing and depth of each topic was just about right."
-F-22 Engineering Subject Matter Expert, Air Dominance Combined Test Force, Edwards Air Force Base, CA
"Very informative, I learned a lot not only about myself but also about my co-workers. Had a lot of fun in the class. Not what I expected I came to the class not expecting to get much out of it, I am walking away with a totally different attitude."
-Logistics Supervisor, Alaska Railroad
