ANTI-BOSS!
BOSSISM IS DEAD!
Want a Signed Copy?
Make it personal. Get your own signed edition of Bossism Is Dead! Add a short note (for yourself or as a gift) and let David W. Stephens inspire you on your journey to a better corporate life.
About the Author
David Wayne Stephens
Love form clients
readers worldwide
I recently held a BEwell HUB webinar where David Stephens was my guest speaker. David's expertise and knowledge of "Servant Leadership" in Business and Life were evident from the start, and his enthusiasm and passion for the subject were contagious. His communication skills were excellent, speaking clearly and concisely, and making complex ideas easy to understand. He engaged the audience with relevant examples and anecdotes from his experience making the presentation informative and entertaining. Overall, I highly recommend David as a guest speaker for any webinar or event. His expertise, and ability to connect with participants make him an excellent choice for any event.
David brought an amazing sense of humor to the work environment. He was very dedicated and brought a wide perspective from his previous experience to the table. He provided clear expectations, articulated them well, and developed and supported his reports to be very efficient and successful. His expectations for the required skill set of good designers was very traditional, pragmatic, and very sound. He was a valuable member of the team and it was a pleasure working with David.
David understands the need to manage human performance to meet business objectives. He has worked on HPI projects in the past with successful outcomes. He understands the need to start with a Business Analysis in order to determine the needs of the organization. He is also skilled in the Performance Analysis aspect of HPI to understand the current system work flow, and how the work is being executed. David is experienced in performing effective gap analysis through assessments to determine deficiencies in the workforce. He is also versed in Intervention Selection to determine whether the gaps exist due to lack of knowledge, skills, or attitude toward the work. David also understands the importance of metrics and evaluation; he claims that if you don't measure it, there is no way to improve it, and he is right. David is also an advocate of mentoring and coaching. He taught me that in some cases the only way to see real improvement is "one to one" engagement.
Prior to David joining FMC Technologies, the Design Drafting department was in a non-collaborative state in multiple departments. Existing managers had served less than one year in the group, and morale was not in the highest state because the perception was no one cared about leading the group - it was simply a stepping stone to advancement for most. When David came on board, he made immediate observations of communications and competency issues, and set out to change those. He developed a mentor role and then developed assessments to gage competency levels. He had the mentor work with those furthest behind, and he developed directed training to get competencies up. He made organizational changes to the group and began indentifying potential team leaders. He had a very different sense of humor, and that seemed to drive the level of creative thinking up for the design group, which had a positive influence in morale, respect by others, and performance. While he gave his people opportunities, he also applied accountability. He wrote new job descriptions, enforced adherence to those job descriptions, and communicated with me to make sure I understood where he was going. When our HR group switched to a computer based system, his group was the beta test group, as he actively involved HR in his process improvements. From a recruiter standpoint, he was a very good communicator helping me do my job in finding the right resources for him, and he involved me in understanding specific competencies for his employees. I believe David could work in many different roles or industries by applying the business acumen he possesses. He was an asset to the recruiting process because he was more interested in what a candidate could do to improve the company and the group, than just where the candidate had worked before orwhat role. He placed a high emphasis on how potential candidates think, even changing the interview process to help “peek” into one’s thought processes, which streamlined the recruiting process by making better choices up front. He used props and questions which did not have yes/no answers to engage candidates more actively in the process. His goal was to get the right person on the bus. The way David worked, gave me the opportunity to do my job to the best of my ability without tying my hands behind my back. He gave me the freedom to be creative in finding solutions for him, and it was a rare opportunity to share in the success of our efforts. To David, it was not about him, but about the team, and we made a good one!
David has always impressed me with his very active and creative mind, as well as his keen sense of humor. He has demonstrated good listening and communication skills along with diplomacy for bringing different mindsets together in the midst of differing perspectives. During the one project where he and I worked closely together, he displayed good tenacity toward completing the assignment despite numerous roadblocks, setbacks and hurdles. His sense of urgency is admirable. David tends to think much differently than the average individual, and comes up with "out of the box" concepts. This trait can be very valuable in brainstorming / design concept development work. Honesty and integrity are virtues that he values and incorporates in his dealings with others. His cheerful "upbeat" attitude and unique appreciation for humor makes working with him an enjoyable experience.
I contacted David for a position I had available wih my client FMC, when I was with ProStaff. He not only had all the skills for the position, but he also had a passion and commitment for and to his line of work that is hard to find. From the first conversation we had, I knew David was going to be a perfect match for this position. David not only proceded through the interview process with the utmost integrity, but also made a point to work with me and position me in the highest regard with the client. David is a great candidate/person to work with and I also had the pleasure of being able to work with him in helping build the team he needed once he landed the position. David is not your ordinary technical person, he has excellent people skills and is very loyal to those he works with and for. I would work with David again in a heartbeat, I have never worked with a candidate that actually made my job as a recruiter so much easier than it can generally be. David is a top notch leader and would be an asset to any organization that had the good fortune to have him on staff. His skills as a manager accompanied with his communication and technical skills are a combination that is rare in this World.
Prior to David joining FMC Technologies, the Design Drafting department was in a non-collaborative state in multiple departments. Existing managers had served less than one year in the group, and morale was not in the highest state because the perception was no one cared about leading the group - it was simply a stepping stone to advancement for most. When David came on board, he made immediate observations of communications and competency issues, and set out to change those. He developed a mentor role and then developed assessments to gage competency levels. He had the mentor work with those furthest behind, and he developed directed training to get competencies up. He made organizational changes to the group and began indentifying potential team leaders. He had a very different sense of humor, and that seemed to drive the level of creative thinking up for the design group, which had a positive influence in morale, respect by others, and performance. While he gave his people opportunities, he also applied accountability. He wrote new job descriptions, enforced adherence to those job descriptions, and communicated with me to make sure I understood where he was going. When our HR group switched to a computer based system, his group was the beta test group, as he actively involved HR in his process improvements. From a recruiter standpoint, he was a very good communicator helping me do my job in finding the right resources for him, and he involved me in understanding specific competencies for his employees. I believe David could work in many different roles or industries by applying the business acumen he possesses. He was an asset to the recruiting process because he was more interested in what a candidate could do to improve the company and the group, than just where the candidate had worked before orwhat role. He placed a high emphasis on how potential candidates think even changing the interview process to help "peek" into one's thought processes, which streamlined the recruiting process by making better choices up front. He used props and questions which did not have yes/no answers to engage candidates more actively in the process. His goal was to get the right person on the bus. The way David worked, gave me the opportunity to do my job to the best of my ability without tying my hands behind my back. He gave me the freedom to be creative in finding solutions for him, and it was a rare opportunity to share in the success of our efforts. To David, it was not about him, but about the team, and we made a good one!
David is very skilled in Engineering design and drafting. He helps improve the performance of his team as a whole, using hard work, communicating positively, and having upbeat leadership skills. It was a great pleasure working with him, with his great sense of humor and genuine caring for his employees. He recognizes talent when he sees it and knows a hard worker, and I would jump at the chance to work for David again.
I have known David Stephens for almost 2 years now. I recall the intricate discussions we used to have during our meetings where David could effectively put forth his ideas in the most easy and amiable manner. His right blend of technical acuity and humor makes him an excellent communicator and made working with him a joy at FMC.
