Harmony Insights is appreciative of the feedback that we continue to receive from our valued clients.
During GATX’s most recent Leadership 101 program, which is offered to new and recently promoted GATX leaders, guest presenter Erich Kurschat led an engaging session on DiSC behavioral styles. By better understanding their own styles and how to relate to team members with differing styles, these leaders are equipped with tools to improve teamwork, communication, and productivity in the workplace.
Erich created a safe environment that fostered participation and engagement.
Robert Perna
SVP, General Counsel & Secretary
Knowles Corporation
I’ve sat through hundreds of training classes in the past. You are one of the best company facilitators I have seen. Genuine, knowledgeable, caring, articulate, professional are just a few words that come to mind. Thank you for the impact you have made!
Brian Britton
EVP/COO
Levy Restaurants
A couple of years ago at a conference, I followed two new friends to a session on a whim. The session was ‘Network Like An Introvert’ — perfect for me, since I am an introvert, and I was a terrible networker! I listened to and learned from the presenter, Erich Kurschat, and it was my favorite session of the conference!
Tracie Sponenberg
Chief People Officer
The Granite Group
Over the past year, my company had to rebuild and restructure to respond to and then drive change in our industry. The result of our efforts was more age, experience, geographical and life diversity in our senior team. Our time with Erich gave us invaluable tools to be able to effectively communicate with empathy toward the end of better customer service and a more cohesive organization. We left our offsite with tools and understanding that we can now put to work on a daily basis. Erich’s facilitation of our session was both practical and uplifting. I’d recommend it to any company at any stage of development.
Working with Erich from Harmony Insights was a great experience. For a smaller team of 15 that works very closely together, learning to communicate efficiently is a huge priority. After completing our individual assessments and going through the process with Erich our team is already improving communication both internally and externally. The team also has a greater appreciation and understanding for their co-workers.
Erich is an accessible and expert facilitator – a truly unique pairing. Our clients (individuals in transition – unemployed or unfulfilled) regularly find hope, humor and wisdom in his delivery. He is gifted at illuminating new possibilities in what can be considered “traditional” job search content (e.g. interviewing, negotiating etc.). Erich cares about our clients, and it comes through in their evaluations not just of his style (“contemporary” and “upbeat”), but also the lengths he goes to present the science behind his reasoning. I would entrust Erich with any content related to career strategy and management. Being in his audience is a delight, and working with him as a partner is equally awesome.
Emily K. Drake, LPC
Program and Coaching Director
Career Transitions Center of Chicago
I can’t think of a more dynamic leader and trainer. Your work is so valuable to professionals across Chicago. There are a lot of coaches and clients here who know you and all think you are brilliant. Your name is dropped almost every week at CTC with affection by someone.
Nadia Whiteside
Program and Coaching Director
Career Transitions Center of Chicago
Erich Kurschat recently facilitated a DiSC workshop for our professional women’s organization, CREW Chicago, and we received wonderful feedback from all those who participated in the event. In preparing for the event, Erich worked patiently with our planning team and was highly responsive in tailoring the program to meet the unique needs of our group. He was an excellent presenter and delivered material that was useful and interesting to our participants. Throughout the process he created an upbeat atmosphere and had our group moving around the room, interacting, connecting, drawing on flip charts, and enjoying the learning experience.
Erich is a polished, interesting, fun facilitator. You could not do better than to have him serve as a presenter for your organization.
Sharon Krohn
Co-Chair, Leadership & Professional Development
CREW Chicago
Erich is uniquely skilled in effective workplace communication strategies. By developing management’s awareness of individuals’ dynamic workplace strengths and needs, Erich demonstrates his commitment to building collaborative workplace relationships.
I invited Erich to facilitate a management training at my organization on sharing critical performance feedback. I selected Erich as the trainer because he offers a specialized approach to engaging employees, based on the DiSC assessment.
Erich coached my agency’s leaders to first assess their own workplace behavior style, and then guided them to understand their colleagues’ styles. With this foundation of awareness, Erich coached our supervisors to provide individualized feedback based on the dynamics between each individuals’ behavior and communication preferences. Additionally, Erich delivered techniques for our managers to become more comfortable with sharing challenging feedback, including best practices for communicating in a transparent, empowering and constructive manner. The training participants and I left the discussion with specific action items which we can apply directly to our work.
In today’s workforce, where a company’s excellence depends on collaboration between individuals with diverse behavior styles, Erich is a top-notch resource for developing high-performing teams. I will absolutely partner with Erich again on leadership trainings, and I give him my highest recommendation.
Yael Sharon
Human Resources Manager
Inspiration Corporation
I had no doubt when I signed up for the session that it would be wonderful. Your masterful handling of the room was truly wonderful and made it a delight to participate. Thank you, thank you!
Claudia Jaccarino
President
CultureConnect
[Your DiSC class] was the most enjoyable 3 hours of any HR event I’ve been to ever.
Brian Jessen
Senior Vice President
Forest Capital Management, LLC
Erich is an impressive instructor, highly engaging and knowledgeable. He was well prepared and organized for his workshop session at 2112. We are grateful for his help in developing our startup companies. Thrilled to have Erich as part of our community!
Amor Montes De Oca
Director of Strategic Initiatives
2112 Creative Industry Incubator
We have had Erich present to each of our cohorts, and our students consistently report it’s one of the best sessions of the program! His presentation style is engaging and incredibly informative. I have sat through it myself a couple of times now and continue to learn after each presentation. We are grateful to have Harmony Insights as a partner and plan on engaging Erich with future students every chance we get. I can’t recommend him more highly, and our students would say the same.
Eric Connor
Co-Founder & Lead Facilitator
Flank 5 Academy
The DISC workshop could not have been better. Your masterful presentation and interaction was enlightening and relaxed. All participants enjoyed the personal overview and activities. Everyone at Nonstop Locksmith would like to thank Erich Kurschat and Harmony Insights for a truly rewarding and memorable event.”
Rodney Steele
Director of Operations
Nonstop Locksmith
Erich is a brilliant instructor. He makes his workshops here at 1871 fun, engaging and highly informative! We are extremely grateful to have him and looking forward to having him back again and again…
Veronica Rodriguez
Senior Programming Associate
1871
Erich of Harmony Insights presented and facilitated a DiSC training to our HR team. Our group thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and learned not only more about themselves, but also how to best interact with others on the team and adapt. Erich is an excellent facilitator and presenter. We weren’t ready for his two-hour session to end! I highly recommend Harmony Insights.
Hilary Bryant
director, talent management
Meritas International Family of Schools
The DiSC Workplace Profile assessment and workshop facilitated by Erich was the most effective professional development session we have ever conducted with our staff. Comprised of an excellent mix of theory and personalized feedback, the assessment provided us with profiles that were uncannily accurate and quite helpful, and the discussions generated during the workshop were among the most productive and fruitful we have ever had. Erich’s approach and facilitation are superb, and I recommend him to any organization looking to improve teamwork and to partner with a fantastically talented and knowledgeable professional.
Col. Kelly Jordan
Commandant of Cadets
Culver Military Academy
Erich of Harmony insights facilitated a half-day DiSC training with my multicultural executive team. He did lead the team with tact, diplomacy, and clarity. He was focused to reach his goal, which was to debrief about each of our DiSC assessments and, at the same time, share his perception of how to build a strong executive team. Having done several of these sessions with other facilitators, I must admit that I was struck by his professionalism, his level of expertise, and his open-mindedness. A great moment in the year for the team!
Yves Thézé
General Director
Collège du Léman
(Geneva, Switzerland)
Erich Kurschat of Harmony Insights is a marvelous presenter. He engages an audience with his deep knowledge of his subject and his sincere interest in their situations and questions. He inspired all of us to think about our work and our relationships with a fresh perspective. I recommend him highly to work with individuals or groups who want to gain insight into how they operate and how they can improve the relationships that are the foundation of their success.
Beth Kregor
director
Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship
University of Chicago Law School
From building performance development plans to having challenging conversations with staff members, Erich was always my first call. He is an HR ninja who can blend knowledge, skill, and style to make everything I do more effective.
Charles King
VP of Analytics
E15
Thank you very much for an informative, relevant, and engaging presentation last night. I really appreciated watching you facilitate – a habit from years of teaching – when you spot a great teacher/facilitator, you watch in awe. It was a pleasure to watch you at your craft. I hope to come to other events you facilitate soon!
Jessica
Working with Erich and Harmony Insights gave me the inspiration and knowledge I needed to move in a different direction in my career. He helped talk through my strengths and weaknesses, worked with me to organize and balance my priorities and to really see a clear path I needed to take at this point in my life. Erich takes the time to get to know you and point you in the right direction, whether it be a book to read or homework assignment to participate in, he’s definitely on your side, open-minded, and fresh and full of ideas. I highly suggest working with Erich!
Jenny
When I decided it was time to leap out of my comfort zone to a new position, I realized I needed a guide. Erich used the DiSC assessment so we would both know me better. He gave me targeted resources to read, advised me on revising my resume, and guided me to develop a specific strategy to explore possibilities. As I stretch to meet new challenges in my position, it occurs to me that Erich helped me build skills for this during my job search. Working with Erich helped me to articulate my commitment and strategies to take on the “new”. This helped me get the job, but, more importantly, I rely on these tools to do the work every day.
Andrea
Erich Kurschat of Harmony Insights is an enthusiastic, knowledgeable coach and presenter, both one-on-one and with large groups. He is interesting, as well as interested. DiSC is one of the most accurate and comprehensive models for behavior, especially in the workplace. Erich can explain its value and give game-changing advice based on your results.
Tim Antone
Founder
MisterKnowHow
Erich is an invaluable resource for anyone who is seeking a job or in need of career counseling. He was very patient and meticulous in his review and critique of my resume. His advice was both constructive and practical. Erich’s career coaching style is one of a teacher, encourager, and cheerleader. He helped me see myself, and my skill set, in a new and different light. His counseling led me to be more assertive in my job search and ultimately more confident in the interviewing process. I was recently offered a fantastic job opportunity due, in part, to the excellent coaching I received from him. Thank you, Erich, for guiding me on the path to my new and more rewarding career!
Stephanie
I have been meaning to thank you for the advice… it really helped me to think about a few things before disclosing salary information to companies that I’ve been applying to. I cannot even tell you how much I appreciate your help and the fact that you are always going out of your way to lend a hand. It just makes job hunting that much easier! You inspire me to find my value, articulate it, and expect to be compensated for it.
Jessica
Erich was an invaluable resource in helping me to represent myself in an effective way to prospective employers.
Ellen Hoffman
student
Kenyon College
I heard your amazing story on Dan [Miller’s] podcast this past week and see you are Dan’s featured member of the week – CONGRATS! Your story was incredibly inspiring and I was grinning from ear to ear listening to it while silently cheering you on from my car on the ride home last week. VERY cool…thank you for sharing and again, congrats!
Jen McDonough
Motivational Storyteller and Author of Living Beyond Rich & Living Beyond Awesome
www.TheIronJen.com
Thank you so much for your insight and generosity in speaking with me last week. It really left an impression on me, getting me to think more holistically about my job search. I can see how my search has been guided by fear and how such a mindset has affected my ability to think long-term, towards a career that aligns with my values and passions.
John
You are a very dynamic and charismatic speaker. I believe you when you say you love the work you do.
workshop participant
Erich, I truly enjoyed your workshop! [DiSC] was so much more insightful than any other personality test I’ve completed in the past. Thank you for the time you took to bring us closer together as a team.
workshop participant
I wanted to personally thank you again for EVERYTHING! You made DiSC FINALLY make sense to me, and, for that, I am grateful.
workshop participant
I just think Erich is the greatest! I will attend any session he is leading – he is so well informed, thoughtful and engaging. I feel like I am better informed after a session with him as well as inspired and energized.
workshop participant
Erich was a stellar presenter. He was well informed and excited about the information. He pushed well through the information so that we were able to cover it all but did not ever feel rushed, allowing time for us to participate and ask questions. I also really appreciated that he encouraged us to share our experiences both as job seekers and former hiring managers – this gave additional valuable insight into the interviewing process.
workshop participant
We trust [Erich] the moment we walk in the door. He exudes support, confidence, and excitement.
workshop participant
Fascinating and insightful material presented with humor and grace.
workshop participant