Tools are only useful if you actually do something with them.
There are thousands of assessments, frameworks, and models out there. They approach from different angles, use different language, and swear by different things.
Here's what nobody tells you about them: the insight is only as useful as what you do with it. Taking a quiz and filing the results away changes nothing. But when the right framework meets the right moment of readiness (and someone helps you act on what you find) things start to shift.
Below are some tools that David uses most often in his coaching work. Some are worth exploring on your own as a starting point. Others are best experienced in a guided session. Either way, each one is a door, not a destination.
Assessments & Frameworks
Recommended Reading
01
Leadership and Self-Deception
Arbinger Institute: A narrative introduction to the outward mindset. Very readable for a business book.
02
Crucial Conversations
Patterson, Grenny et al. Practical tools for the high-stakes conversations most people avoid.
03
The Disease to Please
Harriet Braiker: For anyone who's noticed that keeping the peace is costing them something.
04
The Advantage
Patrick Lencioni: The foundational read on what actually gets in the way of teams working well.
A note on assessments generally: every tool has value, and every tool has limits. If a quiz tells you something that doesn't resonate, that's worth examining, too. The initial goal is self-awareness, not a label to hide behind.
helpful tools
Working Genius
Developed by Patrick Lencioni, the Working Genius model identifies six types of work and the two or three that come most naturally to you (your "geniuses"), the ones you can do but drain you (your "competencies"), and the ones that genuinely frustrate you ("frustrations").
David is a certified Working Genius facilitator. He uses this assessment with individuals to clarify role fit and career direction, and with teams to reduce friction and improve how people collaborate.
Understanding your Working Genius doesn't just tell you what you're good at, it explains why certain work energizes you and why other work slowly wears you down.
best for:
Individuals Teams Role Clarity Team Dynamics
helpful tools
The Outward Mindset (Arbinger Institute)
The Arbinger Institute's work centers on a simple but challenging idea: most of us operate with an inward mindset, focused on our own goals, feelings, and justifications, without realizing it. An outward mindset shifts the focus to the people around us and the impact we have on them.
David is a certified Outward Mindset trainer. If you want a starting point before working with a coach, Leadership and Self-Deception by the Arbinger Institute is a readable, narrative-driven introduction to this framework and one of the most practically useful books on workplace relationships and personal accountability.
best for:
Leaders Teams Accountability Relationship Dynamics
helpful tools
The Trust & Influence Pyramid
David has developed his own synthesis of three well-established models: Patrick Lencioni's trust pyramid, the Arbinger Institute's influence pyramid, and Daniel Goleman's emotional intelligence framework. Arranged in a way that reveals how deeply they reinforce each other.
The core insight: when something isn't working at a higher level (influence, behavior, results) the answer is almost always found at a lower one. You can't skip the foundation.
This framework is used in both individual and team coaching sessions. Ask David about it in your first conversation.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO CHATTING
Want to explore what these frameworks could mean for you or your team? Start with a conversation
