TESTIMONIALS
Discover the thoughts and experiences of those who have worked with Dr Larry van Niekerk.
DR. DOUGLAS BLACK and DR. NOEL POWER
Hamilton Small Animal Veterinary Centre
MATT LAVARS
The Coaching Institute
I had the pleasure of working with Dr van Niekerk since 2001, in a non-clinical relationship.
I met Dr van Niekerk at a public talk I was giving on Leadership and Strategy. Soon after that, we connected to offer the Veterinary fraternity in Johannesburg a way to enhance their managerial skills, and so develop their practices. The focus was limited to those practices offering services to companion pets.
At the initial meeting, we enrolled 22 veterinarians in the non-profit, the Institute of Veterinary Practice Development (IVPD). Dr van Niekerk displayed his foresight and drive in developing this organization into one with over 170-member hospitals in Sub-Saharan Africa. I played a secondary leadership role in the organization until 2009.
The IVPD not only provided professional practice input but also managed to unite the various practices to give them greater financial options adding materially to their individual practices.
IVPD was driven relentlessly by Dr van Niekerk in addition to his various professional commitments. His creativity, ingenuity, and commitment are truly rare phenomenon. I consult medium and large companies in 14 countries and have nowhere come across such exceptional ability focused on any extra-professional endeavor as displayed by Dr van Niekerk.
I feel truly fortunate to have worked with Dr. Larry during my first few months in practice. As a young Asian female entering the veterinary industry, I had felt the effects of imposter syndrome and anxiety quite heavily.
My initial discussion with Dr. Larry was so relaxed and comfortable. Within our hour and a half chat, I had learned a significant amount about myself and the ways I had been ineffectively communicating. I had felt a crucial shift in mindset quickly after our initial discussion and was lucky to have continued to work with Dr. Larry through his 6-hour personal coaching session.
Dr. Larry’s ability to connect with people is one of his superpowers. Prior to our session, I had been struggling to feel comfortable in a new environment of contrasting personality types. In a short space of time, I had felt a dramatic change surrounding my anxiety at work and everyday life. He had helped me realize my ineffective strategies in my mindset and behavior. I know that this would have taken me years to work through myself, had it not been for Dr. Larry’s influence and techniques through his sessions.
I would highly recommend Dr. Larry and his services to any new grads facing similar struggles in any fast-paced or high-pressure profession. The decision to continue from his pro bono coaching session is one that has made a big impact. Although the first steps maybe be intimidating, it is worth investing in yourself and making a difference to become the ultimate you with Dr. Larry.
Thank you for allowing me to participate in the Behavioural Analysis study.
The questionnaire was straightforward and didn’t take long at all to complete and yet the results are extremely insightful and accurate. I found I could really relate to the feedback but more importantly, it showed me areas that were outside my comfort zone and as you explained these require more energy for me to deal with. Now that I know this, I can more easily prepare for times when I need to deal in these high-energy areas (as we all must).
Interestingly, one immediately subconsciously starts to understand one`s co-workers and appreciate their strengths and areas of stress. This can now help me to identify leaders in different areas and certainly strengthen the team dynamic.
I can certainly recommend the exercise and it has helped me identify strengths in myself as well as the people I work with.
Thank you once again.
Life has certainly changed since I started working with Larry 6 months ago. I was hoping for Larry to be some sort of guru, to tell me how to succeed – meet me at the beach 4 am, come ready to work, kind of deal. This didn’t happen. Instead, what I got from Larry was exposure to the world of how people think. With just three sessions and some thinking time in between, I was able to start identifying my drivers, the things that made the world go around for me. With these in place, I was able to start making changes in my life towards creating my “Ideal Day”.
Since then, my work and living arrangements have changed and I am able to approach decision making in a whole different way. I am starting to understand how myself and others think and react to situations and can therefore work alongside them more efficiently. I am starting to be able to take a much more active role in the driving seat of my life, directing it rather than being a passenger.
Don’t expect Larry to tell you how to change. Expect to be shown how to help yourself. The latter is much more powerful. If all that can happen in three sessions, what can happen over years of learning? Let’s find out…