Great Leaders Prepare for the Unexpected

"You did a great job of pushing students out of the comfort zone while also respecting their boundaries"

"What an awesome experience having you as my co-mediator.  I learned so much during those hours and can contribute new insight from the experience.  You have phenomenal skills and demonstrate neutral approaches that are especially a style that compliments Marine Corps culture.    I will always remember your demonstration.  I feel strongly that no other style would have such success with our initiator. Thank you for your patience and time.  When we concluded, you spent 9 1/2 hours in this process!  What a demonstration of commitment.  I hope our paths cross in the future and thank you very much for your professional guidance."

“Stephen gave several conflict analysis and resolution training workshops, and developed a course module on the subject for the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative. The workshops and module addressed cross-cultural conflict, tools for analyzing conflict and preparing for mediation. Stephen’s work is high quality, and it is a pleasure to work with him.”

"Stephen led a dynamic training session for Northern Virginia Mediation Service in Fairfax, Virginia.  The audience included conflict resolution practitioners from highly diverse backgrounds.  Stephen was able to connect with each participant, adapting his techniques constantly to meet the needs of the group as well as those of individuals.  Stephen’s expertise in the areas of body awareness, group facilitation and conflict resolution shone through in his very personable and interactive manner of training.  I highly recommend Stephen Kotev as a speaker, trainer and consultant."

"I am very pleased with the effort and thought that Stephen puts into his work. He recently provided a webinar for our website www.adrhub.com. This was a new format for him to deliver his material and Stephen showed a high level proficiency with the content of the presentation and comfort with the technology. I look forward to working with Stephen in the future and can highly recommend him to anyone who is looking for a presenter that will provide meaningful skills to practitioners in the conflict engagement field."

"From our very first meeting Stephen has been a readily accessible teacher tremendously committed to supporting his students in and out of the classroom. His versatile approach enables shaping of everyday moments into opportunities to deepen self-awareness and build vital skills. His coaching transitioned me from post-traumatic stress to reflective practitioner."

"If you aren’t willing to be direct and just want someone to fill in the blanks and tell you what to do – then he’s not for you. You better be willing to work hard. If you do, you will get your money’s worth.  Stephen is safe, encouraging, motivational, dynamic and helps you implement sustainable change."

"Stephen is an amazing coach. He is very warm and inviting, and incredibly easy to talk to. His use of noticing how I physically felt around certain discussion points was very helpful to me. He took his time to truly notice "where I was" at any given time during our sessions. I would recommend Stephen as a coach in a heartbeat."

"[Stephen’s] calming, intuitive, and honest coaching style created an experience for me that was life-changing. His listening and communication skills are indeed phenomenal, and Stephen's wide-ranging intellect and knowledge base are such that he connects with so many different types of personalities."