Owner, Auto Parts Company in Ohio

"As the co-owner of a family business, the coaching I received from Bob Mathis was invaluable in helping me understand why our first few attempts at having employees were less than roaring successes. Bob taught me to look for the underlying anxiety at the root of any conflict that arose with family members in the business as well as with employees. After receiving coaching from Bob, employee turn over became almost non-existent. I learned to be less reactive to the anxiety & reactivity that would periodically crop up. I found that if I was less reactive, I could step back & more easily see the bigger picture. When I was able to raise my level of functioning within our organization, I found that there was a general rise in the functioning of all the members of our system."

Pastor in Florida

"Over the past 5 years, I have benefited from the ministry consultation of Dr. Robert I. Mathis. This consultation relationship has been three-fold over the time period: a monthly telephone consultation, occasional on-site consultation; person-to-person consultations. Bob has been very insightful as a consultant in focusing and sharpening my leadership and conflict management skills in the multi-cultural environment in which I served in Washington, D.C. and now in Miami, Florida (2003-present). He has helped me to think about my role and position as a pastor/leader in the congregational systems, the formation and dynamics of relational triangles, reactivity directed toward the leader during congregational crisis and change, the influence of my personal family of origin on my leadership style and position, and the influences of parishioner and congregational family history. Working on these and other issues with Dr. Mathis, I have gained confidence and clarity in leadership and stamina in difficulty. As a consultant, he has encouraged me to function in healthier ways as a leader in the congregation. My personal, marital, and family health has been enhanced through consultation as well."

Pastor in Michigan

"My conversations with Robert Mathis have been a valuable resource to me in my roles as a pastor, husband, and father. Robert has repeatedly helped me to reframe challenges so that my focus is not on the challenges themselves, but on myself and my response to them. I am developing strategies to better manage my anxiety by becoming more thoughtful about the convictions that guide me. These efforts to become a more 'solid self' are, I believe, essential to effective leadership."

College President, Florida

"Bob recommended to me a book, Generation to Generation by Edwin Friedman. After I read the book, we began what has become for me, a lifetime discussion on the nature and importance of family systems theory. There is no way for me to express how significant the principles of family systems theory have become to me. For example, I can remember back, as though it was yesterday (it is really about 30 years ago) when going through a particular crisis in ministry, Bob explained to me the principle of leadership by self differentiation. It was transforming; it still is. And whether it was the concept of homeostasis, or triangulation or entering or leaving congregations, it has always been at the foundation of what my leadership has been about, and Bob was the contractor on the building of that foundation. Anyone today serious about leadership in family, congregation or institution, religious or otherwise needs to be conversant in and a student of family systems theory. I personally think it is that significant because it based on the very principles by which God designed the original family and every family and organization and institution since. Of all the many, many books on leadership I have read and lectures and seminars on leadership I have attended (and sometimes endured), family systems theory stands alone in significance."

President of a Family-owned Manufacturing Company, Ohio

"Dear Dr. Mathis,
Thank you for helping us through our business transition. The sessions with my partner and my son helped us get a much clearer picture of the conflicts that would and did occur, as my son joined our small business. Being an engineer, I am not trained in interpersonal relations so it was helpful to have you point out the imbalances that would occur within our organization. You asked many excellent probing questions that we hadn't taken time to consider in years. What we personally want to do? What our business would look like in the intermediate term? Future personal goals? After our sessions with you we were able to understand, anticipate, and explain to all members of our team what was happening so that everyone is more comfortable and motivated. Congratulations on your new Dublin office! It's great to know that you are familiar with our company and are available for future consultation."