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Showing posts from January, 2019

Combating Bullying and Abuse in School and College Sports for 40 + years; Author and Former College Football Player and Coach Outlines a 4-Step Program

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Successful Leaders Aren’t Bullies Author Matt Paknis teaches coaches how to detect, address, prevent and transcend bullying MARION, Mass., Jan. 10, 2019—Reports of rampant bullying in school sports programs by coaches, officials and players resulting in injury, depression and even player deaths, have raised awareness of the need for education and preventative programs designed to protect youth. Matt Paknis, a leadership consultant, former college football coach and champion lineman who is himself a survivor of childhood abuse, teaches how to build healthy sports cultures that help student athletes thrive with a program to detect, address, prevent and transcend bullying. “It’s time to stop this devastating tailspin of bullying in America, starting with high school sports,” said Matt, author of the newly released book, Successful Leaders Aren't Bullies: How to Stop Abuse at Work and Build Exceptional Organizations. “The brutal hazing and locker room sexual abuse among high sch

Combating Childhood Abuse and Bullying for 50 + years; A Former College Football Player and Coach and Survivor Discusses How to Heal From and End Traumatic Childhoods

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Click here to learn more and to hear my 1-4-19 interview with NAASCA It was very edifying to talk with NAASCA's Bill, Mary, Carol, and Bobby on Friday night. Thank you for this opportunity. Below please find a few points culled from the interview and in reflection to help adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse integrate and transcend their significant childhood traumas. EDITOR'S NOTE: Here is a link to the "Stop Child Abuse Now" talk radio show where Matt appeard in early January: Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 2045 -- Special guest Matt Paknis Early intervention with a great counselor, deep love from my ailing mother and her friends, stopping the abuse, healthy involvement in sports, and in particular with football, great coaches, role models, teammates, and my striving for mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health helped me transcend long term exposure to four major childhood traumas; experiencing and witnessing domestic violence, sexual abuse, an

Combating Workplace Bullying and Abuse for 30 + years, and How Successful Leaders Build Trust - An Interview with Matt Paknis

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“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” - Martin Luther King, Jr. Thank you Ross Smith for writing this SHRM blog post . As written before on the SHRM blog, here and here, I believe trust is a critical component of successful teams and organizations. Matt Paknis has written a great new book, “Successful Leaders Aren’t Bullies” and I wanted to get his perspective on the importance of trust – in organizations, on teams, and in life. Matt Paknis is a senior management consultant with six years of college football coaching and ten years of playing experience through five championship seasons whose focus is on lessening bullying in the workplace. He was a former assistant coach at Penn State under Joe Paterno and has spoken publicly about being abused as a child. Matt transcended childhood bullying and the death of his mother with teamwork and leadership. He has dedicated over twenty-five years of consulting to helping global cli

What Distinguishes a Championship Team?

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What Distinguishes a Championship Team? Clemson modeled it Monday night; the human spark of trust, love, creativity, humor, laughter, spiritual renewal, and awakening! These traits make any organization great and can't be suppressed by power or surpassed by AI (computers).

What separates great teams and organizations from posers?

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Brown teammates and the offensive linemen I coached there, at Penn State, and at URI were amazed to learn I was the sole three-year starter on three consecutive, 11-0, high school state championship football teams, consecutively ranked #3, #2, and after my senior season, #1 in the Newark (NJ) Star Ledger final top twenty poll. This, in part, was key to my resiliency and overcoming the death of my young mom. It also allowed me to receive scholarships and be recruited by prestigious universities. This gave me access, as a consultant, to thousands of organizations where, without fail, the four key factors distinguishing my great teams are embraced, demonstrated, measured, and rewarded by winning organizations, yet absent in the duds. These factors include: 1. Commitment – Everyone feels responsible for the success of the organization because the organization is committed to them. Crafts are mastered to near perfection because the organization provides ample resources, trainin