Matt Paknis Leadership Development

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 Berean Study Bible Happy Sunday! And Congratulations to Maggie Nichols, crowned yesterday as 2018's NCAA Gymnastics Champion! Ms. Nichols began the year by revealing she was the first gymnast to report abuse by Dr. Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics team physician convicted of serial sexual abuse, to USA Gymnastics’ leadership three years ago. She ended the championship meet in triumph, with a string of performances that stamped her as one of the greatest collegiate gymnasts in history! Below please find the five steps regarded by experts to help abuse victims and targets recover from trauma. These include: a. Sharing all abusive experiences and secrets with a trusted, licensed / certified, recognized, and proven trauma counselor and, when ready, ultimately going public to expose the abuse and to protect potential targets. b. Identifying cognitive distortions and irrational mental filt...

Last night HBO aired a movie about Paterno's fall from grace as Penn State's admired football coach . It failed to reveal the Paterno I experienced when coaching with him and Sandusky as an assistant Penn State football coach in 1987 and 1988 and how Paterno's true colors facilitated Sandusky's rampant pedophilia. I experienced Paterno as a bully who demanded bizarre player witch hunts and staff behaviors. These contradicted his win the right way mantra. He also threatened staff and players with personal violence, he made racist statements, and he isolated, belittled, disenfranchised, and demeaned decent players and staff with tyrannical rage while projecting a calm and concerned public persona in the media. His true self so contradicted his beloved public image to this day people refuse to acknowledge Sandusky's crimes and Paterno's culpability. Paterno's ruse and permission set the tone for Sandusky to model and create a sham of a charity where Sandus...

This weekend, HBO will release " Paterno" , and Simon & Schuster announced the September release date for my book, "Successful Leaders Aren't Bullies". The film stars Al Pacino as Paterno and chronicles Paterno's fall from grace in November 2011 when he eclipsed the NCAA's all time coaching wins record AND was fired from PSU for his culpability in allowing Sandusky to sexually molest young boys. I worked as an offensive line coach at Penn State with Paterno and Sandusky in 1987 and 1988 and their bizarre power dynamics and narcissism turned me off to coaching. It also motivated me to earn an MBA and help organizations rid themselves of bullies and bad management practices. The film appears to allow the viewer to decide whether Paterno was complicit and knowingly allowed Sandusky to molest boys for the sake of Paterno's drive to become college football's all time most winning football coach and to protect his and Penn State's reput...

A fish stinks from its head! The only root cause common in bullying and abusive organizations is it is ALLOWED by complicit officials!

Attached please find a very moving testimony from a man who confronts his childhood bully, now the newly selected respective school superintendent. Over the years, I've counseled grown men, shaking and crying, who were bullied by a disturbed boss or executive. To be released later this year is my book entitled, "Successful Leaders Aren't Bullies; How to Stop Abuse at Work and Build Exceptional Organizations". It presents research and examples culled from my 27 years of observing and experiencing corporate bullying while consulting internationally. It's written to help readers identify, stop, and transcend bullies and bullying organizations. The book contrasts workplace and schoolyard bullying. Both forms exist because they are allowed by complicit organizational officials. All bullying is based on deleterious power and control dynamics and, I believe, evil; selfishness, deception, and narcissism. Bullies are cowards. If you see someone being bullied...

Let's reward the courageous who report and shine a light on bullying sex crimes rather than those who keep it in the dark. Realize this is divisive, but very much worth discussing. The facts: Penn State has paid over $100 million in fines resulting from being found guilty for allowing a known pedophile, Sandusky, to abuse vulnerable boys on Penn State property. Also, it is a fact Paterno, PSU's athletic director, vice president, and president were all found guilty, aware of, and complicit in not elevating and reporting Sandusky's crimes. It's a fact I experienced Paterno as a bully when I coached PSU's offensive line as a graduate assistant in 1987-1988. I also experienced Sandusky as a goof ball who had no physical boundaries with junior high and high school players who attended PSU Football camps nor with Penn State players. I addressed him about this, as it made me uncomfortable, and he said: "I just love kids". The facts are Schiano and Bradle...

From Penn State to the State Pen! Light beats darkness. Positive beats negative. Good (honesty, selflessness, self awareness and self criticism) beats evil (lying, selfishness, narcissism). There's hope, healing, and support. You're not alone. It's not your fault. Healing is possible. It's never too late.