Duke Clinical Research Institute
“Rebecca is a great sounding board for me when considering strategic and political issues facing me, and my organization. Her balanced logic and emotional intelligence are incredible. She gives me insights that I often would not have come to without her coaching.”
ERIC PETERSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR – DUKE CLINICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Trust Company of the South
“Rebecca helped raise my awareness that my primary strengths, used in excess, are my primary weaknesses and provided me with new insight that gave me confidence to address circumstances in both my personal and professional life that have greatly improved my quality of life. She also helped me accept that I can’t save everybody from the consequences of their actions. Without that burden, life is much more joyful!”
BILL SMITH, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER – TRUST COMPANY OF THE SOUTH
Cushman-Wakefield
“Rebecca brings extraordinary gifts of perception to her coaching practice. She is a tireless listener whose own journey has provided her with an abundance of wisdom, wit and compassion to share. To say she has played a significant role for me both personally and professionally would be a gross understatement.”
RICH HARRIS, MANAGING PRINCIPAL – CUSHMAN-WAKEFIELD
Duke Clinical Research Institute
“Rebecca helps me to reframe problems and she gives me a different point of view. She helps me prioritize, get back to center and find my true north. After I speak with her, I feel less overwhelmed and much more clear in my thinking. I can take a deep breath and get a fresh perspective.”
NICOLE HEDRICK, CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER – DUKE CLINICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina
“One of the things I loved about Rebecca’s coaching was that I felt she was truly a champion for me and that she understood my strengths and valued my potential. She took the time to know me as a whole person, which enabled her to provide insights and validation to me in a holistic manner. She also helped me recognize, own, and value my unique strengths and attributes. All these things have enabled me to be much more at peace with my last several years of professional work.”
STEVIE MCNEAL, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT – HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY
Duke Clinical Research Institute
“Leadership is a team sport. Because Rebecca has coached the rest of the senior leadership team, she knows how the other players will perform, where they’ll move on the field, and the right aspects for me to dial up and down in order to help us all to perform at our best as a team, and not just as individual athletes.”
MICHAEL SLEDGE, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER – UNC SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Health Insurance Industry
“Rebecca established a high degree of trust very early on in the relationship, which enabled me to be extremely candid with her about the past experiences, challenges and key questions with which I was grappling. The complete and unvarnished sketch that emerged from those discussions, coupled with her keen ability to understand how I’m “wired” led her to ask the right questions and provide me with the necessary insights to make one of the most difficult, but one of the best decisions of my professional life – to leave a 20-year career and to venture into the unknown to find my true calling.”
SUSAN HELM-MURTAGH, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT – HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY
Council for Entrepreneurial Development
“What I have most enjoyed about working with Rebecca is her insight into personal leadership style, and her unwavering support for helping build stronger organizations based on trust and accountability. I am not alone in saying that sessions with Rebecca provide a safe haven and a highly engaged intellectual experience that are both an opportunity to reflect, away from the pressures of daily responsibility, and a chance to see leadership and opportunities in a new light.”
JOAN SIEFERT ROSE, FORMER PRESIDENT – COUNCIL FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT
Paragon Commercial Bank
“Paragon has utilized the skills of Rebecca Merrill of Merrill Leadership for 10 years. Her strategic talents and disarming personality continually create an environment for me and my management team to grow as leaders. Paragon has prospered in both a good economy and a poor economy due in large part to Merrill Leadership coaching. Management has grown from working hard on our jobs to working hard on ourselves. Rebecca has caused management to recognize that corporate value is a result of strategic interpersonal relationships with our many stakeholders.”
BOB HATLEY, FORMER PRESIDENT AND CEO – PARAGON COMMERCIAL BANK
Duke Clinical Research Unit
“I transitioned from physician-researcher to physician-executive responsible for building a global research program. Rebecca has been essential in helping me develop leadership skills to navigate a near vertical learning curve, while assembling multidisciplinary and multicultural teams in a setting of constant organizational change. Despite working in a knowledge-rich academic setting, fulfilling our mission depends upon bridging personality differences to apply that knowledge. With Rebecca’s coaching I have developed approaches to lead in this environment, and the lessons learned have benefitted my personal, family and professional life.”
JOHN SUNDY, MD, PHD – FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DUKE CLINICAL RESEARCH UNIT