Testimonials

Thank you Dr. Swain for bringing such a thoughtful level of humanity to the workplace in your first book, Kitchen Table Talks with Dad. You captured the art and the science of engagement with people at all levels of a small business. Weaving together the poignant reflections of the kitchen conversations with Mr. Swain and topics such as Emotional Intelligence, helps all of us understand how to be more kind, considerate and selfless at work. You remind us that not only is this a moral imperative, but one that positively influences any company’s strategic position.

This book combines an engaging story with quality academic evidence. Dr. Swain is a consummate scholar-practitioner and makes us all proud. Julie Benesh, Independent Management Consultant and Department Chair of Business Psychology, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology I run my own marketing agency and I prioritize the emotional health of my team as a collective, just as much as the print and digital campaigns we create for clients. This book has provided me with a blueprint on how to continue to foster emotionally intelligent teams who are committed to the long game. I especially recommend the M3C method, which is a great tool that champions self-awareness. Tons of timeless and actionable insights in this book! Highly recommended for company founders and business leaders!"

Kitchen Table Talks with Dad is full of effective methods for truly building self-awareness and strong teams for entrepreneurs and organizational leadership alike, but what really makes it so powerful is how these are woven into and illustrated practically through a believable narrative. As a leader in a small, family-owned business, I know how crucial self-awareness as a leader and empathy with, and encouragement of, the individual members of your team is to the success of the organization. This is a highly readable and insightful book for any team leader committed to emotional intelligence, and thus the success, of their team.

As a business owner and team leader, I have always believed that highly engaged and committed employees are the key to business success. This book is all about people and how to keep employees motivated by building a culture of high emotional intelligence (EI) which fosters high performance, productivity, innovation, and growth. Also, if you want to implement the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) program, you will find the principles and action plans as excellent guidance. This book is full of valuable ideas and tools for small business owners and people managers.

Dr. Swain addresses my fears as an up and coming leader, and her description of my “why” was transformative. It’s like she read my mind. This book is a must read!

From her kitchen conversations with her father in law, Angela provides an invaluable resource for the small business owner. In order to realize true business success an entrepreneur must fully engage their key stakeholders; employees, customers, vendors and partners. And the level of engagement is a direct result of the culture the entrepreneur creates. Make no mistake, every business has a culture, and the savvy entrepreneur grows and nurtures a healthy productive culture. If left to its own devices an organization’s culture can easily spiral into dysfunction. Angela’s framework, that leverages Emotional Intelligence will prove most helpful to any small business owner/entrepreneur.

I met Dr. Swain through divine intervention, which is no coincidence. I needed help in order to understand where I was due to the loss of my husband. I was trying to figure out how to dig myself out of the confusion I felt and at times continue to feel. My journey like so many other individuals is one that often time requires us to seek someone else to help us discover where we are heading. Dr. Angela Swain has given me the ability to discover my journey and not fear the possibilities. Knowing all too well that it is just a first step but because of her ability to listen I have begun to unpack my doubts and understand myself in a renewed way. I am forever grateful to Dr. Angela Swain for her warm heart, commitment and compassion as a life coach who is willing to accompany us in this journey of life.

The opportunity to engage in one-on-one coaching with Dr. Swain has been such a gift! Dr. Swain provides a space of non-judgement and total acceptance of who you are. Being able to bring my whole self to the conversations allows me to freely voice my values, goals, struggles, insecurities, and hopes. She is then able to help you navigate and integrate everything said with yourprofessional life. Her ability to integrate and see the "big picture" challenges you to dig deeper to bring about your unknown potential. She brings to light different aspects of yourself that you haven't addressed or never even noticed were there. The most valuable aspect of the coaching sessions is that she never tells you what to think or do nor who to be. She never asserts herself in your paradigm but rather allows your true self to unfold over time. I will be forever grateful for the time and care Dr. Swain brought to every one of our coaching sessions!

I have been blessed with meeting Dr. Angela Swain. Her approach to ministerial coaching goes beyond understanding someone’s own “strengthens and weakness approach “but focused on the “transformational lived experiences” of the individual. Her own approach to this ministry gives her an invaluable wealth of knowledge and experiences in the church and business settings. I have been and will continue to be coached by Dr. Swain as she always brings a unique set of questions that have me probing into my own work and ministry. She continues to help me discern my own path and ministry by setting deep questions for me to reflect upon. I always find that our time together is never enough and she leaves me with wanting more. I truly believe she has been guided by the Holy Spirit in her ministerial coaching and look forward to her guidance.

Dr. Angela Swain is a dynamic performance coach with the ability to help clients understand their strengths and motivations. With a knack for helping clients via intentional exercises and thoughtful conversations, she has helped me better understand the factors that affect how I do my job and what I can do in the future to continue to feel fulfilled and successful. One of the greatest parts of having Dr. Swain as a coach has been the way she so clearly “sees” me, enabling me to better articulate my own successes personally and professionally. During my sessions with Dr. Swain, I bring my whole self. We have had many great conversations and I am truly grateful for the chance to work with such an experienced and intentional coach and strategist.

Dr. Angela L. Swain is a gifted coach, professor and minister. Her interpersonal, intuitive and listening skills are exceptional. In Thriving Today, I grew as a minister and leader thanks to her wisdom and knowledge in the ministerial coaching, coursework, and group spiritual companioning contexts she both created and facilitated. In both my professional and personal life, I encountered a creative liberation and sacred grounding through Angela’s guidance and liberation. Thank you Dr. Swain!

In the first few months of working with Dr. Angela Swain I have learned new ways of being and have rewritten deeply ingrained scripts that no longer serve me, my family or my work. Dr. Angela shows up fully to each session, ready to listen exquisitely to what matters most to me. She welcomes the whole person and I have tapped into this space with her to grow both personally and professionally. She eloquently synthesizes key themes from our conversation and draws out concrete action steps and strategies to respond to the situation. Dr. Angela has a keen ability to go directly to the heart of the matter in a vibrant, dynamic, supportive way. Due to her academic background and professional experiences, her ideas and suggestions are backed up with both theory and practice. The tools we’ve developed together to manage stress, prioritize my values, and bring to life my vision for myself and our world have benefited me and all those around me. She illuminates strengths, pauses to celebrate all steps forward, and reminds me of the essence of who we are called to be as change agents in our world. Intuitive, insightful, energizing I consider her a coach and a deep source of women’s wisdom. I leave our sessions feeling refreshed and ready to move closer to who I dream of being in our world. I’ve already referred several friends and colleagues to tap into Dr. Angela’s coaching gifts! She is the real deal!"

Dr. Swain masterfully uses the art of storytelling and her professional expertise to offer practical solutions for organizational development. Her captivating writing style is a unique blend of personal and professional experiences to promote deep reflection. This multipurpose text can be used to personally strengthen leadership skills or professionally guide teams through organizational improvement. Without a doubt, this book is a must read for novice and veteran leaders who are seeking continuous improvement.

This is not your normal modern leadership book. 5 tools for becoming a transformative leader in business and life has so much more to offer than just 5 tools. Dr. Swain has beautifully blended the core elements of family, work, leadership, and humanness into a wonderfully immersive reading experience that has something to offer for everyone. Rich modern behavioral sciences are united with empathy and humility. If you want to become better in every facet of your life, read this book."

Dr. Angela Swain has provided the essential tools for creating a workplace where both employers and employees will thrive and develop into the best versions of themselves. Her expertise in EI (emotional intelligence) is woven effortlessly into personal and engaging stories that provide a glimpse into her own leadership journey. Dr. Swain’s writing style is both research-driven and practical, making it accessible to Fortune 500 companies as well as small businesses and organizations. Furthermore, with the shifting nature of the workplace during the global pandemic, leaders will need to reimagine how they engage and retain top talent. This book is a must-read for any leader that is yearning to transform their workplace into a high performing environment, full of committed and motivated individuals!

Nestled within the pages of Kitchen Table Talks, I saw myself. I learned new techniques to facilitate leadership in teams and identified next steps for continuous leadershipimprovement...for me and my team. As a supervisor of educators who searches for professional text to help leaders navigate the leadership waters, this book, with its details on emotional intelligence and employee voice, is a must read! The content is timeless and would benefit leaders at all stages of their leadership career.

As business owners and corporate leaders, we take for granted that our team members have the skills of courage and emotional intelligence; that individuals understand the “how” to build a culture that supports a leader’s life, not just their job. Dr. Swain’s careful attention to each individual’s experience, through the voice of her father-in-law and her research, is what is critically needed in organizations right now. And it’s our responsibility, as leaders, to learn for ourselves how to build emotional fluency, so we can demonstrate to others how it can be done, and stumble - and sometimes leap - forward together.

From her kitchen conversations with her father in law, Angela provides an invaluable resource for the small business owner. In order to realize true business success an entrepreneur must fully engage their key stakeholders; employees, customers, vendors and partners. And the level of engagement is a direct result of the culture the entrepreneur creates. Make no mistake, every business has a culture, and the savvy entrepreneur grows and nurtures a healthy productive culture. If left to its own devices an organization’s culture can easily spiral into dysfunction. Angela’s framework, that leverages Emotional Intelligence will prove most helpful to any small business owner/entrepreneur.