Testimonials

Daryl – I have 29 years’ QPS [Queensland Police Service] experience and your ‘told from the heart’ honesty, open and frank approach will make me a better manager. I won’t forget it. Well done mate. Glad you stayed in the job and have been able to turn something so tragic into something from which we can all learn.

Our leadership team’s workshop with Daryl was very powerful and delivered a number of key messages that have truly resonated within all that were there. Daryl’s personal insights into what has been an incredibly challenging period of his life has opened up a range of conversations and created an opportunity for people to reflect on the importance of people and the teams we work within. The lessons learnt from Daryl’s experience have served as a real reminder to our leadership team of the importance of matters such as the need to support each other, understand each other, and also to look after ourselves when times get tough. I recommend Daryl’s workshop unreservedly – a true investment of time which exceeded my expectations.

It was the most powerful and engaging presentation that I have ever been a part of. I have never sat in a presentation where I forgot what time it was, I was completely enthralled. You are truly an amazing person and you have achieved so much. …I have learnt so much from it and I will take a bit more care and time with those around me.

The entire presentation was engaging for me. Following your story and the interplay between mental and physical health highlighted a number of things for my own practice as a psych and also my transition into a manager. Thank you for your candid and open presentation of your life. It takes great courage to not only work through what you have but to expose yourself in front of relative strangers.

To say you are inspiring would be an understatement. I listened to your presentation Friday and took the content home and spent the afternoon and weekend telling and re-telling my wife your story and sharing your resilience tips. We both came to agreement on one thing… and although you may have heard it before I still had to share this with you, both my wife and I believe if a hero had to be chosen out of this circumstances it is you. Your actions on that day were heroic.

Your journey since that day, despite some very low points for you, is inspiring. Your ability and willingness to come out and so honestly share your entire experience to benefit others is truly heroic. I am a true believer of many of the points you bring up during your presentation when it comes to management of staff and how you treat people, communicate and lead. I can tell you that after listening to you speak I have made several promises to myself as a leader – about how I communicate, how I give back what the QPS family has given to me over the years, and how I can contribute in trying to change culture.

As anticipated the participants found the presentation to be of value with one member stating, ‘It was the most useful session of the week for myself personally. I believe that I am now better equipped to deal with members who have been injured in the line of duty.

When I first spoke to Daryl I listened to the audio footage of the shooting and burst into tears. I found his journey profoundly moving. His genuine spirit and openness allow people to connect to him and to feel comfortable to ask questions about how he has come from such trauma to wellness. A truly inspiring person with many tools and words of wisdom to share.

Excellent and very refreshing to hear someone be so open to discuss the topic of mental illness

His story was confronting but also identified how the impacts of such an event just expands throughout everything you do. The benefit of course is that he also identified how you learn to take each positive and grow stronger through the experience. He doesn’t take the short cuts as we often try to do and his presentation does bring the importance of wellbeing in recovery and understanding that there is always something waiting for you, when you are ready.