Today’s episode tackles one of the most common workplace challenges: How do you lead effectively when people don’t report to you? My expert guest, a former coaching student of mine, reveals the hard-won lessons that transformed her approach to organizational change and unpacks practical strategies for motivating teams, navigating resistance, and creating real impact through influence rather than authority. Whether you’re a project manager, change leader, coach, or anyone tasked with getting things done across organizational silos, this conversation offers actionable frameworks for building collaboration instead of confrontation. In addition, my guest pulls back the curtain on the writing process and shares helpful tips for aspiring writers. Join us to learn more!
Michelle Pauk is the author of Build a Golden Bridge: How to Lead Change When You're Not in Charge, and the founder of Streamside Coaching, a boutique coaching and consulting firm dedicated to helping organizations lead change and build collaborative cultures. Her clients include executives and change agents at Fortune 100s, non-profits, and fast-growing startups. A Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation, Michelle holds a master’s degree in leadership and organizational development.
Show Highlights:
- Filtering through the chatter when deciding to write a book: how Michelle brought her ideas and vision to life in Build a Golden Bridge
- Michelle’s writing process: how she began to create content and structure for the first draft
- Decisions around publishing (“Finishing the writing process means you’re about ⅓ of the way through.”)
- Michelle’s vision and goals in writing her book
- Three gaps in the way we navigate change:
- Self-awareness
- Empathy
- Communication
- Letting go of assumptions to bridge the communication gap
- Looking for commonality over confrontation and ways to preserve dignity (Michelle explains the metaphor of “the golden bridge.”)
- Michelle’s takeaway thoughts
Resources:
Connect with Michelle Pauk: Website, LinkedIn, and Build a Golden Bridge
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