What happens when you're a capable leader trapped in a challenging organizational culture?

How do you create value and showcase your team's worth when you're dealing with controlling stakeholders, chaotic planning processes, and an authoritarian leadership style that permeates the entire organization?

In this special solo episode of Team Lab, hosts Angela Migliaccio and Cori Caldwell unpack a real listener situation from ‘Holly*’, a senior director at a large software company navigating the complexities of a highly matrixed, high-pressure environment with challenging stakeholder dynamics.

This episode explores the systemic nature of workplace dysfunction, practical tools for building psychological safety, and strategies for creating positive change from within - even when you feel like "a small cog in an important wheel deep inside the machine."

*Names and details anonymized.

Two-by-Two Stakeholder Matrix: Map stakeholders by influence level and relationship quality to identify gaps.

"Walk in My Shoes" Exercise: Empty chair technique for building empathy and understanding across roles.

Design Alliance/Rules of Engagement: Creating team contracts for communication and decision-making.

Red Card/Green Card System: Behavioral feedback tools for team accountability.

"Yes, And" Communication: Improv-based technique for building on ideas rather than shutting them down.

Need advice about a sticky situation with your team? Head to teamlabatwork.com, click the 'Submit a Team Dynamic Story' button and you just may hear it unpacked on a future episode!

"The Heart Aroused" by David Whyte - Referenced book on bringing humanity to corporate environments

About Team Lab

Team Lab explores the power of teams, the science and art of collaboration, and the magic of thriving relationships at work. Hosted by Angela Migliaccio and Cori Caldwell, this podcast brings you inspiring stories and insights to help you build trust, foster alignment, and unlock creativity in your teams.

Follow us on LinkedIn and subscribe/follow here to never miss an episode!

Team Lab's theme music was composed and performed by @subrasonic

What if we told you that your team’s capacity to carry challenging moments without shutting down is directly related to the amount of time you invest with them to build a culture of trust, adaptability and emotional intelligence?

In this wide-ranging conversation, leadership coach and global facilitator Joshua Pinchuk joins us to explore what it means to lead in a fast-changing work world. He shares stories from his own career—from a factory floor mishap that defined his leadership philosophy to coaching tech teams navigating the rise of AI.

Joshua makes the case for ditching outdated command-and-control leadership models in favor of compassionate, curiosity-driven cultures. He talks about how flatter organizations, mounting workplace pressures, and the speed of technological change are challenging leaders in new ways—and how adaptability, experimentation, and emotional intelligence are the remedies to meet the moment.

He also offers thoughtful insights on the future of work, including why companies must invest in early career professionals and embrace internal mobility to better maintain a flow of fresh perspective, engagement and commitment.

Joshua Pinchuk is an experienced leader in the fields of learning and coaching. Joshua has over twenty-five years of experience driving innovation in education, talent development, and organizational transformation. Recognized for his skills in people management, leadership development, and performance coaching, Joshua is passionate about enabling individuals and organizations to succeed.

Resources Mentioned

BetterUp Report → The Performance Crisis

Peter Drucker: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

About Team Lab

Team Lab explores the power of teams, the science and art of collaboration, and the magic of thriving relationships at work. Hosted by Angela Migliaccio and Cori Caldwell, this podcast brings you inspiring stories and insights to help you build trust, foster alignment, and unlock creativity in your teams.

Follow us on LinkedIn and subscribe/follow here to never miss an episode!

What does it mean to be a “future-fit” leader?

According to our guest this week, being future-fit means improving the performance of organizational leaders to solve the challenges they face today, while expanding their capacities to be more fit for the challenges ahead.

They're not just trying to be better at the old game; they're helping to create an entirely new paradigm for how we work and relate to each other.

Lyssa Adkins has spent the past decade developing leadership teams worldwide, using skillful professional and organizational systems coaching. She is an internationally recognized leadership coach, future of work expert, renowned Agile-coaching pioneer, and author of the top business book, Coaching Agile Teams.

Dive deep with us as Lyssa shares how leaders can replace command-and-control reflexes with adult-to-adult collaboration, deeper sense-making and what she calls a “future-fit toolbox” of cognitive, emotional and energetic skills.

Tools & Resources Mentioned

Methodologies:

• Liberating Structures for group facilitation

• Relationship Systems Coaching

• Open Space Technology

• Sense-making sessions for leadership teams

Technology & Platforms:

• Miro for visual collaboration

• Slack for remote team communication

Influential Thinkers:

• Diane Musho Hamilton Roshi (Zen teacher and conflict mediator)

• Daniel Schmachtenberger (Game B theorist)

• Laura Storm (Regenerative leadership)

• Bob Anderson (The Leadership Circle)

• Michelle Holliday ("The Age of Thriveability")

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyssaadkins

• If you're a leader ready to expand your cognitive, emotional, and energetic toolkit and make a bigger impact in the world, connect with Lyssa at lyssaadkins.com.

About Team Lab

Team Lab explores the power of teams, the science and art of collaboration, and the magic of thriving relationships at work. Hosted by Angela Migliaccio and Cori Caldwell, this podcast brings you inspiring stories and insights to help you build trust, foster alignment, and unlock creativity in your teams.

Follow us on LinkedIn and subscribe/follow here to never miss an episode!