Coaching for Leaders Podcast

Episode: Building Team Visibility, with Mel Rivera

Host: Dave Stachowiak
Guest: Mel Rivera
Date: August 21, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode centers on building visibility for teams in organizations, especially during times of change and growth. Host Dave Stachowiak interviews Mel Rivera, a senior manager in a software company and recent Coaching for Leaders Academy graduate. Together, they explore Mel’s journey through major organizational transitions, how she leveraged the Academy’s framework to drive team visibility, and the power of creating a support structure for leadership growth.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to Mel Rivera and Her Role

• Mel’s Role: Senior manager leading a cross-functional digital experience team focused on optimizing user journeys and web content (01:01).
• Organizational Context: Her team doubled in size following a company merger, creating cultural challenges and a need for new leadership approaches.

2. Finding the Podcast and Responding to Change

• Discovery: Mel initially found Coaching for Leaders during a period of uncertainty brought on by mergers and rapid team expansion (01:49).
• Key Early Inspiration: Mel’s first episode, "How to Begin Leading Through Continuous Change" featuring David Rogers, provided timely wisdom.
  • "It was almost like a perfect answer to what I was looking for at that time." — Mel Rivera (02:25)
• Ongoing Learning: Mel emphasizes the value of revisiting past episodes for new insights as situations and perspectives change (03:10).

3. Applying to the Academy at an Inflection Point

• Motivation: Hearing alumni stories led Mel to seek a more structured, supportive leadership environment (04:33).
• Urgency and Buy-in: Mel recalls seeking exceptional approval from her manager to attend the Academy, recognizing the rare opportunity:
  • "I need this because I need structure..." — Mel Rivera (05:05)
• Academy Values: She resonated with key principles: strengths over weaknesses, consistency over intensity, and community over solitude (05:33).

4. Leveraging Structure for Behavior Change

• Emphasis on Action over Theory: Dave underscores that knowledge isn’t enough—sustained behavioral change and structured support are crucial (07:02).
• Selected Focus Area: Mel chose to develop her team’s narrative strategies to articulate their value within organizational priorities (08:08).

5. The 60-Day Commitment Framework

• Five-Step Process: Mel highlights the last two steps as especially valuable:
  • Step 4: Define observable outcomes indicating the plan is on track (08:48).
    • "Leadership begins using my team's metrics or success stories as practices..." — Mel Rivera (09:11)
  • Step 5: Build in regular feedback loops and check-ins (09:48).
    • Mel set a goal to ask leaders/stakeholders every two weeks about their awareness and needs related to her team’s work.
• Outcome: These practices led to greater recognition and confidence in her team by senior leadership (09:48).

6. Consistency Over Intensity: Small Sustainable Actions

• Tiny Habits: Dave explains the importance of daily, quick actions—such as jotting down a single team achievement—which collectively shift the narrative over time (11:03).
  • "It's consistency over intensity... you really change the narrative over time, which you did." — Dave Stachowiak (11:42)
• Sustainability: Mel credits the framework with embedding effective habits in both her professional and personal life (11:59).

7. Measuring Team Visibility (Even Without Spreadsheets!)

• Alternative Metrics: The Academy encourages observable, qualitative measures—stakeholder comments, changed perceptions, and leadership actions—as data for progress (12:39).
• Adaptability: Processed feedback is treated as information to pivot and adjust actions, not as failure (14:07).
  • "It's data for you and it's information...Do you want to move forward? Do you want to step back a bit?...You need a community or support or even your mentor within the organization." — Mel Rivera (14:22)

8. Accountability and the Power of Community

• Peer Support: Built-in accountability partners and regular group check-ins drive follow-through and combat procrastination (14:40).
  • "If you have accountability partners, you need to really show up versus, like, if it's just me. Maybe we can move it next week...until you haven't done it at all." — Mel Rivera (15:18)
• Human Connection: Dave notes that, especially in the AI age, supportive peer communities matter more than ever for leaders (15:56).

9. Leadership Mindset Shifts & Personal Development

• Strengths Assessment: Mel highlights the value of CliftonStrengths, especially understanding “blind spots” and balancing strengths (16:28).
• Burnout and Setting Boundaries:
  • Mel shares vulnerability about burnout, recognizing that always being available isn’t sustainable and can undermine leadership presence.
    • "True presence isn't just about being there all the time. It's really about being there at the right time with the right energy." — Mel Rivera (17:49)
  • Mel now schedules difficult conversations with care, honoring her own energy levels.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Revisiting Lessons:
  • "I listened to it again and I picked up a different wisdom this time. It's like truly a gift that keeps on giving." — Mel Rivera (02:24)
• On Structure Over Curriculum:
  • "It's the behavior change that's the hard part, right?...That's where the structure matters." — Dave Stachowiak (07:12)
• On Sustainable Change:
  • "Just starting off with like, once a day recording a team achievement or a metric, something in one sentence...It seems silly...but it's consistency over intensity." — Dave Stachowiak (11:12)
• On Measuring Progress:
  • "How do I know when I'm on the right track? ... These are the kinds of comments I'm going to get from my peers...If we see those things happening, it's super great...and when we don't, it just means...we don't have the right tactic yet." — Dave Stachowiak (13:02)
• On Boundaries & Leadership:
  • "Being a leader, it doesn't mean you need to be there all the time...True presence isn't just about being there all the time. It's really about being there at the right time with the right energy." — Mel Rivera (17:32–17:49)

Key Timestamps for Main Segments

• [01:01]: Mel details her role and the digital experience team's mission
• [01:49]: Mel’s discovery of the podcast and facing organizational change
• [04:33]: Motivation and process for joining the Academy
• [08:08]: Choosing narrative strategy as a focus area
• [09:48]: Implementing feedback loops increases team visibility
• [11:03]: The importance of small, consistent actions
• [12:39]: Measuring team impact through qualitative feedback
• [14:40]: How accountability and community drive action
• [16:28]: Personal insights from CliftonStrengths and learning to set boundaries

Conclusion

This episode delivers an in-depth exploration of how leaders can grow their teams’ visibility, build sustainable behaviors through structured commitments, and harness the power of supportive peer communities. Mel Rivera offers a candid account of personal and professional transformation, emphasizing that sustainable leadership is less about grand gestures and more about small, consistent actions and setting healthy boundaries. The conversation underscores the timeless importance of connection, feedback, and accountability in the journey of leadership.

For further learning or to apply for the Academy, visit: coachingforleaders.com/academy