Michelle C. L. Powell

About Michelle C. L. Powell

For more than 20 years, I’ve partnered with organizations navigating leadership transitions, cultural strain, and periods of rapid change. My work spans Fortune 500 companies, federal agencies, higher education institutions, healthcare systems, professional services firms, and nonprofits — all with a shared imperative: strengthening the leadership behaviors and cultural infrastructure that sustain performance under pressure.Across my career, I’ve served as a strategic advisor to 35+ major organizations, coached nearly 200 leaders from mid-level to executive ranks, and delivered civility, leadership, and culture programs to employees across diverse industries. In each engagement, my focus is the same: helping leaders translate strategy into behavior and behavior into a culture teams can trust. Teams with high trust have higher rates of retention, innovation, and creativity. After two decades studying leadership psychology, organizational behavior, and workplace incivility, I developed The Civility-Driven Leadership & Culture Model™, a systems-based approach that enables organizations to diagnose culture risk early, align leadership behavior, and restore cultural resilience during periods of change.If you’re navigating organizational change and need to strengthen leadership consistency and cultural resilience, let’s connect for a brief discovery conversation.#organizationaldevelopment #OD #workculture #changemanagement #organizationalleadership #organizationalbehavior #IOPsychology #executivecoaching #Strategist

Experience

1. Founder, Principal Consultant & Executive Coach the Civility Doctor

   The Civility Doctor

   Jun 2023 — Present · Phoenix, AZ, US

   The Civility Doctor helps organizations stabilize culture, strengthen leadership behavior, and protect performance during periods of disruption. Led by Dr. Michelle C. Powell, PhD, the practice blends business psychology, organizational behavior, and evidence-based executive coaching to help leaders guide their teams through challenging change events with clarity and confidence.Through the Civility-Driven Leadership & Culture Model™, Dr. Powell partners with mid-market and enterprise organizations to identify cultural risks early, align leadership behavior, and restore cultural resilience when teams need it most. The system integrates three core components: Culture & Leadership DiagnosticsRapid, data-informed assessments that surface early warning signs of disengagement, conflict, or leadership inconsistency — giving executives clarity on cultural health and priority areas for action. Leadership Behavior AlignmentTargeted coaching, micro-interventions, and leadership routines that translate strategy into consistent, trustworthy behavior. This includes strengthening communication, decision quality, accountability, and cross-functional trust. Organizational Resilience PathwaysShort- and long-term support that helps organizations reduce culture risk, stabilize performance, and embed civility practices that teams can feel. Includes 90-day leadership roadmaps, change-support routines, and structured sustainment tools.Rooted in 20+ years of research and Dr. Powell’s experience as a business psychologist, strategic advisor, and executive coach, The Civility Doctor applies evidence-based behavioral science to create simple, actionable systems that strengthen trust, alignment, and performance during disruptive change events.Specialties: Executive coaching, leadership behavior strategy, cultural resilience, organizational change, workplace civility, psychological safety, conflict reduction, and performance stabilization during high-pressure events.

Education

• Bowie State University

  Business Administration/Marketing

• The Chicago School

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Business Psychology

  2019 — 2022

• Omega Graduate School

  Master's (MLitt), Organizational Leadership

  2012 — 2016