Michelle is a force of nature. Her passion for equality has shaped corporate policies and impacted the careers, and lives, of hundreds of people for whom she's a tireless advocate. With this compelling book, she gives us not only a blueprint for positive change, but a look behind the curtain into the powerful triumphs, crushing defeats, and the strength it takes to keep fighting the good fight against a never-ending wave of obstacles.
Jennifer Campanaro Executive Vice Present | Resource Management
Author of DEI Died. Leadership Lives.
Leadership Drives Equity. Equity Drives Results.
Helping Organizations Turn Leadership Into Equity, Engagement, and Real Business Results
Author | Executive Leadership Strategist | Keynote Speaker | Executive Advisor
Reader Testimonials
For leaders ready to stop performing and start doing the work.
As an executive leader who advises other leaders, I believe this book belongs in the hands of every person in a seat of authority and influence. But fair warning, if you say you care about people, that isn't enough and Michelle does not write to comfort you. She writes to wake you up, and then she hands you the commandments to do something about it.
Cam Walker Executive Coach | Leadership Advisor | Relationship Strategist
Michelle is exceptionally talented in ways that defy a fair share. This book is the proof. A compelling POV, the right collection of stories, and a gift for writing. All delivered with her trademark willingness to be authentically herself, no matter the cost. Read it if you want a leadership playbook that changes how you make decisions about people. The leaders who lean into this work build cultures people don't leave, teams that do their best work, and businesses that reach their potential.
Nadine Leonard Strategic Leader | Healthcare Marketing Innovator | Change Agent
About Michelle
Leadership is not a title. It is a daily decision.
Michelle Edwards believes leadership is a decision you make every day about the humans in front of you. Most companies are one honest leader away from being unrecognizable, and the cost of not leading well is steep: talent lost, trust broken, and potential wasted.
Michelle is the author of DEI Died. Leadership Lives., a book that says what many leadership books will not. DEI did not fail because the mission was wrong. It failed because companies turned it into theater: programs, panels, job titles, and trainings that changed vocabularies without changing decisions.
The book makes the case for what comes next: leading with heart, courage, and equity in the decisions that shape people's lives and business outcomes.
Built From Inside the Room
More than two decades building leadership infrastructure.
Michelle's work holds leaders accountable for their impact, not just their output.
- Designed systems requiring leaders to prove they could lead humans before receiving direct reports.
- Built or led an integrated people intelligence platform that surfaced retention risk, pay equity gaps, and stalled talent before people walked out the door.
- Contributed to industry recognition as the most diverse agency in healthcare.
- Helped create Best Place to Work honors, year after year.
GAS Strategy
Give A Shit is the standard.
GAS represents humanity, rigor, transparency, and courage in every people decision. It is what Michelle hires for, coaches toward, and refuses to compromise on.
It separates leaders from people who were simply promoted.
Recognition
Credibility earned through people, culture, and outcomes.
Speaking
Michelle refuses to give the comfortable talk.
Boards, C-suites, and conference stages invite her because she says what others will not. After she says it, people do something with it.
Audiences leave changed, not merely inspired. They go back to work and run one-on-ones differently, revisit decisions, and reconsider how leadership actually shows up.
Contact MichelleThe Book
DEI Died. Leadership Lives.
They are trying to kill DEI. But the work is still here. And so are we.
The book is the blueprint for leadership beyond DEI. The work was never in the acronym. It lives in the rooms where decisions get made about people, in the meeting before the meeting, in leading people well, building strong cultures, and conspiring for equity in every room you are in.
Michelle exposes the human cost of bias, silence, and cowardice, then delivers ten clear commandments for leading with heart and courage. The commandments drive business outcomes and show how equity gets built.
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