Where It Started: Knowing Your Side B
What Is Side B?
In music, Side A was where you expected to find the hit.
Side B was the other side of the record—the track that didn’t always get the attention. It gave artists room to experiment, take a risk, and sometimes reveal something unexpected.
And every once in a while, Side B became the hit.
I believe people have a Side B, too.
Side A is what you can do.
Your experience. Your expertise. Your education. Your accomplishments. Your talent.
Side B is how people experience you.
Your curiosity. Your courage. Your kindness. Your passion. Your sincerity. Your optimism. Your grace.
We spend a lot of our careers building Side A. It’s on our résumés, our LinkedIn profiles, our job descriptions and performance reviews.
But people don’t experience our résumé.
They experience us.
Over time, those experiences create expectations:
She listens.
He stays calm under pressure.
She tells me the truth.
He brings energy.
She asks the question nobody else will ask.
That is your Side B.
And whether you’ve intentionally created it or not, it’s also your personal brand.
Your Hidden Hits™
Some of music’s most memorable songs began on Side B. They weren’t necessarily expected to become the songs people remembered—but they did.
I call the behaviors behind your personal brand your Hidden Hits™.
They’re already there. The opportunity isn’t to manufacture a different version of yourself. It’s to recognize the behaviors that make you distinctly you—and become more intentional about when and how you bring them forward.
Because even our strongest behaviors can change under pressure.
Passion can become overpowering.
Certainty can drown out curiosity.
Courage can become confrontation.
Kindness can become avoidance.
Great leadership isn’t about turning every strength up to ten.
It’s knowing your sound, reading the room, and adjusting the mix.
And sometimes, music can help us do exactly that.
A song can shift our energy, reconnect us with a memory, or help us access a different emotional state in just a few minutes. That’s why music isn’t simply the theme behind my work.
It’s one of the tools.
Your Side B is the part of leadership that won’t appear on your résumé—but it’s often the part people remember.
Leadership, Communication and Collaboration Expert
Rock Star Workshopswith Paula
Workshops That Sound Different—Because They Are.
Paula White creates interactive, music-inspired leadership workshops built around something we often overlook at work:
How we experience one another.
How we listen. How we take ownership. How we show up when the pressure is on.
Using music as both metaphor and tool, Paula turns those conversations into experiences people remember—and ideas they can actually use when they get back to work.
Three workshops. One human story.
Awareness → Ownership → Impact
The Four Zones of Listening™
How am I receiving you?
We listen to people the way we listen to music—and we’re not always tuned in.
Discover the Four Zones of Listening™, recognize what pulls you out of a conversation, and learn how to intentionally change the way you listen when connection matters.
Listen differently. Connect deeper.
The Accountability Duet™
How am I owning what I do?
Responsibility and accountability are often used interchangeably. They’re not the same song.
Explore Responsibility as the internal driver and Accountability as the external result—and what changes when people understand the role each plays in ownership, expectations and results.
Responsibility drives it. Accountability measures it.
Side B: The Sound of Your Brand™
How are you experiencing me?
Your résumé tells people what you can do. Your behavior teaches them what to expect from you.
Discover the behaviors behind your personal brand, identify your five Brand Hits™, and learn how to adjust your mix when the moment calls for something different.
Then build your Side B Setlist™—using music to intentionally access the behavior you want to bring forward, sometimes in three minutes or less.
Know your brand. Adjust your mix. Press play.
Facilitation & Strategic Sessions
Sometimes you don’t need another presentation.
You need the right conversation.
Paula facilitates leadership meetings, team sessions and strategic conversations that get what’s important onto the table—and move people toward clarity, ownership and action.
Testimonials
People AreTalking
Paula is a fantastic coach and a wonderful person. She really makes you visualise and believe where you could be/want to be and works with you on the steps to get you there. I now not only have a coach who is helping build on my confidence all the time, with tried and tested techniques, as well as creating our own, to push me out of my comfort zone when required. Paula is a total breath of fresh air and I would (and have) recommended her to others, without a shadow of a doubt.
– V. Whittaker
I had the opportunity to connect with Paula at a unique point in my life. I was in the process of transitioning from my 20-year marketing career to becoming a CRM Consultant. At that point, I had the chance to start her Individual Leadership Coaching Program. It was a fantastic experience, and it came in perfect timing. She empowered me by offering her support in defining my career road map and helping me to understand and recognize myself as a leader. Her kindness and attentive personality were a highlight in the process. I am so glad to have the opportunity to be coached by her.
– A. Vaz
Ready to invest in yourPeople?
If you’re ready to invest in your performance growth and bring people into rhythm, let’s get started. Email me at: [email protected]