Speak In Flow

Is the hype surrounding AI heading for a painful reckoning? Cameron Nutter, the CEO of GooseRox Ventures, cuts through conflicting studies and venture capital fervor to provide a clear-eyed view of the immediate costs and long-term potential of AI. In this episode of The Speak In Flow Podcast with Melinda Lee, Cameron reveals why 95% of AI pilots fail and explains why the future belongs to strategic partners, not passive users.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

AI's Dual Reality

“Artificial intelligence is not a monolith.”

How to reconcile the startling data that shows 95% of AI pilots fail (MIT) while 75% of organizations report positive returns (Wharton), and what this means for your strategic investments.

Beyond the Hype Cycle to Concrete Value

Why the ultimate value of AI isn't in drafting emails, but in “getting it close to the data” to uncover insights and make faster, better strategic decisions, transforming everything from consulting to long-term planning.

SMBs and Strategic Adoption

“Achieving AI success is hard, but for those that do, the rewards are very significant.”

Why the biggest opportunity for AI isn't with tech giants, but with small and medium-sized businesses and non-technical leaders, and how focusing on specific, high-value use cases will win over broad, buzzword-chasing applications.

Navigating the VC “Self-Fulfilling Prophecy”

“The promise of AI is immense; its costs are real and immediate.”

A forecast for the next five years: why the current flood of AI investment may lead to a significant shakeout, and how to spot the enduring companies that solve real problems over those riding a wave of valuation hype.

BLOG:

The development and implementation of new technologies, along with the organizational changes that accompany them, have led to a period of significant stress. In this context, it is essential to know how to detect burnout in yourself and your team in order to maintain balance and good communication.

Learn more in our latest blog post, "Signs of Burnout and how to manage it when there is no time for vacation."

About the Guest:

Cameron Nutter is a value, sustainability, and impact-focused CEO and board member with a proven track record from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Guided by a core belief in equality, integrity, and results. As the CEO and Managing Partner of GooseRox Ventures, he now channels this experience into guiding startups and investing in the future.

A lifelong learner who practices the 'kaizen' philosophy of continuous improvement, Cameron is as dedicated to his community as he is to business. He commits over 200 hours annually to mentorship and volunteering, believing deeply that giving time is as critical as giving capital.

Social Handles:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameron-nutter-381a852/

Website: www.gooseroxventures.com

Fun Facts:

1. 🏃 Avid Runner: A dedicated fitness enthusiast who averages 40-50 miles of running per week.
2. 💘 A Fateful Meeting: Met his wife almost 20 years ago while they were both volunteering at a soup kitchen near Grand Central Station in NYC. He called his sister that same day to say he'd met the woman he would marry.
3. 🚗 Speedy Delivery: His second son, Cruz, was born in the car on the way to the hospital while Cameron was driving.

About Melinda:

Melinda Lee is a Presentation Skills Expert, Speaking Coach, and nationally renowned Motivational Speaker. She holds an M.A. in Organizational Psychology, is an Insights Practitioner, and is a Certified Professional in Talent Development as well as Certified in Conflict Resolution. For over a decade, Melinda has researched and studied the state of “flow” and used it as a proven technique to help corporate leaders and business owners amplify their voices, access flow, and present their mission in a more powerful way to achieve results.

She has been the TEDx Berkeley Speaker Coach and has worked with hundreds of executives and teams from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Caltrans, Bay Area Rapid Transit System, and more. Currently, she lives in San Francisco, California, and is breaking the ancestral lineage of silence.

Website: https://speakinflow.com/

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/speakinflow

Instagram: https://instagram.com/speakinflow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpowerall

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcast review.

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.

Burnout is not always loud; sometimes it goes unnoticed until the results show the signs we ignored in our daily performance.

For Riley Gruppo, a U.S. Army officer, those signs culminated in a medical retirement due to severe PTSD, a turning point that began a profound journey from survival to purpose. In this episode of the Speak In Flow Podcast with host Melinda Lee, Riley shares how the “mission-first” mindset of the military taught her to override her own needs until her body and mind forced her to stop.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

The Courage to Heal & Lead

“Vulnerability is the most courageous thing you can do as a leader.”

How Riley's journey from a medical retirement due to severe PTSD led her to share her testimony with 200 soldiers, breaking the stigma and proving that healing is a sign of strength, not a career-ender.

From "Mission First" to "People First"

Why putting the mission ahead of your own well-being is a recipe for burnout, and how leaders can recognize their own red flags, and those of their team, before it’s too late.

Creating Space for Magic

“Slow down to have intentional mornings.”

The critical importance of building intentional space, whether through therapy, vacation, or morning routines, not as a luxury, but as a necessary practice for sustainable success and unexpected opportunities.

The Root of Unhappiness: Misalignment

“Ultimately, what it boils down to, the unhappiness, the unfulfillment, is not recognizing what makes you as an individual tick. And how you can apply that to be fulfilled in your life.”

How doing the “healing work” isn’t enough if you’re in the wrong role or environment. Riley explains the physical and emotional signs of misalignment and the empowering decision to walk away from what looks “perfect on paper.”

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Are you tired, depressed, or burned out? Between juggling deadlines and personal responsibilities, it's easy to get used to putting our mental health on the back burner. However, this can come at a higher cost than you think.

Read our latest article, "Signs of Burnout and how to manage it when there is no time for vacation."

About the Guest:

Riley A. Gruppo is a former U.S. Army Infantry–qualified officer and Public Affairs Company Commander who defied every rule society tried to write for her. After nearly a decade of service, leading soldiers through demanding environments while navigating trauma, stigma, and systems not built for women like her, she was medically retired in 2024.

That pivotal moment became the catalyst for her new mission. Today, Riley is a full-time entrepreneur, speaker, and digital storyteller dedicated to transforming her scars into a roadmap for others. She empowers veterans, women, and trauma survivors to move from survival to strength, using raw, cinematic storytelling to break stigmas around mental health and build lives of purposeful leadership.

Social Handles:

Instagram & TikTok: _rileyavelina

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rileygruppo?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

Fun Facts:

1. 🐶 Devoted Dog Mom: To a beautiful rescue named Hercules.
2. 🥊 Former Fighter: Used to train and compete in MMA.
3. 🎹 Creative Outlet: Loves to unwind by playing the piano.

About Melinda:

Melinda Lee is a Presentation Skills Expert, Speaking Coach, and nationally renowned Motivational Speaker. She holds an M.A. in Organizational Psychology, is an Insights Practitioner, and is a Certified Professional in Talent Development as well as Certified in Conflict Resolution. For over a decade, Melinda has researched and studied the state of “flow” and used it as a proven technique to help corporate leaders and business owners amplify their voices, access flow, and present their mission in a more powerful way to achieve results.

She has been the TEDx Berkeley Speaker Coach and has worked with hundreds of executives and teams from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Caltrans, Bay Area Rapid Transit System, and more. Currently, she lives in San Francisco, California, and is breaking the ancestral lineage of silence.

Website: https://speakinflow.com/

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/speakinflow

Instagram: https://instagram.com/speakinflow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpowerall

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcast review.

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.

With the advance of AI software, there are two types of companies today: Those that are already integrating AI into their processes and teams, and those being left behind due to fear. Which one is yours?

In this essential episode of the Speak In Flow podcast with Melinda Lee, AI expert and 3x founder Anna Stepura dissects the top fears paralyzing leaders, from job replacement anxiety to decision fatigue.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

The 3 Root Causes of AI Resistance

Why fear of job replacement, belief that "AI isn't good enough yet," and overwhelming decision fatigue are paralyzing teams and leaders, and how to move past each one.

From Task Worker to Strategic Orchestrator

“It actually amplifies your job… You can serve 10 clients instead of 1.”

How AI shifts the human role from manual execution to high-level strategy and decision-making, turning individual contributors into invaluable strategists.

The 10% Experimentation Rule

“You have to have at least 10% of your time, capacity, or budget for experimenting.”

Why the most innovative leaders aren’t making million-dollar bets, but are running small, smart experiments with existing tools to find their highest ROI use cases.

The New Pace of Progress

“We would have more events in our lives… We would live a few lives compared to previous generations.”

As AI accelerates business cycles and life events, Anna and Melinda discuss why protecting time for silence, reflection, and nervous system recalibration is not a luxury but a leadership necessity.

BLOG:

We use countless tools at work today, and they collect a large amount of data. AI is being implemented to decipher hidden patterns in this data. But can we trust it?

Read our latest article, "How to Unify Data with AI for Strategic Decisions."

About the Guest:

Originally from Ukraine, Anna Stepura is a Silicon Valley–based 3x founder and AI marketing expert focused on building agentic AI systems for growth. She is the founder and CEO of Adlyse, an AI ads manager that acts like an AI worker for Google Ads. Through her consultancy, Forsify, she helps B2B tech companies systematize demand generation with AI-powered workflows across content. An alum of the prestigious Alchemist Accelerator, Anna previously founded and exited HireGPT, an AI-driven recruitment product.

Social Handles:

Website (startup): adlyse.com

Website: forsify.com

LinkedIn: Anna Stepura https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-stepura/

YouTube: Anna Stepura https://www.youtube.com/@AnnaStepura

Fun Facts:

1. 🤸‍♀️ Practiced competitive gymnastics for 15 years; now a devoted gym and active-lifestyle enthusiast.
2. 📚 A serious pescatarian and performance-habits devotee, always deep in a self-development book.
3. 🤖 Lives by the product philosophy: “Build an AI teammate, not just a tool.”
4. ✈️ Has jumped with a parachute without an instructor.

About Melinda:

Melinda Lee is a Presentation Skills Expert, Speaking Coach, and nationally renowned Motivational Speaker. She holds an M.A. in Organizational Psychology, is an Insights Practitioner, and is a Certified Professional in Talent Development as well as Certified in Conflict Resolution. For over a decade, Melinda has researched and studied the state of “flow” and used it as a proven technique to help corporate leaders and business owners amplify their voices, access flow, and present their mission in a more powerful way to achieve results.

She has been the TEDx Berkeley Speaker Coach and has worked with hundreds of executives and teams from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Caltrans, Bay Area Rapid Transit System, and more. Currently, she lives in San Francisco, California, and is breaking the ancestral lineage of silence.

Website: https://speakinflow.com/

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/speakinflow

Instagram: https://instagram.com/speakinflow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpowerall

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcast review.

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.

Are your teams drowning in data but starving for insights? We live in the information era, yet scattered information can lead to catastrophic business decisions. In this episode of Speak In Flow with Melinda Lee, Yan Grinshtein, a veteran design leader and founder of Cepien AI, reveals how AI can finally unify your data to unlock strategic clarity.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

The Cost of Scattered Data

“Employees have more data than ever before, but are less informed than ever before.”

How the chain of command in large organizations distills, biases, and obscures critical information, leading to decisions made with incomplete insights.

The New Speed of Insight

Discover how an AI's platform can connect to a company's entire toolset and transform the traditional 1-3 week insight synthesis process into a 10-minute, live analysis.

Supercharging Teams, Not Replacing Them

“We save about 41,000 hours a year for an average team of 20 people.”

Yan shares research on what teams do with this reclaimed time: finally tackling strategic projects.

AI’s Unexpected Strategic Leap

“AI will replace people who did not adapt to it.”

Unified data insights can bridge the gap between digital feedback and physical product strategy. The goal is to empower your people to do their best strategic work.

BLOG:

We use countless tools at work today, and they collect a large amount of data. AI is being implemented to decipher hidden patterns in this data. But can we trust it?

Read our latest article, "How to Unify Data with AI for Strategic Decisions."

About the Guest:

Yan Grinshtein is a design leader whose path from homelessness to global career embodies resilience. A three-time immigrant who arrived in New York with $500, he built a 20-year career in human-centered design across multiple continents.

Drawing from his international experience, artistic background, and firsthand understanding of overcoming adversity, Yan has led teams, shaped products, and mentored designers worldwide. Now the founder of Cepien AI, he helps teams transform scattered data into clear, strategic insights.

Social Handles:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yangrinshtein/

X: https://x.com/yangrin

Blog: https://medium.com/@yangrin

Personal Website: https://www.yangrinshtein.com/

Company Website: cepien.ai

Fun Facts:

1. 🌎 Has lived and worked on three continents, and English is his third language.
2. 📮 His design work has been featured on an official Israeli postal stamp.
3. 🎨 A former painter who sees data and AI as the next evolution of the creative canvas.

About Melinda:

Melinda Lee is a Presentation Skills Expert, Speaking Coach, and nationally renowned Motivational Speaker. She holds an M.A. in Organizational Psychology, is an Insights Practitioner, and is a Certified Professional in Talent Development as well as Certified in Conflict Resolution. For over a decade, Melinda has researched and studied the state of “flow” and used it as a proven technique to help corporate leaders and business owners amplify their voices, access flow, and present their mission in a more powerful way to achieve results.

She has been the TEDx Berkeley Speaker Coach and has worked with hundreds of executives and teams from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Caltrans, Bay Area Rapid Transit System, and more. Currently, she lives in San Francisco, California, and is breaking the ancestral lineage of silence.

Website: https://speakinflow.com/

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/speakinflow

Instagram: https://instagram.com/speakinflow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpowerall

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcast review.

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.

Every scientist in a leadership position understands the delicate balance of communication, hierarchy, and data that this environment requires to thrive. Amer Mirza, VP of Disease Biology at biotech Septerna, has mastered this balance, scaling the company from 9 to over 100 employees and steering teams through inflection points of drug discovery.

In this episode of the Speak In Flow Podcast with Melinda Lee, he shares his human-centric framework for leading under extreme pressure.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

The Four Pillars of High-Functioning Teams

Amer shares the non-negotiable framework he uses to guide teams,  establishing a common patient-centric vision, setting SMART goals, clarifying roles and responsibilities to avoid overlap, and creating systems to accurately measure progress.

Creating Psychological Safety in a Pressure Cooker

“Not every conversation can or should be a high-stakes conversation.”

How to foster an environment where team members feel safe to ask “crazy” questions, pressure-test ideas, and communicate openly without fear.

The Leader as a Facilitator, Not a Dictator

“It’s your job as a leader to be a facilitator of their aspirations.”

Amer’s mantra for empowering teams, delegating authority to those closest to the data, and investing in junior scientists by giving them ownership and a safety net to learn and grow.

Decision-Making Protocols for Divergent Opinions

How to avoid getting bogged down in endless debates by establishing clear strategies for conflict resolution and decision-making before tensions arise.

BLOG:

As 2026 approaches, all our goals and projections for the coming year are falling into place. But first, we should look back and ask ourselves, “How was my 2025?” Learn to build with intention and treat the next year as your greatest project yet.

Read our latest article, "Are You Intentionally Building Your Legacy? A Leader’s Guide for 2026" 

About the Guest: 

Amer Mirza is a biotech executive with over 20 years of experience leading therapeutic drug discovery and development in both high-growth startups and large pharmaceutical companies. His expertise spans multiple disease areas and drug modalities. He has managed over 40 programs (including 14 IND submissions), contributed to major regulatory filings, and mentored more than 60 scientists, all while authoring numerous patents and publications.

Social Handles:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amer-mirza-972b177/

Fun Facts:

• 🎨 The Watercolor Strategist: He finds a parallel between the deliberate layers of watercolor painting and the thoughtful, iterative process of scientific discovery.
• 🍳 The Culinary Alchemist: Amer loves combining flavors in the kitchen, viewing cooking as both a creative and precise science.
• 🎶 The Audiophile Archivist: With an extensive vinyl collection, he appreciates the rich, authentic experience of analog sound.

About Melinda:

Melinda Lee is a Presentation Skills Expert, Speaking Coach, and nationally renowned Motivational Speaker. She holds an M.A. in Organizational Psychology, is an Insights Practitioner, and is a Certified Professional in Talent Development as well as Certified in Conflict Resolution. For over a decade, Melinda has researched and studied the state of “flow” and used it as a proven technique to help corporate leaders and business owners amplify their voices, access flow, and present their mission in a more powerful way to achieve results.

She has been the TEDx Berkeley Speaker Coach and has worked with hundreds of executives and teams from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Caltrans, Bay Area Rapid Transit System, and more. Currently, she lives in San Francisco, California, and is breaking the ancestral lineage of silence.

Website: https://speakinflow.com/

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/speakinflow

Instagram: https://instagram.com/speakinflow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpowerall

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcast review.

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.

Feeling overwhelmed, fatigued, and like your body is changing in your 40s? Dr. Josée Poulin, a physician turned functional medicine expert, reveals why "normal" lab results don't tell the whole story and shares a holistic path to reclaiming your energy, confidence, and health in midlife. 

In this episode of the Speak In Flow Podcast with Melinda Lee, Josée moves beyond band-aid solutions to explore the root causes of burnout, the transformative power of food and breath, and why healing happens in a state of joy.

This episode is a must-listen for any professional woman feeling stuck in cycles of fatigue and overwhelm, ready to build a sustainable, unstoppable foundation for the decades ahead.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

A Doctor’s Journey to Root-Cause Healing

Josée’s personal story of physician burnout reveals the critical gap in Western medicine: treating symptoms in silos rather than the whole person. 

Signs Your Body is Recalibrating

“Sleep disturbances, midsection weight gain, and feeling drained all the time are signals, not sentences.”

Learn to recognize the key symptoms of hormonal shifts in perimenopause and midlife, and understand why they are a call to action for foundational health, not just a reason to “push through.”

Your Foundational Toolkit

“Food is medicine, your breath is free, and connection is transformative.”

Move beyond quick fixes with Josée’s three pillars for rebuilding resilience: using nutrition as foundational fuel, wielding the 4-7-8 breathing technique for instant calm, and finding a supportive community that believes in your growth.

Where Real Healing Happens

“Healing doesn’t have to be heavy.”

True, lasting health flourishes in a state of safety, calm, and joy. Learn why incorporating fun, laughter, and lightness into your wellness journey is a physiological necessity for your nervous system.

BLOG:

One of the best ways to avoid burnout is to build a team that knows how to take accountability. Empower your team so that you don't have to carry the load alone, and everyone can lift their own weight.

Read our latest article, "Empowering Your Team to Take True Ownership." 

This article breaks down the exact, actionable steps to shift from a culture of finger-pointing to one of genuine ownership.

About the Guest: 

Dr. Josée Poulin is a passionate physician on a mission to transform how women experience midlife. With a foundation in hospital medicine and advanced training in functional and integrative care, she empowers women to take control of their health through personalized, science-backed programs that bridge conventional and holistic medicine.

Recognizing the gaps in traditional care, especially around menopause, Dr. Poulin founded The Unstoppable Women’s Academy, a community dedicated to helping women feel strong, vibrant, and confident through midlife and beyond. She is a member of The Menopause Society and the Institute for Functional Medicine, combining the latest medical science with a compassionate, whole-person approach to healing.

Social Handles:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_josee_poulin/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/josee.poulin.988 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jos%C3%A9e-poulin-555335293/ 

Website: joseepoulin.com 

Fun Facts:

• 🎵 The Prescription of Joy: Josée champions the "Mary Poppins Phenomenon," adding a spoonful of fun and joy to everything she does. She often brings music, dancing, and her skills on the piano, guitar, and ukulele into her group sessions, believing joy is powerful medicine.
• 
  
• 💪 The Strength Builder: This year, she focused on building muscle and went from zero to conquering four consecutive pull-ups, embodying her own unstoppable journey of strength and resilience.
• 
  
• 🚿 The Healing Soprano: Her unofficial barometer for being "in flow?" Singing in the shower!

About Melinda:

Melinda Lee is a Presentation Skills Expert, Speaking Coach, and nationally renowned Motivational Speaker. She holds an M.A. in Organizational Psychology, is an Insights Practitioner, and is a Certified Professional in Talent Development as well as Certified in Conflict Resolution. For over a decade, Melinda has researched and studied the state of “flow” and used it as a proven technique to help corporate leaders and business owners amplify their voices, access flow, and present their mission in a more powerful way to achieve results.

She has been the TEDx Berkeley Speaker Coach and has worked with hundreds of executives and teams from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Caltrans, Bay Area Rapid Transit System, and more. Currently, she lives in San Francisco, California, and is breaking the ancestral lineage of silence.

Website: https://speakinflow.com/

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/speakinflow

Instagram: https://instagram.com/speakinflow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpowerall

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcast review.

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.

In the fast-paced world of tech and design, leaders often face immense pressure to deliver, sometimes at the cost of their team's humanity. How do you champion user experience without sacrificing your team's experience? In this episode of the Speak in Flow podcast, Melinda Lee is joined by Marjan Zamanian, a senior leader in UX and accessibility, who shares her empathetic framework for alleviating these tensions by empowering teams.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

Empowerment and Accountability

“If the team is not empowered, they're not going to be engaged, therefore they're not going to feel accountable.”

How shifting from a top-down approval model to a co-creation model unlocks your team's ownership and drive.

Building a Confident Voice and Presence

“It's okay to take more space.”

Marjan’s personal journey from being told she couldn't attend a technical school to leading in tech, and the surprising physical practice she uses (and recommends to her team) to project confidence and clarity.

Inclusive Leadership for Introverts and Extroverts

Why traditional meetings often fail and how using workshops and silent writing exercises ensures every team member, especially the quietest, is seen, heard, and can contribute their best ideas.

The Leadership "North Star"

How to translate a high-level company vision into a co-created team strategy. Marjan explains her process for building milestones with her team, ensuring everyone is aligned and motivated by a shared purpose.

BLOG:

Empowering your team sounds great in theory, but what does it actually look like on a Tuesday afternoon? If "fostering accountability" feels like a vague leadership cliché, you're not alone.

Read our latest article, "Empowering Your Team to Take True Ownership" 

This article breaks down the exact, actionable steps to shift from a culture of finger-pointing to one of genuine ownership.

About the Guest: 

Marjan Zamanian is a Senior Manager overseeing the Eligibility & Enrollment Experience at Covered California, where she leads product and design initiatives to ensure Californians can seamlessly access affordable, high-quality healthcare. With over 13 years of experience across the private and public sectors, she is a passionate leader who bridges user experience, accessibility, and service design to create digital services that are truly intuitive and human-centered.

Social Handles:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marjanzamanian/ 

Website: https://marjanzamanianart.com/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marjanzamanianart/?__pwa=1 

Fun Facts:

• 🎨 The Artist-Leader: Outside of her professional work, Marjan is a contemporary mixed-media artist.
• 🛣️ A Master of Reinvention: Marjan has successfully navigated three distinct career paths, building brands in advertising and design, leading product design and management in the tech private sector, and now applying her expertise to public service in government.
• 🧘‍♀️ The Yoga of Leadership: She is a proponent of bringing mindfulness and physical presence into the workplace, even suggesting team yoga poses to clear the mind.

About Melinda:

Melinda Lee is a Presentation Skills Expert, Speaking Coach, and nationally renowned Motivational Speaker. She holds an M.A. in Organizational Psychology, is an Insights Practitioner, and is a Certified Professional in Talent Development as well as Certified in Conflict Resolution. For over a decade, Melinda has researched and studied the state of “flow” and used it as a proven technique to help corporate leaders and business owners amplify their voices, access flow, and present their mission in a more powerful way to achieve results.

She has been the TEDx Berkeley Speaker Coach and has worked with hundreds of executives and teams from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Caltrans, Bay Area Rapid Transit System, and more. Currently, she lives in San Francisco, California, and is breaking the ancestral lineage of silence.

Website: https://speakinflow.com/

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/speakinflow

Instagram: https://instagram.com/speakinflow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpowerall

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcast review.

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.

Making a huge mistake when you are new at your job is everyone's nightmare. Now imagine doing it in your first two weeks, and on top of that, putting other people's livelihoods at risk.

Ramon Lim, Chief of Staff at DDN, lived through this crisis and faced an agonizing choice: hide the error or come clean. In this raw conversation with Melinda Lee on the Speak in Flow podcast, he shares how this early career failure became his most powerful lesson in integrity, proving that vulnerability is the foundation of true leadership.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

The Integrity Crossroads

“A job is just a job. You stay with yourself forever.”

Life is made of choices, and our choices make us who we are. Ramon shares how facing the agonizing choice of whether to hide a costly mistake to save face or come clean and risk his new reputation taught him everything he needed to know about integrity.

Moving On After the Mess-Up

“Do everything you can, but realize you might not be able to reverse the whole thing, and that is okay.”

A practical framework for damage control: from taking ownership and apologizing to accepting imperfect outcomes and, most importantly, giving yourself permission to move forward without being paralyzed by fear.

The Leader's Guide to Risk and Decision-Making

“Not taking a risk is costing money.”

How to make informed decisions under pressure by asking one simple question: “Are we willing to accept the worst-case scenario?” and why democratizing intelligence with AI is changing the risk calculus for everyone.

The Habit of Communicating Impact

“If somebody makes a positive impact on you, communicate it.” 

A simple yet profound practice to counteract our tendency to be our own harshest critics and to build a supportive environment where people feel seen and valued for their contributions.

About the Guest: 

Ramon Lim is a business and technology executive recognized for bridging strategy and execution to drive enterprise-wide transformation. As VP and Chief of Staff to the CEO at DDN, a global leader in AI data intelligence, he partners with senior leadership to accelerate strategic priorities, scale operations, and foster a high-performance culture. With a career spanning leadership roles at Equinix and Informatica, as well as entrepreneurial ventures, Ramon combines deep operational acumen with a forward-looking approach to AI, organizational excellence, and business innovation.

Social Handles:

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramonlim/   

Fun Facts:

• 🌏A True Global Citizen: Ramon is of Asian descent but was born and raised in Mexico. This unique cross-cultural upbringing fundamentally shaped his appreciation for diversity and inclusion.
• 🏫Berkeley to the Core: His academic roots run deep in Berkeley, having earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from the prestigious university, solidifying a foundation in engineering, operations, and business.
• 🐶The Real Chiefs of Staff: He lives in San Francisco with two dachshunds who unapologetically run the household. They are his unofficial (and often vocal) co-pilots and can frequently be heard chiming in during work-from-home meetings.

About Melinda:

Melinda Lee is a Presentation Skills Expert, Speaking Coach, and nationally renowned Motivational Speaker. She holds an M.A. in Organizational Psychology, is an Insights Practitioner, and is a Certified Professional in Talent Development as well as Certified in Conflict Resolution. For over a decade, Melinda has researched and studied the state of “flow” and used it as a proven technique to help corporate leaders and business owners amplify their voices, access flow, and present their mission in a more powerful way to achieve results.

She has been the TEDx Berkeley Speaker Coach and has worked with hundreds of executives and teams from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Caltrans, Bay Area Rapid Transit System, and more. Currently, she lives in San Francisco, California, and is breaking the ancestral lineage of silence.

Website: https://speakinflow.com/

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/speakinflow

Instagram: https://instagram.com/speakinflow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpowerall

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcast review.

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.

When there are people looking up to you, your actions are never irrelevant. In fact, they create a ripple effect that can either energize or drain your entire organization. Natasha Kehimkar, CEO of Malida Advisors, introduces the "Boulder Effect." The powerful impact leaders have when they invest in their own cohesion and purpose. 

In this conversation with Melinda Lee, she reveals how executive teams can transform from a source of stress into a central force for resilience, creating waves of safety, collaboration, and growth that push energy back to them.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

The Two Paths of Leadership Under Pressure

Why leaders facing constraints either huddle into protective, competitive silos or choose to open up, operate as a "first team," and focus on the greater good of the organization, and how that choice defines the entire culture.

From Commanding to Co-creating

“We have, to some degree, created what's around us.”

How to shift from a demanding, commanding leadership style to one that intentionally manifests a more collaborative and supportive environment by deciding what you will and will not tolerate.

The "Boulder Effect"

“Executive teams investing in their own development… the ripple effect of that is like putting a boulder in a pond.”

Why investing in executive team alignment during uncertainty isn't an expense, but a critical long-term investment that creates waves of positive energy throughout the entire organization.

The Power of Leader-Led Vulnerability

“When leaders share those failure moments… it's a very powerful moment of connection.” 

How sharing your own stories of growth and missteps becomes a low-cost, high-impact way to invest in your people, build trust, and foster a culture of collective learning.

About the Guest: 

Natasha Kehimkar is the visionary founder and CEO of Malida Advisors, where she specializes in shaping the leadership and culture of pioneering tech and life sciences companies. With a career spanning three decades, her expertise was forged in the fires of rapid growth and transformation at industry leaders like OpenTable, Guardant Health, and Pfizer. Natasha has earned a reputation as a "steady hand in a storm," expertly guiding executive teams through uncertainty to build the resilience and alignment required for long-term success.

Social Handles:

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natashakehimkar/  

Website: www.malidaadvisors.com 

Fun Facts:

• 🧬 It's in Her DNA: A deep understanding of people and organizations runs in the family, with both her mother and father-in-law having built careers in HR.
• 🚴‍♀️ Coaching in Stereo: She seamlessly transitions from coaching C-suite executives in the boardroom to leading high-energy classes as a certified spin instructor.
• 🎓 Doctor in the Making: Ever committed to mastering her craft, she is currently advancing her knowledge by pursuing a doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership.

About Melinda:

Melinda Lee is a Presentation Skills Expert, Speaking Coach, and nationally renowned Motivational Speaker. She holds an M.A. in Organizational Psychology, is an Insights Practitioner, and is a Certified Professional in Talent Development as well as Certified in Conflict Resolution. For over a decade, Melinda has researched and studied the state of “flow” and used it as a proven technique to help corporate leaders and business owners amplify their voices, access flow, and present their mission in a more powerful way to achieve results.

She has been the TEDx Berkeley Speaker Coach and has worked with hundreds of executives and teams from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Caltrans, Bay Area Rapid Transit System, and more. Currently, she lives in San Francisco, California, and is breaking the ancestral lineage of silence.

Website: https://speakinflow.com/

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/speakinflow

Instagram: https://instagram.com/speakinflow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpowerall

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcast review.

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.

Change initiatives are one of the most difficult projects to execute, often faced with resistance from every corner. Why do so many well-intentioned transformations fail? Executive coach Julia Wojnar reveals that the missing piece is rarely the strategy itself. 

In this insightful episode of the Speak In Flow podcast with Melinda Lee, Julia provides a practical framework for moving from resistance to resilience, sharing how to identify hidden barriers and employ a powerful "future-focused" mindset to break negative cycles.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

Why Change Initiatives Fail

“The top leaders… are often so focused on the finances, or the numbers, or the logistics… that they can sometimes ignore the people side of it.”

How to move beyond spreadsheets and strategy to address the core emotions, fear, anxiety, and the desire for the status quo, that determine whether your team will embrace change or resist it.

The "Future-Focus" Method to Overcome Resistance

“If we were 6 months ahead… and that was solved, what would be different?”

A simple yet powerful coaching question that instantly shifts your perspective from being stuck in a problem to envisioning a solution, helping you backtrack a clear path forward and dismantle negative self-talk.

Leading Through Triggers

Julia’s firsthand account of a client who was “visibly angry” in their first meeting reveals a masterclass in leadership composure. 

Discover how to maintain your center when faced with misplaced frustration, and why asking “How do I want this to end up?” is the key to de-escalating conflict and building psychological safety.

The Leader's P.A.U.S.E

“Sometimes if we just take a moment to… breathe, and to gather our thoughts… that truly helps just change our whole physiology to get us back connected with ourselves.” 

Why the deliberate pause is not a delay but an accelerator for smarter, faster, and more sustainable change, helping to prevent burnout and ensure you are leading from a place of clarity.

About the Guest: 

Julia Wojnar is the CEO of CorpLeadership, an executive coaching firm that specializes in guiding top-performing leaders through pivotal organizational change. With a decade of experience as a certified Leadership Coach for Top Performance, she equips leaders to navigate intense transitions by reconnecting them with their core values and vision. Her intuitive, multidisciplinary approach, honed by working with clients across the globe, has established her as a trusted "people whisperer" for navigating the complex demands of today's business environment.

Social Handles:

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliawojnar/ 

Leadership Styles Quiz (Free Gift for all Listeners): www.corpleadership.com/style-quiz 

Fun Facts:

• 🌍 Globetrotting Connoisseur: An avid traveler who has filled a passport with stamps from over 20 countries, Julia loves to explore new cultures.
• 🍫 Dedicated Sweet Tooth: Her travels are often fueled by a love for desserts, with chocolate and ice cream ranking as her all-time favorite foods.

About Melinda:

Melinda Lee is a Presentation Skills Expert, Speaking Coach, and nationally renowned Motivational Speaker. She holds an M.A. in Organizational Psychology, is an Insights Practitioner, and is a Certified Professional in Talent Development as well as Certified in Conflict Resolution. For over a decade, Melinda has researched and studied the state of “flow” and used it as a proven technique to help corporate leaders and business owners amplify their voices, access flow, and present their mission in a more powerful way to achieve results.

She has been the TEDx Berkeley Speaker Coach and has worked with hundreds of executives and teams from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Caltrans, Bay Area Rapid Transit System, and more. Currently, she lives in San Francisco, California, and is breaking the ancestral lineage of silence.

Website: https://speakinflow.com/

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/speakinflow

Instagram: https://instagram.com/speakinflow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpowerall

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcast review.

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.