Speak In Flow

What if the biggest obstacle to scaling your startup isn't your strategy, but your inability to let go? In this episode of the Speak In Flow podcast, host Melinda Lee sits down with Chris Sterbenc, fractional CRO with over 30 years of experience scaling companies from sub-$1 million to double-digit millions. Together, they unpack why even seasoned leaders struggle with accountability, and how “bus...

Excessive corporate jargon and endless meetings have caused many team members to tune out, even during important meetings. So it's no surprise that, although everyone initially agrees on the plan, friction between teams begins as soon as the work starts. In this practical episode of the Speak In Flow podcast, host Melinda Lee sits down with strategic communications expert Eileen Wixted to diagnose...

Are your teams working hard but moving in different directions? Join Melinda Lee as she cuts through the noise of busy calendars and makes a full effort to reveal the hidden culprit slowing down your growth: misalignment, not a lack of motivation. In this special episode of the Speak in Flow podcast Legacy Growth Series, Melinda tackles one of the most expensive and overlooked problems facing lead...

Your calendar is full. Your team is waiting. And yet, you feel spread thinner than ever. In this episode of the Speak In Flow Podcast with Melinda Lee, Judy Tsuei, founder of Judy Tsuei Coaching, unpacks why most leaders confuse busyness with alignment. Judy argues that attention scarcity isn't a time management problem; it's an identity problem. The constant overwhelm, the inability to delegate,...

The generational divide in the workplace is more pronounced today than ever before. This is especially apparent as people begin to question traditional structures. Rachel Gigli Carrieri, SVP of Global Client Experience at Mindgruve, lives at the epicenter of this shift every day. In this episode of the Speak In Flow podcast with Melinda Lee, Rachel pulls back the curtain on why focusing on "why it...

Are you overwhelmed by urgent tasks and struggling to maintain your composure in a world that demands instant results? In this episode of the Speak In Flow podcast, host Melinda Lee sits down with Rounak Kharait, executive director at E3 Consulting and author of Building High-Performance Resilient Teams: A People Leader’s Guide, to uncover practical strategies for managing urgency without panickin...

The world feels heavy. Between military conflicts, civil unrest, and constant geopolitical tension, it's not just the news cycle that's disrupted… It's our workplaces. In this timely and essential episode of the Speak In Flow Podcast, host Melinda Lee sits down with Kimberly Davis, founder of Brave Leadership, to tackle the urgent question on every leader's mind: How do you guide your team through...

Is a $56 billion productivity loss the price of not understanding each other at work? In this episode of Speak In Flow, host Melinda Lee sits down with Gabe Wright, a trial attorney and partner at Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP, to unpack the very real cost of the generational disconnect in today's workplace. With 25 years of experience, Gabe moves beyond the stereotypes to reveal the practical strat...

International teams are now an everyday thing. Even if you have all of your team with you, it's probable that if you need to do some inter-department collaboration, you'll need to switch to online. This is part of our new reality, but there's a silent problem that is already costing employees and the company, and almost nobody is talking about it: time zones. In this episode of the Speak In Flow P...

Staying professional when our emotions are overflowing is one of the most difficult things we have to face in our professional careers, even more so when these emotions are caused by the work itself, as it tends to be the case when we face chronic stress. But when does simple exhaustion cross the line into full-blown burnout? And how does it begin to shape not just how we feel, but how we communic...

Now that DEI initiatives have been defunded, debated, and dismissed by some of the world's biggest companies, the conversation is still going strong. Producer Brian McLaughlin sits down with Melinda Lee in this episode of the Speak In Flow Podcast to talk about what actually works when the performative stuff falls away. With decades of experience in film and television, Brian challenges the idea t...

Are we heading for a robot apocalypse, or a renaissance? Pete Sacco, founder of PTS Data Center Solutions and a former quantum physicist, has a radical and hopeful take on our AI-powered future. In this episode of the Speak In Flow Podcast with Melinda Lee, Pete dismantles the "Terminator" mentality, arguing that artificial intelligence isn't here to replace us, but to reveal just how deeply human...

Have you ever spoken a goal into existence, only to watch it fade away? What’s the difference between a forgotten New Year's resolution and a reality you deliberately create? Natasha Kehimkar, founder of Melita Advisors, joins Melinda Lee to demystify the powerful practice of “speaking it into reality.” Moving far beyond simple visualization, this conversation reveals the neuroscience-backed formu...

Beyond the AI hype, we see a stark divide: failed implementations that waste time and resources, and success stories that redefine entire industries. What makes the difference? Vadim Peskov, CEO of DIFFCO and an AI advisor with nearly a decade in the field, joins Melinda Lee on the Speak in Flow podcast to reveal the one critical factor separating leaders from laggards. This episode is a must-list...

Today, the world feels like it's in a constant state of crisis. Every day news seems to destabilize us. We don't need to contribute to that. But how can we maintain clarity in our communication when everything else seems so muddy? In this episode of the Speak In Flow podcast, host Melinda Lee sits down with Dr. David Yudis, a leadership psychologist and former head of talent development at Disney....

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 strateg...

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 “missio...

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 f...

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 Scat...

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 M...

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 e...

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...

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 ea...

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 execut...

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 resis...