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Unveiling The Power Of Non-verbal Body Language With Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski
Episode 4928th March 2024 • Speak In Flow • Melinda Lee
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Welcome to another enlightening episode of Fabulous Speak, where we embark on a transformative journey of empowerment with an extraordinary guest, Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski. Join us as we explore their inspiring stories, delve into the power of resilience, and uncover the secrets to embracing authenticity and self-discovery.

Episode Highlights:

1. The Genesis of Empowerment:

- Kimi shares her personal journeys towards empowerment, highlighting pivotal moments that ignited their passion for self-discovery and personal growth.

2. Breaking Barriers:

- Explore the barriers and challenges that Melinda and Kimi encountered on their paths to empowerment. Learn how she overcame adversity with courage and determination, inspiring others to break free from limitations.

3. Embracing Vulnerability:

- Delve into the transformative power of vulnerability as a catalyst for personal growth and authenticity. Kimi shares her experiences and insights into embracing vulnerability as a pathway to empowerment.

4. Cultivating Resilience:

- Discover the resilience strategies employed by Kimi in navigating life's challenges. From setbacks to triumphs, she reveal how resilience became a guiding force in her pursuit of empowerment.

5. Empowering Others:

- Learn about Kimi's advocacy initiatives and her dedication to empowering others. Explore the ripple effects of her efforts in creating positive change and fostering community resilience.

6. Finding Inner Strength:

- Gain valuable insights into the importance of finding inner strength and tapping into one's innate potential. Melinda and Kimi offer practical advice and tools for cultivating resilience and embracing authenticity.

7. The Power of Community:

- Reflect on the role of community in nurturing empowerment and supporting personal growth. Melinda and Kimi discuss the transformative impact of building meaningful connections and fostering a supportive network.

8. Embracing Authenticity:

- Delve into the concept of authenticity as a cornerstone of empowerment. Kimi shares her journey towards embracing her true self, inspiring listeners to live authentically and unapologetically.

9. The Path Forward:

- Concluding the episode, Melinda and Kimi offer words of wisdom and encouragement for listeners embarking on their own journeys of empowerment. They share insights into the path forward, inspiring others to embrace their potential and pursue their dreams.

Join us in this captivating conversation as we unravel the transformative power of empowerment with Melinda Lee and Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski. Get ready to be inspired, empowered, and motivated to embark on your own journey of self-discovery and personal growth. Tune in to Fabulous Speak In Flow Podcast and unleash your inner potential today!

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 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

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Transcripts

Melinda Lee:

Welcome to the speak In flow podcast. Dear

Melinda Lee:

listeners, I am so thrilled to have our esteemed guest today,

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski. She's a founder of culture by choice and

Melinda Lee:

productivity by design. She's an expert and product project

Melinda Lee:

management. And so we can learn so much from her. Welcome, Kimi.

Melinda Lee:

Glad you're here. Thank

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: Thank you, Melinda. This is This is

Melinda Lee:

wonderful. Among other things, I think it's terrific that you're

Melinda Lee:

focusing on executive communication. Because that's

Melinda Lee:

such a big key.

Melinda Lee:

I can't wait to dive in, you focus on product

Melinda Lee:

management project, actually tell me a little bit more about

Melinda Lee:

what you do tell the audience so they get some background and

Melinda Lee:

context?

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: Well, I'm a project manager. And like most

Melinda Lee:

of us, I fell into it come from a technical background, grew up

Melinda Lee:

with computers, in a different way than some of the generations

Melinda Lee:

now have the computers now we're getting mature at the same time.

Melinda Lee:

But as a result, when you become really good at what you do, and

Melinda Lee:

you get promoted, that's when you find out, excuse me, but

Melinda Lee:

they didn't mention anything in the programming class about how

Melinda Lee:

to communicate with actual people instead of modules. So

Melinda Lee:

that's what we focus on, we focus on giving our technical

Melinda Lee:

colleagues a little bit of a boost in areas that they're,

Melinda Lee:

they've got a great deal of potential for wonderful skill

Melinda Lee:

levels in it, they just didn't have the the formal training or

Melinda Lee:

the academic training in it, because they were focused on the

Melinda Lee:

things that got them to the promotion into leadership to

Melinda Lee:

begin with their technical skills.

Melinda Lee:

And that is why I'm so excited to because we're

Melinda Lee:

mirroring leadership development, project management

Melinda Lee:

with, you know, people out there are experts in their fields. And

Melinda Lee:

yet, you know, having the right leadership having the right

Melinda Lee:

communication skills are so essential, and so I can't wait

Melinda Lee:

to dive in. So what I found really interesting about what

Melinda Lee:

you do is you have seven key success parameters for project

Melinda Lee:

management. And so can you tell us more about that?

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: Well, these are parameters that if

Melinda Lee:

they're within the organization's culture, can

Melinda Lee:

really raise your opportunity for project success. And what's

Melinda Lee:

important about this, from the perspective of an executive

Melinda Lee:

communications perspective is this. It has to be a daily

Melinda Lee:

choice to reinforce these kinds of cultural parameters. That's

Melinda Lee:

what we mean by culture by choice, a culture is going to

Melinda Lee:

develop, whether you want it to develop in the direction you

Melinda Lee:

want it to or not. Now, that's going to be dependent on every

Melinda Lee:

single choice you make with every single person that you

Melinda Lee:

deal with. So your leadership becomes amazingly critical. And

Melinda Lee:

we start out with things like clear definition, ownership,

Melinda Lee:

which is, you know, a concept everybody tends to buy into

Melinda Lee:

without being very clear about what they mean, remembering who

Melinda Lee:

we're doing this work for, we're not doing it for ourselves,

Melinda Lee:

we're doing it for our clients or our end users. collaborative

Melinda Lee:

spirit is probably one of the biggest areas where it feeds

Melinda Lee:

into executive communications and interdependency, if you

Melinda Lee:

don't understand where all of the pieces fit together. You

Melinda Lee:

can't help your people navigate that, and be absolutely rigorous

Melinda Lee:

about quality. Mm hmm. You can put something out in you and I

Melinda Lee:

have both seen it, we of course, would never do that. But you

Melinda Lee:

could put something out really, really quickly, but isn't

Melinda Lee:

something you're going to be proud of finding your name on in

Melinda Lee:

five years, or not. And last but not least, all of those things

Melinda Lee:

help you manage risk, a lot better. But in particular, I

Melinda Lee:

think collaborative spirit is the one that that is a lead by

Melinda Lee:

example, form of executive communication. It's

Melinda Lee:

so interesting, because I didn't I just was

Melinda Lee:

talking to a company owner who hired a CFO. But about six or

Melinda Lee:

seven years ago, the CFO was highly intelligent, like an

Melinda Lee:

action oriented person and told this this group of people has he

Melinda Lee:

had probably, I don't know How many direct reports 50. But he

Melinda Lee:

beat them up, he was really tough. And nobody liked it. The

Melinda Lee:

team members didn't like it. But he got stuff done. Fast forward,

Melinda Lee:

he just left. And now they hired a new CFO, completely different

Melinda Lee:

collaborate collaborator, wants to build the team wants to build

Melinda Lee:

people together, and and then slower, so they don't get as

Melinda Lee:

much done. So I asked this business owner, I said, Do you

Melinda Lee:

see a bit of a difference in the results in terms of business

Melinda Lee:

sense in terms of business, but he like monetarily? Bottom line?

Melinda Lee:

He said, I'm not sure yet. But I know, he goes, I don't think

Melinda Lee:

somebody's a me he, he knows that the people are so much

Melinda Lee:

happier doing their work. And I think in the long run, so he did

Melinda Lee:

say that in the long run, it's going to produce better results,

Melinda Lee:

maybe in the short run, not so much. But then your way. You

Melinda Lee:

know, tell me more about that. What do you think?

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: Well, I think part of the basis of this

Melinda Lee:

is that when people say we want you to collaborate, they're not

Melinda Lee:

actually always sure about what they're expressing. For some

Melinda Lee:

people, a collaborative environment means everybody has

Melinda Lee:

a vote for other people a collaborative environment is,

Melinda Lee:

look, I carry the heavy load. And I want everybody's input.

Melinda Lee:

Understand, however, I will be the one who will ultimately make

Melinda Lee:

the last decision. Well, if you can't make clear to the people

Melinda Lee:

that you're working with, right, which definition you're working

Melinda Lee:

from, then each person, when you hear something, you think, Oh,

Melinda Lee:

well, of course, they're talking about my definition of

Melinda Lee:

collaborative. So that makes sense. Yeah,

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: you know, so the other thing is, is I

Melinda Lee:

think your business owner, client is very intelligent about

Melinda Lee:

this, because the previous executive was creating an

Melinda Lee:

environment that was rife for turnover. Yeah. And the problem

Melinda Lee:

is, that's 300% of a person's annual salary is the cost that

Melinda Lee:

the business bears when they lose someone who's been around

Melinda Lee:

for maybe two or three years. And that's a huge amount of

Melinda Lee:

money.

Melinda Lee:

That's a huge

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: loss long term, it's going to show us

Melinda Lee:

productive, short term, what you're doing is you're

Melinda Lee:

reinforcing that you as a business owner, you're walking

Melinda Lee:

your talk, you're saying, You know what, this is so important,

Melinda Lee:

I'm willing to put my skin in the game as well. And I am going

Melinda Lee:

to be the defender of perhaps a little slower ramp up for

Melinda Lee:

results, but long term, the business is going to be

Melinda Lee:

healthier, because the people are going to be more willing to

Melinda Lee:

commit to it. Talks about engagement. That's nothing new.

Melinda Lee:

Yeah, right. No, and I loved how you clarified

Melinda Lee:

what does collaboration mean? And, and we're gonna go into

Melinda Lee:

what does executive communication mean to you. But

Melinda Lee:

But just touching on collaboration can mean so many

Melinda Lee:

different things to different people. And as part of executive

Melinda Lee:

communication, I think is being clear. Even if you just have a

Melinda Lee:

collaborative of that word, there can mean a lot of

Melinda Lee:

different things, to take the time to define that for you for

Melinda Lee:

your team, so that people are clear, yes, we're going to

Melinda Lee:

collaborate in this project. However, I'm going to be the

Melinda Lee:

final decision maker, or you go into the project and say, hey, I

Melinda Lee:

want everybody to vote on this as a collaboration method. And

Melinda Lee:

so which one is it for you? Right, and the team? What makes

Melinda Lee:

sense for the project?

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: And, and the funny thing is, is that

Melinda Lee:

people will say, well, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I

Melinda Lee:

shouldn't do that. I'm gonna come across as a little bit of a

Melinda Lee:

dictator, or I had one person say, I have a feeling I'm gonna

Melinda Lee:

come come across as a very dictatorial person. I said,

Melinda Lee:

well, one, you are a very forceful and decisive

Melinda Lee:

individual. So that's just going to be you. Okay, own it, live

Melinda Lee:

it. And I'm glad you understand. That's how you come off.

Melinda Lee:

However, people are going to be a lot more willing to work with

Melinda Lee:

you, at your level of collaboration, if they

Melinda Lee:

understand that that's what you're probably going to do.

Melinda Lee:

Now, as you see how incredibly productive your people are, when

Melinda Lee:

you demonstrate your willingness to actually behave in the manner

Melinda Lee:

you're asking them to behave and you're, it's going to be a whole

Melinda Lee:

lot easier for you to give up some of that much blunted

Melinda Lee:

control, because results are it, the results are going to be the

Melinda Lee:

final proof. And you're going to get better results over the long

Melinda Lee:

term. And I don't mean decades, I don't even mean years.

Melinda Lee:

Sometimes it only takes one project over, say, eight weeks.

Melinda Lee:

And you'll, you'll see a visible difference in the level of

Melinda Lee:

productivity and efficiency, not just in Thank heavens, less

Melinda Lee:

retesting, because we were all actually talking to each other,

Melinda Lee:

you know, thank heavens, better requirements definition because

Melinda Lee:

wow, we made it a point to collaborate with our client, not

Melinda Lee:

tell them that's a stupid thing to ask for. Or say it in our

Melinda Lee:

minds and not ask them questions and then ignore the possibility

Melinda Lee:

that the question might not have been one they can answer because

Melinda Lee:

we weren't clear in the way we phrased it. So you know, this is

Melinda Lee:

not when people say communication, I think they

Melinda Lee:

forget that the way you behave, what you reward, and what you

Melinda Lee:

note, that communicates volumes. And it's much more powerful than

Melinda Lee:

anything you're gonna say ever.

Melinda Lee:

Reminds me of this analogy of just just in regards

Melinda Lee:

to parenting, because we think we're gonna tell our child what

Melinda Lee:

to do you have to do this, you have to do this. And actually,

Melinda Lee:

the best way to teach your children is how you behave.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: Like Oh, absolutely. Yeah, I'm a big

Melinda Lee:

country western fan, which I've had to defend from. But there's

Melinda Lee:

a song where a father hits you know, the stoplight seems to

Melinda Lee:

come, it goes straight from green to red. And he says a four

Melinda Lee:

letter, he, and he's muttering under his breath. And then he

Melinda Lee:

hears his four year old in the back, see who's had his, you

Melinda Lee:

know, his McNuggets thrown all over him say a four letter word.

Melinda Lee:

And I think it was my four year old said a four letter word. And

Melinda Lee:

I was concerned. And when he asked the kid, well, where do

Melinda Lee:

you learn that? He says, oh, I want to be just like you, daddy.

Melinda Lee:

I'm gonna eat all my vegetables. So I can be big and strong and

Melinda Lee:

hold Mama's hand and I'm going to be just like you. And the

Melinda Lee:

father kind of hits his knees and says, Oh, my God, can you

Melinda Lee:

help me be a slight, you know, better than I am? Because I had

Melinda Lee:

no idea.

Melinda Lee:

I mean, it's so true. It's so true. And you I

Melinda Lee:

mean, you've worked at different businesses, and you can see the

Melinda Lee:

different cultures within these companies. And even if you're a

Melinda Lee:

team leader, what you say how you behave, just trickles down

Melinda Lee:

it, whether it's conscious or subconscious, good just is, like

Melinda Lee:

you said, it's developing a culture by choice, or you're

Melinda Lee:

not, it's not a choice, you're just developing a culture. And

Melinda Lee:

so who's you'd be more understanding or awareness,

Melinda Lee:

aware

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: of you think about it. The definition

Melinda Lee:

of culture for most working organisations is a commonly

Melinda Lee:

accepted set of behaviours, and expectations. Which means the

Melinda Lee:

minute you start interacting with somebody, you're starting

Melinda Lee:

to build a culture, it may only have two people in it. But

Melinda Lee:

you're already starting to build a sense of what can I expect

Melinda Lee:

from somebody. So when you and I first started interacting, I

Melinda Lee:

knew from the very beginning, I could expect a thorough,

Melinda Lee:

thoughtful person to be working with and so the thing is, that

Melinda Lee:

also encourages, you know, I pay a little bit more attention to

Melinda Lee:

being a little bit more thorough, a little bit more

Melinda Lee:

thoughtful, when I'm with people that I know value those things.

Melinda Lee:

And I don't think that's because I'm a unicorn. I think that's

Melinda Lee:

because I'm just aware that that's a way that I accept

Melinda Lee:

leadership from other people. Because of all the work and

Melinda Lee:

study that I've done. I've learned that that's the way

Melinda Lee:

people accept leadership. They they look for ways that you can

Melinda Lee:

help them be better.

Melinda Lee:

You obviously you've done the work, you exude

Melinda Lee:

so much executive rises, communication, your website, I

Melinda Lee:

loved your story. You're a storyteller. And so I'm curious

Melinda Lee:

how have you always had this confidence is presence.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: Let me tell you a quick story. I almost

Melinda Lee:

got fired from my very first big corporate job And part of it was

Melinda Lee:

cultural. Because I was hired in, I was the youngest person in

Melinda Lee:

the room. by more than 15 years, I was the only only one of three

Melinda Lee:

women on a 15 person team. And I was the only person that didn't

Melinda Lee:

have a college

Melinda Lee:

degree yet. Okay. And after

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: about six weeks, my new boss pulled me

Melinda Lee:

aside, sat me down, and he said, Kenny, I would really like to

Melinda Lee:

keep you. He's it. The thing is, is when you accept a job from

Melinda Lee:

somebody, you make a deal. You basically make a contract, we

Melinda Lee:

give you money. You give us intelligence, judgement, and

Melinda Lee:

experience. I haven't heard a peep out of you in our staff

Melinda Lee:

meetings for nearly five weeks. We're not getting our side of

Melinda Lee:

the bargain. Wow. He said, Now, I can tell you got on these

Melinda Lee:

topics. He said, and I did a little research, I understand

Melinda Lee:

you were raised by your grandparents in a fairly

Melinda Lee:

traditional manner. And I said, Yes, I was. He said, Alright.

Melinda Lee:

Here's the thing. I want you to go home and ask your

Melinda Lee:

grandfather. What he would think of it. If he were to learn that

Melinda Lee:

you had made a contract? A deal? Oh, wow. But you weren't

Melinda Lee:

delivering your end of it. He said, We went because we believe

Melinda Lee:

you're equal to us. So I appreciate you're trying to be

Melinda Lee:

polite. But to be blunt, I'm not paying you to be polite. I'm

Melinda Lee:

paying you to be a professional.

Melinda Lee:

Wow. Again, me now I can.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: I can tell that story now. But I gotta tell

Melinda Lee:

you at home and I had a really good cry and about a quart of

Melinda Lee:

chocolate ice cream.

Melinda Lee:

Wow, that that was a good. I mean, that's really

Melinda Lee:

that's direct that hits full. Yeah, I would have had a quart

Melinda Lee:

of chocolate ice cream as well.

Unknown:

Larry did his homework. And he had he knew why. Because

Unknown:

we come from multiple different cultures. I'm a fourth

Unknown:

generation Californian, not just a woman of Japanese ancestry.

Unknown:

You have to remember, all of us belong to multiple cultures, we

Unknown:

belong to the cultures of our schooling, our professions, the

Unknown:

kinds of companies we choose to work for. The kinds of bosses we

Unknown:

choose to emulate. All of those different relationships are many

Unknown:

cultures that make up our cultural persona. That's why I

Unknown:

tell people it's culture by choice. How you deal with a

Unknown:

person, establish it, every single choice.

Melinda Lee:

And who you work with, right, how you deal with

Melinda Lee:

them who you bring in. Yeah.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: I think that's what we mean, when we

Melinda Lee:

say, well, I'd like you to interview with the rest of the

Melinda Lee:

team. So we make that the good fit. Set.

Melinda Lee:

Right, right. Okay. Uh huh. Right, right. And so how

Melinda Lee:

did you overcome that challenge of stop, you know, being more

Melinda Lee:

professional? In his words,

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: and less quiet? Yeah, one of the things I

Melinda Lee:

did was I asked him for help. I said, All right, would you do me

Melinda Lee:

a favour I said, at any point in time, if you think I'm about to

Melinda Lee:

say something that you see me hesitate? Would you just tap

Melinda Lee:

your glasses?

Melinda Lee:

I love it. And Larry said,

Melinda Lee:

Well, they're going to be caddywhompus on my face by the

Melinda Lee:

end of the first meeting, but we'll do it. I said, Okay. And

Melinda Lee:

then I said, Would you also help me find someone, another woman

Melinda Lee:

in this district that I can call on for advice every once in a

Melinda Lee:

while I said, I really appreciate what you said. And I

Melinda Lee:

would, I think I need to also expand my mentors and advisors

Melinda Lee:

group. So

Melinda Lee:

yeah, the journey, the journey right to have

Melinda Lee:

someone hold you accountable, to have a mentor to have someone to

Melinda Lee:

talk to work through the different challenges, resistance

Melinda Lee:

obstacles. Mm hmm.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: There is one other thing that I found, we

Melinda Lee:

all have the ability to enhance our strength in our different

Melinda Lee:

roles in our life. And you spoke to parenting, for example, when

Melinda Lee:

you're in your parent role, you bring out different kinds of

Melinda Lee:

strength. Well, when I was on stage, you can touch me, I own

Melinda Lee:

that stage, I'll five foot two of me. And Hillary's it. So this

Melinda Lee:

is your stage on a professional level. He says, I want you to

Melinda Lee:

borrow so that. And I would say I was incredibly blessed to have

Melinda Lee:

mentors and advisors, and some of my very first managers that

Melinda Lee:

led me say, okay, use this, use what you know, from here, use

Melinda Lee:

what you do from there. And you know, if you have to put it on

Melinda Lee:

like a jacket, when you come into the office. And when you do

Melinda Lee:

that, you start to develop habit of hey, havior, and carriage and

Melinda Lee:

communications that conveyed other people. I'm, I'm saying

Melinda Lee:

this because I believe it to be the best course of action. I'm

Melinda Lee:

saying this because I believe it to be true. And I'm asking

Melinda Lee:

questions, not because I don't know, but because I'm pretty

Melinda Lee:

sure you have something to contribute. And as long as

Melinda Lee:

you're consistent in that, you will learn to be the kind of

Melinda Lee:

person that you wouldn't mind following. I'm still working on

Melinda Lee:

that, by the way. Well, that

Melinda Lee:

sounded great, because you're saying what you

Melinda Lee:

believe you're saying what you you want to own, but then you're

Melinda Lee:

also asking questions.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: Or you've got to, yeah,

Melinda Lee:

yeah. And you're and I also hear that you had

Melinda Lee:

different mentors, different people telling you, asking you

Melinda Lee:

or suggesting different things, trying on one or two different

Melinda Lee:

skill sets, and owning them and stepping into them so that you

Melinda Lee:

can own that stage or own wherever you're going as a

Melinda Lee:

leader, the different types of skills that you build over time.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: I think it's important because everybody

Melinda Lee:

comes to their first quote, formal leadership role with a

Melinda Lee:

whole life experience, right? It's not just who you are in the

Melinda Lee:

office, it's who you are in your community. If you have an

Melinda Lee:

athletic background, it's who you are on the field. Right?

Melinda Lee:

bring that in. were absent. See that said, bring it

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: similar to what you did Melinda in terms of

Melinda Lee:

okay, let me do a little bit of homework. Let me see if I can

Melinda Lee:

learn a little bit about this person. You hear heard? Our

Melinda Lee:

mutual wonderful admin, Vicki, I'm sure you kind of did a

Melinda Lee:

little research and said, alright, what kind of work has

Melinda Lee:

she done so I know where her stripe, sar gonna accomplish UI,

Melinda Lee:

and we're harangues might make up for places there, okay, I

Melinda Lee:

could do it. But I'm not going to be as good at it as you are,

Melinda Lee:

you know, those kinds of things. If you're managing, you're

Melinda Lee:

managing assets and resources, if you're leaving, you're

Melinda Lee:

dealing with people. So get to know them. They're not just a

Melinda Lee:

name badge or an employee number. Oh, my job description.

Melinda Lee:

So

Melinda Lee:

true. If you just get to know them, understand how

Melinda Lee:

you affect them, get to know them, that will just help them

Melinda Lee:

speed up any initiative project fast. Or at least with more

Melinda Lee:

success, at least was more of a holistic perspective.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: Well, and you can't help people grow to be

Melinda Lee:

their best. Yeah, if you know absolutely nothing about who

Melinda Lee:

they are to begin with. Yeah. You know, I will say though, in

Melinda Lee:

the process of doing that, you might find some interesting

Melinda Lee:

experiences. I had no idea you could cure him with Coca Cola.

Melinda Lee:

But in getting to know one of my new technology specialists,

Melinda Lee:

working with a government agency, I said so what do you do

Melinda Lee:

in your free time and he proceeded to explain to me how

Melinda Lee:

you can cure a ham with Coca Cola

Melinda Lee:

that's only that's that's so funny.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: And I Okay, then he goes now you you

Melinda Lee:

look like One of the, you know, steak people. I said, I'll tell

Melinda Lee:

you, I said, Well, no, no, no, no, no, I'll take you up on that

Melinda Lee:

challenge, you bring some of that in the office, I'll bring

Melinda Lee:

my favourite dish, hell, we'll make it a potluck. And let's see

Melinda Lee:

what we've got. And just just by having that conversation and

Melinda Lee:

being willing, although scared to try Coca Cola gear, damn. He

Melinda Lee:

and his colleagues, none of whom knew me beyond the fact that I

Melinda Lee:

just walked in the door. Suddenly, you looked at me as a

Melinda Lee:

person when I was trying to learn about them as people. And

Melinda Lee:

so that's the bonus that you get, by the way. And it's a

Melinda Lee:

great compliment when they're willing to look at you and see

Melinda Lee:

something other than that pesky title or, Oh, my God, she's

Melinda Lee:

gonna hurt me, you know, kind of things. So, right, there is a

Melinda Lee:

huge problem.

Melinda Lee:

Right? Right. And I think it speaks volumes of your

Melinda Lee:

own leadership authenticity, ability to connect, I think that

Melinda Lee:

speaks volumes, because they want to get to know you, they

Melinda Lee:

want to get to know all the parts of you, right? So. So

Melinda Lee:

there's, I think leaders that want to walk around, and I know

Melinda Lee:

it all, or I'm the expert. And then they just talk about that

Melinda Lee:

part, which is important. So your expertise, your knowledge

Melinda Lee:

or experience, I think it just makes you more human, when you

Melinda Lee:

can open up different aspects of you. And then that way, you can

Melinda Lee:

connect with other people, and just a deeper connection. And

Melinda Lee:

who doesn't want that, like, if you want to be known as a

Melinda Lee:

memorable leader. It's about that deeper connection.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: And it's not about what you know, it's

Melinda Lee:

about the relationship you built with them. Right? And it's about

Melinda Lee:

what they're gonna remember. And the humility, right, we

Melinda Lee:

talked about the humility, being vulnerable being

Melinda Lee:

humility, you know, having a little bit yeah, of humility,

Melinda Lee:

that I am a human.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: Gentleman name, Casey, and I'm hoping, not

Melinda Lee:

mangling his name. I do it five times out of 10, where the book

Melinda Lee:

called how ambitious where he points out in eautifully,

Melinda Lee:

straight forward fashion, that being humble doesn't mean that

Melinda Lee:

you have to give up your ambition or your drive. being

Melinda Lee:

humbled just means that you are ready to accept what you don't

Melinda Lee:

know.

Melinda Lee:

I love it. I love it. Not just acceptance. Yeah,

Melinda Lee:

acceptance of what we don't and then

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: yeah, go out and get that.

Melinda Lee:

One, exactly. Yeah, I can't I don't want to do it

Melinda Lee:

all. That's okay.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: I'm kind of curious, because this is a

Melinda Lee:

very powerful niche area, how did you come to realise how

Melinda Lee:

important it is to help people understand executive

Melinda Lee:

communications better? Well,

Melinda Lee:

it's my own, write my own trauma, my own chat, and

Melinda Lee:

I do say trauma. And I believe that we have we, and we all

Melinda Lee:

experience it, there's no way around it as being human,

Melinda Lee:

whether you call it trauma, whether you call it

Melinda Lee:

uncomfortable experiences, passive, right, whatever you

Melinda Lee:

want to call it, it can be different levels and learn to

Melinda Lee:

learn. And it's that that blocks us when we have enough of it, it

Melinda Lee:

blocks us from showing our full self. And like just what we

Melinda Lee:

talked about just now I think leaders are able to show more

Melinda Lee:

sides of them than just their expertise. And they're not

Melinda Lee:

afraid of it, their acceptance of it. So but then if we have

Melinda Lee:

that block of too much trauma, we don't want to show those

Melinda Lee:

other parts other people sense I can't get I don't know who this

Melinda Lee:

person really is. And so I really, it's a wall, there's a

Melinda Lee:

wall. Yeah, they like and then so then when I was able to

Melinda Lee:

overcome that and see the difference that it helps other

Melinda Lee:

people make in terms of a presenters, perhaps a speaker

Melinda Lee:

and she was the leader, then that's why I do what I do is

Melinda Lee:

actually just feeling the vote their selves so they can be

Melinda Lee:

whole and allow people to accept them as a whole person.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: Do you know you've created an amazing

Melinda Lee:

mission? Oh, because you're also human. You're not just helping

Melinda Lee:

people grow their own capacity for executive communications.

Melinda Lee:

You're helping their people around them to humanise them and

Melinda Lee:

real and connect them at a far deeper level. And that is so

Melinda Lee:

important. I mean, I'm so delighted that and I'm in awe

Melinda Lee:

because that's a huge job you do Oh,

Melinda Lee:

I love it. Nobody's ever asked me that in this

Melinda Lee:

podcast, I really appreciate you as like guests asking me those

Melinda Lee:

questions. So it's really yeah, thank you so very much.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: Thank you so very much. It's quite

Melinda Lee:

important.

Melinda Lee:

Yes. So

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: I was just gonna say if I had to do it over

Melinda Lee:

again, and I had a few less decades for my belt, I would be

Melinda Lee:

right there with you. Because I think that is a a perspective on

Melinda Lee:

leadership that could to easily get lost. So added

Melinda Lee:

to it audit, you can add that to what you're

Melinda Lee:

doing. I mean, it's already there. The the whole everything,

Melinda Lee:

the structure, everything you're doing is already there. And I'm

Melinda Lee:

sure you can you touch on. You talked about it in the

Melinda Lee:

collaboration part.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: A little bit. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. No,

Melinda Lee:

I your wisdom in choosing the word trauma and refusing to back

Melinda Lee:

down from it. Because an uncomfortable situation begins,

Melinda Lee:

we live through it, it ends. It becomes trauma, if it habits,

Melinda Lee:

our future decision making. So I think that one of the powers

Melinda Lee:

that you have harnessed is part of what we talk about all the

Melinda Lee:

time, when we talk about clear definition. We're saying don't

Melinda Lee:

just give somebody a dictionary, meaning help them understand the

Melinda Lee:

context in which you chose that. That specific work. And I think

Melinda Lee:

you you've harnessed the power of clear definition beautifully

Melinda Lee:

in that particular choice. That makes

Melinda Lee:

a lot of sense. Because you we have experiences

Melinda Lee:

or stories, these events that create these stories that create

Melinda Lee:

experiences, which then lead you to choose that specific word. So

Melinda Lee:

what is the background of all of that, and that is why it's

Melinda Lee:

important. Rather than just giving the word. I love that.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: If there is a very short book, we call

Melinda Lee:

them commute flight reads, back in the day, when so many of us

Melinda Lee:

commuted by blade, and it was called The Four Agreements by

Melinda Lee:

Don Miguel Ruiz. And the first one was be impeccable with your

Melinda Lee:

word. Right. And that always struck me. So I'm a little slow

Melinda Lee:

to give promises, because I will break my back trying to keep it.

Melinda Lee:

So there are promises that people have asked, and I'll find

Melinda Lee:

a way not to ever make it because I don't believe I'd be

Melinda Lee:

able to fulfil. You know, and that is, that is something else

Melinda Lee:

that your people are going to see. If you break promises to

Melinda Lee:

them. Even small things like, Hey, isn't that my turn to bring

Melinda Lee:

the doughnuts. Right? Say, Well, if you're getting a break,

Melinda Lee:

you're worried about them, you know, minor? What's going to

Melinda Lee:

happen when there's a lot at stake? And it's a perfectly

Melinda Lee:

human question to ask. I think. I think though, you want to one

Melinda Lee:

of the things you want to communicate as a leader as an

Melinda Lee:

executive or leader, or an executive who actually is a

Melinda Lee:

leader. Yes, that you want to communicate that there's no

Melinda Lee:

reason to ask that question. Right?

Melinda Lee:

Ever. Right? Right. I love that. I'm learning so

Melinda Lee:

much from you. They're learning so much from you. We do not ever

Melinda Lee:

want to be fall back on her own integrity and be seen as such

Melinda Lee:

because can't get back.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: You can't get her back. And I think for

Melinda Lee:

most people know that. Don't you think most people know that?

Melinda Lee:

They do.

Melinda Lee:

But I don't think they consciously they know that

Melinda Lee:

consciously. But they don't know subconsciously like what are

Melinda Lee:

they doing without even realising that has a powerful

Melinda Lee:

effect like like it may say, Oh, it's just a donor. I just it's

Melinda Lee:

just donuts.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: So yeah, it's no big deal.

Melinda Lee:

I guess I try other things. I get sidetracked. And

Melinda Lee:

so you know, so subconsciously, yeah. So I we talk so we might

Melinda Lee:

need to continue this conversation I am looking

Melinda Lee:

forward to I just want to thank you and know thank you so much.

Melinda Lee:

How would people get in touch with you? and learn more about

Melinda Lee:

you and the work that you do or even want to start to have a

Melinda Lee:

conversation how they work with you. Well, we have

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: leadership leadership group on Facebook.

Melinda Lee:

And if you were to Google K SP partnership done.com, you will

Melinda Lee:

find that we truly believe that you should be as straightforward

Melinda Lee:

as possible. So somebody said, Well, why don't you put like,

Melinda Lee:

why don't you take one of the peas out of KSP partnership? And

Melinda Lee:

they said, Well, the reason it's there is because although my

Melinda Lee:

godson says that he thought it meant came these superpowers, it

Melinda Lee:

does not KSP partnerships stands for key success parameters. And

Melinda Lee:

it's a partnership. So we've got about three full time partners

Melinda Lee:

and Vicky, whenever I can get her some social media staffing

Melinda Lee:

and help. But primarily, we work together as partners. There's no

Melinda Lee:

it's my team. It's not, you know, that kind of thing. So

Melinda Lee:

when I say clear definition, I say, we even, we even bet our

Melinda Lee:

website name on it. You know, every single part of that the

Melinda Lee:

company name is in there, because every single part

Melinda Lee:

matters. So KSP partnership.com. And if you go on to LinkedIn, I

Melinda Lee:

guarantee you, you will only find one, Kimi Hiratsuka Zemsky.

Melinda Lee:

Love it. And I'd be delighted to connect but you have to say

Melinda Lee:

Melinda sent me. Oh, cute. Okay. That way. Oh, no.

Melinda Lee:

I love that. Reach out to Kimi. She's a wealth of

Melinda Lee:

knowledge. She just brings so much wealth of experience. And

Melinda Lee:

so don't hesitate. Don't have to reach out and thank you. So as

Melinda Lee:

mentioned, Melinda sent you. All right. Thank you so much, Kimi,

Melinda Lee:

it was so fun. Thank you

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: was this was a pleasure and an honour.

Melinda Lee:

Thank you.

Melinda Lee:

You Me too. Until I see you next time. Take care.

Melinda Lee:

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski: Take care.

Melinda Lee:

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