Folgen

  • Who Really Owns Workplace Culture? | Zach Blumenfeld & Nick Lombardino

    Who Really Owns Workplace Culture? | Zach Blumenfeld & Nick Lombardino
    Dec 17 2025
    Culture Isn’t HR’s Job: Building Work That Feels Human with Nick Lombardino & Zach Blumenfeld What if culture wasn’t something you rolled out—but something you practiced, person by person, day by day? In this episode of Human Side Up, host Natasha Nuytten sits down with Nick Lombardino and Zach Blumenfeld, co-founders of CultureCon (a certified B Corp), to unpack what actually makes workplace culture stick. From their origin story (Madison roots, high school connections, and an “accidental” community that turned into a movement) to the behind-the-scenes realities of building CultureCon, Nick and Zach share why the best cultures aren’t built by slogans—they’re built by trust, autonomy, and meaningful connection. They dig into the tension between flexibility and loneliness in remote work, why “culture fit” is often the wrong goal, and what it means to build “culture from the inside out”—starting with self-awareness, personal responsibility, and how you show up as an individual contributor. If you’re a leader trying to build culture without outsourcing it to HR—or an employee who wants to make work better from wherever you sit—this one is packed with practical insights and a whole lot of heart. Highlights & Takeaways 💡 Culture is everyone’s job (and why HR can’t carry it alone) 💡 Trust + autonomy = real connection (not just perks) 💡 Flexibility vs. belonging: what remote work can’t replace 💡 “Inside-out culture”: self-awareness as the foundation for meaning at work Human Side Up Hosted by Natasha Nuytten, CEO of CLARA, Human Side Up cuts through the noise to reveal how real leaders create workplaces—and lives—where people can thrive. Connect with Natasha: 🔗 LinkedIn 🎧 Spotify 📺 YouTube Connect with CLARA: 🔗 LinkedIn 🌐 Website 📺 YouTube
    Mehr anzeigen Weniger anzeigen
    1 Std. und 3 Min.
  • Will AI Take Your Job? | Ajay Malik

    Will AI Take Your Job? | Ajay Malik
    Dec 3 2025
    Let AI Do the Work: Becoming “Manager of One” in the Age of AI with Ajay Malik What if the future of work isn’t about replacing humans—but upgrading what we’re here to do? In this episode of Human Side Up, host Natasha Nuytten talks with Ajay Malik—CEO of StudioX-AI, former Head of Architecture & Engineering for Google’s worldwide corporate network, and holder of 100+ patents—about his mission to “let AI do the work so humans can do the thinking, feeling, and creating.” Ajay shares how his love for technology and his self-professed procrastination actually sharpen his ability to prioritize, focus, and build systems that quietly power billions of interactions behind the scenes. They dig into his core idea that every knowledge worker is now a “manager of one”—their own AI agent—and what that means for hiring, leadership, and personal responsibility. Ajay is refreshingly honest about the risks: AI will eliminate some jobs, especially for those who don’t learn it. But he also explains how the massive acceleration of innovation creates a new kind of demand for humans in the loop: orchestrators, conductors, project leaders, and ethical decision-makers who know how to direct AI, not just fear it. Along the way, he shares lessons from mentors, why doing one thing at 160% beats doing two things at 100%, and how AI is quietly teaching him to be more forgiving and more human. Highlights & Takeaways 💡 “Manager of one”: why every person now leads their own AI agent 💡 Human in the loop: 85% AI execution, 15% human oversight—and why that 15% is everything 💡 Job loss vs. velocity: how AI will cut some roles but create massive demand for new kinds of work 💡 Learning from AI: no grudges, no rumination, just next prompt—how that mindset can shape better leadership 💡 Everyone must learn AI (unless your job is literally with your hands): practical urgency for careers and companies Human Side Up What happens when we stop following the playbook and start writing our own? Hosted by Natasha Nuytten, CEO of CLARA, Human Side Up cuts through the noise to reveal how real leaders create workplaces—and lives—where people can thrive. Connect with Natasha: 🔗 LinkedIn 🎧 Spotify 📺 YouTube Connect with CLARA: 🔗 LinkedIn 🌐 Website 📺 YouTube​
    Mehr anzeigen Weniger anzeigen
    Weniger als 1 Minute
  • How Leaders Fail Returning Moms | Alexa Starks

    How Leaders Fail Returning Moms | Alexa Starks
    Nov 19 2025
    Reentry Isn’t a Moment—It’s a System: Designing Support That Works with Alexa Starks What if “welcome back” wasn’t the plan—just the starting line? In this episode of Human Side Up, host Natasha Nuytten sits down with Alexa Starks—Founder & Chief Strategist of Executive Moms and host of The Reentry Room—to unpack how organizations can move beyond good intentions to build practical, repeatable frameworks that retain high-performing parents. Drawing from her own return-to-work experience and a decade in corporate ops, Alexa explains the “reentry gap,” why so many managers default to silence, and how leaders can co-create 30/60/90 re-onboarding plans that adjust goals, measure output (not hours), and make flexibility real. They get specific on scripts and shared language for managers and parents, weekly capacity check-ins, resetting OKRs, and the difference between policy and practice when it comes to boundaries. While the focus is parent reentry, the lessons apply across life events—because compassionate leadership and clear expectations improve outcomes for everyone. Highlights & Takeaways 💡Reentry is a process, not a date: co-create 30/60/90 plans and reset OKRs 💡Measure output, not “green dots”: flexibility that’s tied to clear goals 💡Policy vs. practice: manager behavior is the culture 💡Shared language: scripts for managers and parents to ask for—and offer—support 💡Beyond parenthood: compassion + clarity build stronger teams in any life event Human Side Up What happens when we stop following the playbook and start writing our own? Hosted by Natasha Nuytten, CEO of CLARA, Human Side Up cuts through the noise to reveal how real leaders create workplaces—and lives—where people can thrive. Connect with Natasha: 🔗 LinkedIn 🎧 Spotify 📺 YouTube Connect with CLARA: 🔗 LinkedIn 🌐 Website 📺 YouTube​
    Mehr anzeigen Weniger anzeigen
    53 Min.
  • How to Lead Humans in the Age of AI | CEO, Kern & Partners Russell Kern

    How to Lead Humans in the Age of AI | CEO, Kern & Partners Russell Kern
    Nov 5 2025
    Humans, AI, and the “Magnificent Middle” with Russell Kern What happens when you stop “managing” and start growing people—while inviting AI to help? In this episode of Human Side Up, host Natasha Nuytten sits down with Russell M. Kern—Founder & CEO of Kern & Partners—to explore how neuroscience, habit-formation, and AI can unlock what he calls the magnificent middle of managers. From selling jellybeans at 19 to scaling a 400-person creative agency and now advising global enterprises (SAP, AmEx, Caterpillar), Russell shares the K.E.R.N. method—Know, Empower, Reflect, Nurture—and why culture isn’t a slogan; it’s the behaviors we practice together. They dig into the cost of poor collaboration, why practice time isn’t just for sports teams, and how leaders become gardeners—creating the conditions for people to thrive while using AI as a thinking partner, not a crutch. Highlights & Takeaways 💡 The K.E.R.N. method: Know, Empower, Reflect, Nurture 💡 Why the “middle” makes or breaks culture and execution 💡 Neuroscience of habits: make the right thing the easy thing 💡 AI as a collaborator (not a replacement) for human judgment 💡 Building culture by design: small behaviors, big compounding effects Learn more about Russell & Kern and Partners: 🌐 Kern & Partners 🔗 Russell M. Kern Human Side Up What happens when we stop following the playbook and start writing our own? Hosted by Natasha Nuytten, CEO of CLARA, Human Side Up cuts through the noise to reveal how real leaders create workplaces—and lives—where people can thrive. Connect with Natasha: 🔗 LinkedIn 🎧 Spotify 📺 YouTube Connect with CLARA: 🔗 LinkedIn 🌐 Website 📺 YouTube
    Mehr anzeigen Weniger anzeigen
    55 Min.
  • ADHD as a Superpower in Leadership | CEO, Full Scale Matt Watson

    ADHD as a Superpower in Leadership | CEO, Full Scale Matt Watson
    Oct 22 2025
    High Urgency, Hyperfocus, and Human Leadership with Matt Watson What happens when ADHD isn’t a limitation—but a leadership engine? In this episode of Human Side Up, host Natasha Nuytten sits down with Matt Watson—serial entrepreneur and CEO of Full Scale—for a conversation about obsession, grit, and redefining how teams scale. From selling his first company, VinSolutions, for $150M at just 29, to growing Full Scale from 0 to 300+ developers in the Philippines (with plans for 500), Matt has built a career by leaning into his ADHD traits: relentless problem solving, hyperfocus, and a fearless tolerance for risk. But Matt’s story is about more than exits and headcount. He shares candidly about self-awareness—knowing what he won’t do (like checking kids’ backpacks) as much as what he will—and why “courage” is the cultural keystone at Full Scale. He unpacks the power of ownership, the danger of treating developers like cogs, and why thoughtful offshoring isn’t cost-cutting—it’s opportunity creation across borders. Together, Natasha and Matt dig into what it means to lead without being the hero, to build psychological safety across cultures, and to turn grit into something bigger than success: purpose. Highlights & Takeaways 💡 Why ADHD can be a CEO’s superpower (and weakness) 💡 How hyperfocus fuels problem-solving and persistence 💡 The transition from CTO → CEO—and what changes (and doesn’t) 💡 Building ownership and “courage” into engineering culture 💡 Why thoughtful offshoring creates thriving teams and economies Learn more about Matt Watson & Full Scale: 🌐 Full Scale 🔗 LinkedIn Human Side Up What happens when we stop following the playbook and start writing our own? Hosted by Natasha Nuytten, CEO of CLARA, Human Side Up cuts through the noise to reveal how real leaders create workplaces—and lives—where people can thrive. Connect with Natasha: 🔗 LinkedIn 🎧 Spotify 📺 YouTube Connect with CLARA: 🔗 LinkedIn 🌐 Website 📺 YouTube​
    Mehr anzeigen Weniger anzeigen
    58 Min.
  • Dyslexia Made Me a Better Investor | David Hornik

    Dyslexia Made Me a Better Investor | David Hornik
    Oct 8 2025
    Seeing Differently, Leading Generously: Dyslexia, Venture, and Human Connection with David Hornik What happens when a venture capitalist builds a career not on transactions, but on relationships—and embraces dyslexia as a lifelong advantage? In this episode of Human Side Up, host Natasha Nuytten sits down with David Hornik—Founding Partner of Lobby Capital—for a conversation that blends venture capital, art, and humanity. David shares openly about growing up dyslexic, the resourcefulness it forced him to develop, and why he now sees it as a superpower for entrepreneurship and investing. From his eclectic path (computer music at Stanford, criminology at Cambridge, law at Harvard) to two decades backing companies like Splunk, GitLab, and Fastly, David frames venture not as flashy deal-making but as community-building. Together, Natasha and David explore what it means to “think differently,” why arts and education foster empathy in leadership, and how inclusive founders—and inclusive investors—create more than wealth: they create possibility. It’s part story, part philosophy, and all heart. Highlights & Takeaways 💡 Dyslexia as a leadership advantage—and why resourcefulness matters 💡 From law to VC: how David found the right “superpower job” 💡 Why he believes generosity beats transactionalism in venture 💡 The role of art, improv, and empathy in building better leaders 💡 How underrepresented founders can frame problems big enough to be seen—and funded Learn more about David Hornik & Lobby Capital: 🌐 Lobby Capital 🔗 LinkedIn Human Side Up What happens when we stop following the playbook and start writing our own? Hosted by Natasha Nuytten, CEO of CLARA, Human Side Up cuts through the noise to reveal how real leaders create workplaces—and lives—where people can thrive. Connect with Natasha: 🔗 LinkedIn 🎧 Spotify 📺 YouTube Connect with CLARA: 🔗 LinkedIn 🌐 Website 📺 YouTube
    Mehr anzeigen Weniger anzeigen
    48 Min.
  • A Female CEO’s Playbook | Beth Houck

    A Female CEO’s Playbook | Beth Houck
    Sep 24 2025
    Listening First, Leading Better: Authentic Leadership & Upstream Care with Beth Houck What happens when a CEO leads with listening—and builds a company that catches crises before they happen? In this episode of Human Side Up, host Natasha Nuytten sits down with Beth Houck—CEO of SonarMD—for a candid conversation about authenticity, context, and the kind of leadership that actually changes outcomes. Beth shares the moment she realized she could bring her whole self (humor included) to high-stakes rooms, the mindset shift from COO to CEO, and why “context” is the multiplier that empowers remote teams to move fast without losing the plot. On the care side, she explains how SonarMD supports people living with IBD (Crohn’s, UC) between visits—tracking symptoms longitudinally to spot deterioration early, and pairing that with wraparound supports like nutrition, sleep, and GI-trained mental health. It’s upstream, value-based care that aligns payers, providers, and—most importantly—patients. This episode is for leaders who want to be human and high-performing—and for builders in healthcare who believe prevention should finally pay. Highlights & Takeaways 💡 Why active listening (and repeating context) aligns remote teams faster 💡 The COO → CEO shift—and how to navigate founder/CEO dynamics 💡 How SonarMD achieved ~80% digital engagement for IBD patients 💡 Upstream care that works: nutrition, sleep, and mental health inside digital pathways 💡 Making prevention pay: aligning with payers for shared savings and better outcomes Learn more about Beth Houck & SonarMD: 🌐 SonarMD 🔗 LinkedIn Human Side Up What happens when we stop following the playbook and start writing our own? Hosted by Natasha Nuytten, CEO of CLARA, Human Side Up cuts through the noise to reveal how real leaders create workplaces—and lives—where people can thrive. Connect with Natasha: 🔗 LinkedIn 🎧 Spotify 📺 YouTube Connect with CLARA: 🔗 LinkedIn 🌐 Website 📺 YouTube
    Mehr anzeigen Weniger anzeigen
    52 Min.
  • How I Became Athlete at 40 | Michelle Boyd

    How I Became Athlete at 40 | Michelle Boyd
    Sep 10 2025
    From ICU to Finish Lines: Redefining Strength with Michelle Boyd What happens when life forces you to stop—and you choose to come back stronger? In this powerful episode of Human Side Up, host Natasha Nuytten sits down with Michelle Boyd—Director of Health Careers & Workforce Development at Atrium Health and National Board President of Tri It For Life—for a conversation that’s as real as it is inspiring. Michelle shares her journey from a corporate mom pushing through pregnancy in high heels to landing in the ICU with a life-threatening heart scare. That moment became her wake-up call: to prioritize health, embrace resilience, and redefine what it means to be strong. From there, Michelle not only claimed the title of Fit Mom and Athlete—despite laughter and doubt—but also became a triathlete, mentor, and leader helping women cross finish lines both on and off the race course. Her work at Atrium Health focuses on building a diverse healthcare workforce that reflects the communities it serves, while her leadership at Tri It For Life empowers women to try, to fail, to cry, and to succeed in spaces they never imagined themselves in. Together, Natasha and Michelle dig into what real integration (not “balance”) looks like, the power of releasing perfection, and why mentorship and representation matter so deeply in both work and life. This is an episode for anyone who’s ever pushed too hard, been told they don’t belong, or wondered what might be possible if they simply gave themselves permission to try. Highlights & Takeaways 💡 How a health scare transformed Michelle’s priorities and identity 💡 Why she proudly calls herself Fit Mom and Athlete after years of resistance 💡 The unique challenges women face in triathlon—and how Tri It For Life changes the story 💡 Why harmony, not “balance,” is the healthier way to lead life and work 💡 The role of mentorship in shaping inclusive, resilient leaders Learn more about Michelle Boyd: 🔗 LinkedIn Human Side Up What happens when we stop following the playbook and start writing our own? Hosted by Natasha Nuytten, CEO of CLARA, Human Side Up cuts through the noise to reveal how real leaders create workplaces—and lives—where people can thrive. Connect with Natasha: 🔗 LinkedIn 🎧 Listen on Spotify 📺 YouTube Connect with CLARA: 🔗 LinkedIn 🌐 Website 📺 YouTube
    Mehr anzeigen Weniger anzeigen
    51 Min.