Merlin Engage: Program Feedback and Personal Impact

Launched in 2023, Merlin Engage is designed to support women in the music business, connecting them with executive mentors to cultivate confidence and leadership. We want to congratulate Merlin for creating and sustaining this vital initiative. The involvement of Pascal Bittard, our president, recently reelected on Merlin’s board also speaks to the long-standing relationship between our organizations.

The program makes self-advocacy and professional confidence tangible, shifting perspectives in meaningful ways. Allison Kleshefsky, our DSP Editorial & Partnerships Lead – Americas, had the chance to participate in this program and agreed to share her experience and achievements, highlighting how it empowered her leadership skills and expanded her professional network.

The first group session, we were asked to choose a “north star” to define what we wanted most from the program. We used this as a guide for each coaching session. It sounds simple, but having that anchor really helped. At each session, if you didn’t know what topic to bring up, you could always come back to your north star to stay focused on your goals.

A lot of women in the program had similar north stars, so we were on the same page. My north star was figuring out how best to position myself for career growth : how to prepare for new opportunities, handle day-to-day challenges, represent and advocate for my company, and build up my leadership and communication skills, such as presenting and speaking. The program gave me practical ways to strengthen all of that, tapping into my own skills and really leveling up. Looking back, it definitely helped me make real progress.

My mentorship with Nitsa Kalispera was amazing! We were never short on topics to discuss, and she’s just a really great person. From what I heard, the mentor-mentee matching was very thoughtful. We each completed a detailed form about what we wanted from the partnership, so I felt well matched.

My mentor works in supply chain and operations, while it’s not exactly my role, she speaks the same “DSP” (Digital Service Provider) industry language, which was really helpful. Sometimes when you’re talking to someone outside your field, you spend ages just explaining the basics, and it distracts from the real issues. With her, I could get straight to the point, and she really understood my day-to-day challenges.

The whole program ran for six months, with six group sessions and six individual ones. On top of that, there were occasional peer-to-peer catch-ups if we elected to set those up. It was great because people swapped advice and talked through any challenges, especially if someone felt lost and needed a bit of guidance.

We had group sessions led by Miriam Meima, an executive coach from Everyday Leader who’s external to Merlin. She was amazing! Every session started by asking how everyone was feeling, then we blocked out notifications and distractions to get fully present.

The mentee group met with Miriam once a month on video. Sometimes she’d break us out into small groups for exercises, so we’d interact and get to know each other better. We sometimes had guest speakers or themed presentations, which gave us a starting point for our individual meetings.

What really struck me was how similar our struggles were amongst the mentees… Hearing other women share about self-confidence, trust, seeking respect, and realizing I wasn’t alone in those challenges made me feel supported and seen. After each session I felt completely different, energized : the impact was instant. Everything I’d heard about the program turning lives around really rang true!

I was nominated by my manager Paul Petel, Global Head of DSP Editorial & Partnerships. When he heard about the program, he encouraged me to apply because I’d expressed interest in this kind of experience. Honestly, I’d been hoping for an official mentor for ages. I’ve relied a lot on my network for informal mentorships, but this program was so much more structured, which was exactly what I needed. Everything I read about it mentioned how transformative it could be, so I decided to go for it.

In one session, we had a guest expert, an AI specialist and consultant in the music industry. He helps freelancers and companies figure out how AI can automate repetitive tasks and free up time for bigger-picture work. That idea of elevating the “altitude” of your work kept coming up all through the program: not getting stuck in the little things, but finding ways to shift into a more strategic mindset with the help of new tools.

He was clear: AI isn’t supposed to replace people; it’s more like a boost, used to punch up your process, but you’re still the one making the final call, combining it with human influence. It helps you level up, save time, and think bigger. I was skeptical at first since the rest of the program had focused on very human, emotional themes, but it turned out to be fascinating.

Each session had its own focus. For example, we worked on “leadership presence”: what it means, what qualities you admire in leaders, and how you can develop your own influence. It was all about understanding leadership both in theory and practice, and being able to talk about practical situations with your mentor, applying the tools from the workshops to your day-to-day challenges.

One big thing was working on active listening and getting rid of filler words like “um” and “you know.” It’s surprisingly tough, but I started paying attention and realized that confident speakers rarely use those fillers. That tiny detail makes a huge difference in how strong and credible you seem.

Another session was about influence as in genuinely understanding others, showing empathy, and making sure you’re considering everyone’s perspective before putting an idea forward. Calm and clarity were really emphasized, how to present yourself as steady and self-assured.

We also worked on prioritization and handling overwhelm: tracking when you feel most productive and learning to break up email time instead of getting bogged down by your inbox. We used the commonly used analogy with rocks, pebbles, and sand, to figure out your priorities and organize your day around them. I loved the concept of “eating the frog”, tackling that one dreaded task first instead of avoiding it.

What really struck me in the group sessions was how honest and open everyone was. The space felt genuinely safe, so people could be candid and vulnerable. We talked a lot about how women can often be conditioned to be more reserved or not speak up, to avoid rocking the boat.

These sessions were about breaking free from that: realizing when you’re holding yourself back and learning how to build those skills. If speaking up feels uncomfortable, how do you push through and stand your ground with confidence? The whole process was really empowering.

A lot of women got promoted during the program, which was so exciting! In the group sessions, everyone was genuinely happy for each other’s growth, which made it really rewarding.

As for me, we had an inspiring keynote from Ruby Marshand, Chief Awards & Industry Officer for the Recording Academy. She shared her journey in the music industry and encouraged us to bring diversity to the Recording Academy.

Hearing her story was electrifying and even motivated me in my own application. That meant I needed to describe my contributions to the industry, explain where I planned to continue my influence, and ask two professionals from the industry for a recommendation letter.

I can now proudly say that I got accepted!! I have the ability to submit a limited number of artists for grammy consideration, attend Music Advocacy Day, networking events and New York charter meetings. But one of the biggest perks is that I’m now eligible to attend the Grammy Awards ceremony.

My advice would be to put in that extra effort to keep things structured. For example, my mentor gave me a tracker for each session: we’d note the agenda, key takeaways, lingering challenges to revisit next time. It only took maybe 15-20 minutes, but it made every meeting so much more productive and focused. It really helped us track our growth and avoid rehashing the same topics again and again.

Building trust with your mentor is key. We took time to get to know each other, and I made sure to show up prepared and fully engaged. That investment in the relationship paid off and let us have really open, meaningful conversations.

For anyone worried about fitting mentorship into a busy schedule, I’d say it’s actually the best time to do it: a couple of hours per month gives you space to step back, change your perspective, and handle stress much more effectively. Being able to look at everything from a “bird’s eye” view helps prevent burnout and keeps you from feeling blindsided by stress. It’s all about knowing what’s leading you to those feelings, so you can work through them in a smarter way.

The strong point of the program is that there was support at many levels: mentor, peer, and group. We even had meetups timed with conferences so people could get together in person, and that added an extra community vibe!

So we had this halfway point celebration at Indie Week where we got to meet each other in person. It was intimidating walking in not knowing anyone, but the atmosphere was so open and supportive: you could really feel the energy of everyone rooting for each other.

Honestly, I loved connecting with all the other women. I definitely plan to keep in touch, especially with my mentor Nitsa, who’s incredible and to whom I’m incredibly thankful. We really clicked, I learned so much, and I see our relationship lasting far beyond the program.