Kerry Siggins Podcast

This show is about exceptional leadership. Game-changing leadership. Learn from peers, experts, authors, and more on how to be an uber successful leader…one that stands out from the rest. One that inspires others to do great things. One that others want to follow. How does this podcast fit into exceptional leadership? You can only become great at what you do by deliberately creating your future by reflecting on the past and present…what you did well, mistakes you’ve made, and lessons you’ve learned.

Kerry Siggins is the CEO of StoneAge, the global leader in the manufacturing and distribution of high pressure waterjetting tooling and automated equipment. Kerry is also a member of Young President's Organization (YPO) and sits on several boards. She is a sought-after speaker, thought leader, leadership blogger and podcast host.

Episodes

Sep 13, 2022

20 min

What is quiet quitting and what can you do about it?
Quieting quitting is a broadly used and mostly misunderstood term for “not quitting your job but quitting the idea of going above and beyond.”
Quiet quitting is a term that might scare the bejesus out of you if you are a business owner or leader looking to grow your company, beat the competition, and increase your efficiency and productivity. But frankly, it’s just a trendy term for something that’s been happening for a long time: low engagement at work. People are burned out right now, working long hours at jobs that don’t give them meaning, and they are quitting what some call “the hustle culture.”
In this week’s episode of Reflect Forward: Advice From a CEO, I discuss quiet quitting and advise on how you can address it by creating a culture where people find purpose and meaning in their work and head off burnout before it sets in.
I also share my thoughts on why you shouldn’t quiet quit your job and instead use it to fuel your growth, find out what you don’t want to do with your career, muster the courage to talk to your boss, or move on to find a job and company that fills your bucket rather than depletes it.
Question of the Week
This week’s question came from an audience member during a recent keynote speech I gave. She asked, “Kerry, how did you overcome your self-confidence issues?”
Whew, that’s a loaded question but a good one. And the answer comes down to pushing myself outside of my comfort zone to prove to myself that I could in fact, do hard things and bounce back when life punched me in the face. Have a listen to find out more!
Follow me on Instagram or LinkedIn.
Subscribe to my podcast Reflect Forward on iTunes
Or check out my new YouTube Channel, where you can watch full-length episodes of Advice From a CEO!
And if you are looking for a keynote speaker or a podcast guest, click here to book a meeting with me to discuss what you are looking for!

Sep 6, 2022

38 min

Guest: Moshe Popack is a third-generation entrepreneur and the owner and president of YMP Real Estate Management LLC. The company has a market presence in seven states, owns several multifamily properties, office buildings, and assisted living facilities, and has numerous industrial and hotel assets.
Moshe is also proud to host the Common Denominator podcast, which is a forum for optimism, positivity, and human development. Each week Moshe chats with thought leaders, innovators, and pioneers across various fields and – through critical thinking and spirited debate - encourages his audience to find common ground on everyday issues that are current and top of mind.
Additionally, Moshe is a board member of the Florida Development Finance Corporation, the Florida Assisted Living Association, an official member of the South Florida Business Journal Leadership Trust, and a member of the Young Presidents' Association (YPO).
Above all, Moshe is a dedicated family man deeply anchored in his strong values and faith. His wife, Yaffa, and their ten children are the guiding forces behind his quest to promote a more civil, prosperous, and caring world.
Episode in a Tweet: My goal is simply this: I'm going to take on all the headaches, but I'm going to make money last. I'll do the hard work, take out all the risks, and make it easy on my partners. And the hard work paid off. Never be afraid of hard work, and never be afraid of putting others first.
Background: I met Moshe through YPO, and we instantly hit it off because we share similar philosophies of putting people first, building people-centric cultures, and developing deep self-awareness. During the episode, Moshe and I talk about how Moshe built his real estate business in 2008 when the economy was crashing and the real estate market was in shambles. He shares how he used his empathetic nature to build a strong reputation for putting his investors first and build a people-centric organization built on autonomy, self-awareness, and hard work.
Moshe and I talk about why finding meaning and purpose in your work are so important, and he shares how he ensures that each of his ten children feels special and gets one-on-one time with him and his wife, even as they build their real estate empire.
How to find Moshe:
https://moshepopack.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL15Ww4re5AEqN_mW5HgvFA
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpopack/

Aug 30, 2022

18 min

Have you ever disagreed with an employee in a meeting? How did it go? Did it shut things down, or did it spark debate and dialog? The best leaders know how to engage in debate in meetings and know how to push back in meetings skillfully.
To get the most out of your team, you must build a culture where it's safe to disagree and debate in meetings. If you don't, important things will go unsaid, and you'll miss opportunities for insightful dialog and shared decision-making. How you disagree with your employees in meetings will set the tone.
In this week's episode of Reflect Forward, I share a process I use to debate ideas in meetings. It includes the importance of building connections and trust within your team, having awareness about how you are showing up, what your tone sounds like and what messages your body language is sending. I discuss the importance of engaging all team members in the dialog, especially when you disagree with an individual, and then follow up with the employee and team afterward.
Leaders need to debate and disagree with their teammates skillfully. Remember, disagreeing isn't about getting into a fight, being mean, or wanting to win. And disagreements don't have to lead to damaged relationships. Teach your team how to debate and disagree skillfully by role modeling how it's done.
Question of the Week
This week's question came from an audience member at one of my recent keynotes, and he said, "I work for a big company. How can you scale the ability to build a people-centric organization in a large organization?"
Great question, as building a people-centric organization isn't easy. My answer was to focus on teaching middle management what a people-centric organization is and how to construct people-centric teams, and middle management is the key. Listen to find out more!
Follow me on Instagram or LinkedIn.
Subscribe to my podcast Reflect Forward on iTunes
Or check out my new YouTube Channel, where you can watch full-length episodes of Advice From a CEO!
And if you are looking for a keynote speaker or a podcast guest, click here to book a meeting with me to discuss what you are looking for!

Aug 23, 2022

37 min

Guest: Julie Broad is the founder of the self-publishing service firm Book Launchers and Amazon's Overall #1 Best Selling Author. Julie knows what it takes to be a successful self-published author. Through Book Launchers and her popular YouTube channel, BookLaunchers.TV, she helps subject matter experts write, publish, and promote nonfiction books that will boost their business.
Julie's titles include More than Cashflow, which topped Amazon, and The New Brand You, winner of the Beverly Hills Book Award for Best Sales book. Her latest book, Self-Publish & Succeed, captures her leading tactics to write, publish and market a nonfiction book. Her advice for authors and investors has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur.com, Yahoo! Business, CTV, the Toronto Sun, Medium.com and many local and national TV shows.
Episode in a Tweet: If you feel compelled to make an impact with your unique and special message, you have the potential for a book inside you!
Background: Julie Broad is on a mission to help you get your story on paper. She believes that a book is the best way to share your experience, become a thought leader and make an impact. During this episode, Julie and I talk about the effort it takes to author and publish a book and how she helps people become published authors through her company, Book Launchers. We talk about the writing process and the different ways you can go about publishing the book that's inside you.
We also discuss how she started Book Launchers, which stemmed from her failure to get a book deal that she was expecting. After experiencing severe disappointment, she picked herself up, started a company and self-published a bestselling book – all on her own via the self-publishing process.
I appreciate Julie's willingness to share her successes and failures and how she approaches running her company. At the end of the episode, she gives this great advice: "When you go through challenging times, just remember that the challenge will give you a gift that you'll be very grateful for. It will create momentum or innovation or something else great in the future. Don't be afraid of the challenge."
How to find Julie:
www.booklaunchers.com/7steps
www.booklaunchers.tv
julie@booklaunchers.com
www.linkedin.com/in/juliebroad/

Aug 16, 2022

10 min

Persuasion is an essential skill for any leader. You must be able to share a compelling vision and inspire people to change. All without them feeling coerced or manipulated.
In this week’s episode of Reflect Forward: Advice From a CEO, I discuss how to become a more persuasive leader with these five tips, plus some bonus advice!
1. Use positive language: positive language is more inclusive and inspiring than negative language.
2. Know what you are talking about: credibility matters, and if you want to persuade people to see something your way or make a change, you better know what you are asking them to do.
3. Listen carefully: the power of persuasion isn’t only about convincing. It’s about listening, too. People are more likely to be persuaded when they feel seen and heard.
4. Ask questions: when you ask questions, you gain a deeper understanding of peoples’ perceptions, concerns and resistance, which you can then address.
5. Be willing to compromise: give and always take matters when
getting people on board with a new idea or change.
Bonus tip: always follow up with people when persuading them to make changes or get on board with your idea. People often need time to process and might have questions or new feelings of resistance after sleeping on it.
Question of the Week
This week’s question comes from LinkedIn. “Kerry, what is one thing you are doing to ensure StoneAge’s success in facing all the global uncertainty?”
My answer: being agile and responsive. Listen in the find out why.

Aug 9, 2022

54 min

Guest: Eleanor Beaton is the founder of SafiMedia, an education & coaching company for women entrepreneurs. Everyone at SafiMedia is committed to advancing global gender equity through women's entrepreneurship. They are on a mission to double the number of women entrepreneurs who scale past $1M in revenue by 2030.
As the host of the Power + Presence + Position podcast, Eleanor has reached millions of women worldwide, helping them unlock their leadership and entrepreneurial potential. Her work has been published or quoted in publications including The Globe & Mail, The Atlantic, CBC, Chatelaine and more. She has spoken on women's leadership, entrepreneurship and gender equity at conferences throughout North America, Latin America and Europe.
Episode in a Tweet: Economically empowered women entrepreneurs are vital in driving gender equity globally and boosting the economy for everyone.
Background: Many women entrepreneurs struggle to scale their service businesses because they are stuck trading dollars for hours. That's where Eleanor Beaton comes in. She works with over-worked consultants, coaches and service providers and helps them develop into confident CEOs who generate massive revenue, reach and impact. She helps female founders build lucrative businesses that grow through their ASSETS rather than their HUSTLE so they can scale past $1M in annual revenues, reach millions of people with their message, and cut their working hours by 20% or more.
During the show, Eleanor and I discuss her mission to double the number of women founders who SUSTAINABLE scale past $1M in annual revenue by 2030. She explains her Jewel Business Model -- a growth model I espouse and support my clients to create. It's a 30-30-30 model of growth: 30% top-line revenue growth, 30% profit and 30% open, unscheduled time for the founder. Eleanor and I discuss how to fix the broken parts of capitalism and why the health of the global economy depends on developing more female entrepreneurs who are building sustainable businesses.
We also chat about overidentification with parts of ourselves and how doing so has held us back from living a holistic life. We discuss how we've worked through our overidentification issues to embrace all of ourselves fully.
This is an engaging interview that everyone, no matter their gender, will walk away from feeling inspired and joyful. Enjoy!
How to Find Eleanor:
www.eleanorbeaton.com
https://safi-media.com/10khourchecklist
https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanorbeaton/
https://www.instagram.com/eleanorbeaton/

Aug 2, 2022

13 min

We all experience the worry cycle. According to a Psychology Today article, “at least one in four Americans – about 65 million of us—will meet the criteria for an anxiety disorder at some point in our lifetime. Even those individuals whose lives are going well may occasionally worry excessively.” In our best moments, worry can take us down a spiral of fear where our minds play out dramas that leave us feeling powerless, vulnerable, and afraid. In our worst moments, worry can be paralyzing and health-diminishing. Excessive worrying can lead to poor decision-making and deter us from taking life-improving risks.
The crazy-making part of the worry cycle is that 99.9% of the time, the things we fret about never happen. Worry is a timewaster, an energy suck, a diminisher of life quality. Engaging in it rarely changes anything. Unfortunately, it’s hard to stop worrying. Good news, though; there are ways to get out of your brain-spinning story of fear and worry.
During this week’s episode of Reflect Forward, I share tips on breaking the endless worry cycle.
1. Get some exercise
Moving your body is guaranteed to make you feel better. It not only provides a distraction, but exercise also causes your body to release endorphins which are “feel good” hormones that increase happiness, focus, and energy.
2. Challenge the Worry Cycle with Tough Questions
Put your worry into perspective by journaling about it. Write down what you are worried about and why.
3. Power Pose
Amy Cuddy’s powerful TED Talk on Power Posing outlines the benefits of using dominant body postures to gain confidence and reduce anxiety. While there are Power Posing naysayers, I have found doing them to be incredibly helpful when I am anxious, especially when speaking in front of people.
4. Talk it Out
Talking about your worry allows you to process it while gaining perspective and insight. Ask a confidant to listen and offer advice (if appropriate). If that doesn’t work, a therapist can be a good listener and provide you with worry-management tools.
5. Get Some Sleep
Sleep deprivation has been proven to increase anxiety and depression, compounding the “what if” problem. To better handle what life so throws at you, get 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Of course, excessive worrying can cause insomnia, creating a cycle that’s hard to break.
A small amount of worry is healthy but letting it take over your life can lead to major health issues. The good news is that most of what you worry about will never come to be. For those things that do…trust yourself and your capacity to handle whatever life throws at you. You can cope with, survive, and move beyond whatever happens. Believe in yourself and you will be pleasantly surprised.
Question of the Week
My question of the week comes from one of my employees. “Kerry, I know you love to ask questions. What is your favorite question to ask?” Hands down: what do you think? That’s my favorite question.
Tune in to find out why.
Thanks for listening, and please like, share, rate, write a review, or subscribe to my podcast. It always helps with the algorithms.
Follow me on Instagram or LinkedIn.
Subscribe to my podcast Reflect Forward on iTunes
Or check out my new YouTube Channel, where you can watch full-length episodes of Advice From a CEO!
And if you are looking for a keynote speaker or a podcast guest, click here to book a meeting with me to discuss what you are looking for!

Jul 26, 2022

38 min

Guest: Dr. Santor Nishizaki is the founder and CEO of Mulholland Consulting Group, whose mission is to help organizations increase generational awareness and create a happier workplace. His work on Millennials and Gen Z in the workplace has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Psychology Today, the Boston Globe, Yahoo Finance, MSN.com, CNN.com, SHRM Blog, College Recruiter, and elsewhere. He also serves as a Ph.D. professor of Global Leadership and Change at Pepperdine University and several universities in Southern California, where he has instructed hundreds of Gen Zers in leadership, diversity in the workplace, marketing, management, and entrepreneurship. His experience in the corporate world includes project management for Walt Disney Imagineering and supply chain management at a NASA center.
Episode in a Tweet: Working with Gen Z will allow you to keep the competitive advantage in shaping the future of “work” for the newest set of top talent in the twenty-first century.
Background: Generation Z has arrived in the working world and is here with their own workplace expectations. If employers intend to recruit top talent, they must be ready to meet the unique challenges this vibrant generation will bring to the workforce. And this is what Santor Nishizake and I talk about during this week’s episode of Refeclt Forward.
I met Santor through our publisher, Amplify Publishing, and we immediately hit it off. I appreciate his thoughtful research on what Gen Zers want from the workplace. During our conversation, Santor tells us how leaders can motivate and inspire this altruistic and socially motivated generation.
Santor believes that remarkable and innovative results will occur by leading each person based on their strengths and empowering your team to use them. As more Millennials move into leadership roles and Gen Z’ers enter the workplace, the emphasis on altruism and doing good in the world will continue to make it a better place than when we got here. I am confident you’ll learn much from this interview, and I hope you enjoy it!
How to find Santor:
https://workingwithgenzbook.com/
https://drsantor.com/podcast/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/zillennial-leader-podcast/id1626338104

Jul 19, 2022

19 min

As I've developed the StoneAge employee-owned culture and grown our company, I've learned that the best kind of culture is one where employees share an ownership mindset. And that's what we will talk about during this week's episode of Reflect Forward: Advice From a CEO
When you build a culture of ownership, you will drive results. Why? Because when people know that they have a say in their daily work and the company's direction, they feel more empowered to do great work and be more invested in your organization's success.
Here are five ways to cultivate an ownership mindset
1. Exhibit the Ownership Mindset Yourself
Leaders can't expect their employees to show up with an ownership mindset if they themselves aren't. You must own all your actions, decisions, mistakes, attitude, and behaviors.
2. Teach People How to Give and Receive Feedback
Cultures that exhibit ownership thinking are also cultures of feedback. Teach people how to give direct, helpful feedback. Model feedback skills by asking for it from people on your team, and when you get tough feedback, handle it with grace and gratitude.
3. Share Financial Performance
If you want employees to act like owners, you must treat them like owners. And as a business owner, you need to possess financial acumen. So share your company or departmental performance.
4. Give Autonomy
If you create a culture where people are paid what they are worth and help them direct their lives and work, you'll inspire ownership thinking.
5. Teach People How to Resolve Conflict
Model what conflict resolution looks like by leaning into uncomfortable conversations and helping your team members navigate issues and look for positive outcomes.
If you teach your employees the ownership mindset, you'll see great engagement and improved performance. You can make progress today by implementing a few of these practices.

Jul 12, 2022

42 min

Guest: Barbara Gormally is a professional life coach based in Durango, CO. After a long career in HR and Training and Development, Barbara attended several coaching schools to retool her line of work. She created Studio Me Unlimited x9, LLC and has worked in the field of life coaching for 18 years to support self-mastery exploration by individuals or workplace organizations. Several personal experiences led Barbara to understand that an authentic and vibrant relationship with yourself first will allow for more grounded experiences during the ease and chaos of life and work. The profound yet practical self-development architecture that guided Barbara is The Enneagram, which she uses as the foundational tool in her coaching practice.
For individuals or businesses, the long career Barbara had in related fields under the large umbrella of Training and Development allows her to bring depth and breadth to her coaching clients, thus their opportunity to receive sustainable coaching results. Barbara values human capacity and enjoys her role as a catalyst for self-development so that people can employ their exquisite human capacity. Wise and vibrant humanness is her vocation and passion.
Episode in a Tweet: Combine the use of the Enneagram with executive coaching in your business to maximize results and help employees gain self-awareness, self-confidence, and tools to handle stress.
Background: I’ve known Barbara for well over a decade now. She was the first coach I hired to help me understand myself better, including diving into my addiction and learning how to overcome my triggers and how to show up as the best version of myself. She has been pivotal in my leadership journey, both early on as a CEO and today, helping many of my employees develop self—awareness and practical communication skills.
In this episode of Reflect Forward, Barbara and I talk about the power of life coaching in business and why the Enneagram is such an impactful tool. She shares how her coaching method can help people unlock their potential through deep self-exploration. We talk about StoneAge has implemented her style of coaching into our strategy and the results we’ve seen from it.
At the end of the interview, Barbara shares this gem: “Leaders should never forget that their employees are dealing with some sort of grief and trauma on a daily basis. When they can acknowledge this and work with it, they have a better chance of moving forward.” I love this, and it’s so true. Leading from a place of compassion and understanding that life is messy and people need support will help you build a strong team and strong culture. And individuals will be seen and heard – something we all want and need. Enjoy!
How to find or contact Barbara
bg2connect@gobrainstorm.net
https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-gormally-ma-cdcp-7994b011/

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