Kerry Siggins Podcast

Address Leadership Challenges by Being Nimble w/ Roger Zalneraitis

Guest: Roger Zalneraitis has learned how to be a CEO through "trial by fire." And what's gotten him through tough challenges is being nimble. Roger is the CEO of MODSTREET, a manufacturing company that build outdoor parklets for restaurants and city municipalities. Before joining MODSTREET, he spent over 15 years in community and economic development. Roger utilizes his economic development experience to help MODSTREET's clients shape their communities, making them more outdoor-friendly.
Roger holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Notre Dame and a Master's degree in Urban Planning from Virginia Tech.
Episode in a Tweet: One of the biggest challenges of being a first-time CEO is scaling your expectations and skills as the company grows and matures.
Quick Background: Roger Zalneraitis is a first-time CEO determined to build his company and become a leader worth following. After joining MODSTREET in early 2021, he's learned just how hard yet rewarding it is to scale a startup. During our conversation, Roger shares how being nimble has helped him overcome the challenges that startups often face. He candidly tells us how he's grown in his role and how learning by making mistakes has made him resilient.
I've known Roger for many years and hired him as the Executive Director for the La Plata Economic Development Alliance back in 2011 when I was the board president. I've watched Roger grow as a person and leader and was thrilled when he and the co-founders of MODSTREET asked me to join their Board of Directors.
My favorite line from Roger's interview is this – "Some of the things that I thought were a challenge when I first started are things I look at now and say, "whatever!" I look forward to new challenges because it means I'm growing as a leader."
I can relate. I rarely get worked up about much these days, and it comes from dealing with difficult situations repeatedly. The more adversity you overcome, the less adverse things feel over time.
Roger leaves us with excellent advice at the show's end, reminding us that we don't have to have all the answers as leaders. We don't have to be the smartest person in the room. Instead, we should lead with humility because that's what makes us leaders worth following.
You can find out more about MODSTREET here: https://modstreet.co/
You can find Roger on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roger-zalneraitis-1899045/

4 Ways to Use Intuition to Make Better Decisions

How does your intuition play into decision making and how do you leverage it to make better decisions? We talk about this and more in this week’s episode of Reflect Forward: Advice From a CEO.
Psychologists define intuition as "immediate understanding, knowledge, or awareness, derived neither from perception nor reasoning." It's an automatic, effortless feeling that quickly motivates you to act.
We all know there are two parts to the mind, conscious and subconscious. The conscious mind is where we make rational decisions, and intuition is all about your subconscious. When you make intuitive decisions, you are relying on your subconscious experiences.
Our brains are powerful information processing machines. As we go through life, we store information in our subconscious, just in case we need it for future decision-making. To access this information when needed the most, the brain files is as pattern schemes that make it easier to make sense of our thoughts. Then the brain compares what's happening in the moment to past experiences, knowledge and memories.
So, when you're making a "gut decision," it's not based just on feeling or emotion but on the logic created from past experience. You just don't realize it in the moment, which is why it feels like you are making a gut decision.
If you are like me, your gut shares just as much info with you as your rational mind does. These feelings show up as "I know this is the right decision in my heart." Or "I have a pit in my stomach over this decision."
During the show, I explain four ways to use intuition to make better decisions:
1. Be Curious about what you are feeling. Heart vs. head. Where is this feeling come from?
2. Draw on past experiences: intuition is pattern recognition
3. Anticipate different outcomes
4. Try the snap judgment test. On a piece of paper, write a question you're struggling with, such as, "Will accepting the promotion make me happy?" Then write "yes or no" below the question and walk away. After a few hours, or the following day, come back to the paper and immediately circle the answer that feels right to you.
Question of the Week
This week's question comes from a friend who asked me, “I have to have a hard conversation with one of my employees. What’s one thing I can do to ensure that I deliver it well?”
My advice was to be really clear on the outcome she wanted. I encouraged her to picture a positive result, then plan her communication accordingly.
For example, if she wanted the person to turn things around and remain on the team, she should approach the conversation so that the person knows she believes in them and is going to help them get back on track. She should be prepared to brainstorm solutions and offer to coach them. She should be honest, direct, and kind when delivering the feedback, and the employee should feel like they have a plan of action to turn things around.
Listen to the full episode for more!

Leading with Empathy and Humility w/ Jessica Matlock

Guest: Jessica Matlock is LaPlata Electric Association’s (LPEA) first female CEO in the co-op’s 80-year history. Before this role, Matlock served as a member of the executive leadership team for 13 years at the nation’s 11th largest public utility (Snohomish Public Utility District). In her last role – Assistant General Manager of Customer, Energy Services, and External Relations – she directed customer engagement, legislative and policy strategy, and the development and implementation of the utility’s solar, electric vehicle, and demand response programs.
Prior to this, Jessica worked as an energy expert for the U.S. Senate and held numerous positions with the Bonneville Power Administration. She has served in various board and leadership positions with the Large Public Power Council, National Hydropower Association, American Public Power Association, the Alliance to Save Energy, Washington State Clean Technology Alliance, and GridForward.
Episode in a Tweet: Leadership is about being empathetic and knowing that you’re not always right, and you must have the courage to admit you are wrong and then course correct.
Quick Background: Jessica is a dear friend of mine and one of the most respected leaders in the power generation industry. Jessica recently founded and is the co-Chair of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s Women in Power professional network. This group convenes women working in public power throughout the country to share ideas, develop professional connections, and support female advancement in a predominantly male industry. Let’s just put it this way; she’s a total rockstar.
During our conversation, Jessica keeps it real. She shares how she gets herself back on track when she loses her way. Jessica talks about juggling what’s fair with the reality of constraints and tradeoffs in both the industry and the workplace. She is candid about how her team gives her feedback and how she’s learning how to respond to it with gratitude and action.
Jessica also gives us an inside look at the innovative ways she looks at bringing traditional and renewable power to rural Colorado. She’s truly a remarkable leader, and I’m confident you’ll enjoy this interview.

Five Ways to Stop Being Complacent

In this week's episode of Reflect Forward: Advice From a CEO, we talk about the pitfalls of complacency and how to jumpstart yourself so you don't allow for mediocrity. If you allow yourself to be complacent or mediocre you won't drive success. Being mediocre won't build trust and respect. If you are complacent, you'll be left behind. You have to want and expect more from yourself and your team. Try new things, hold yourself accountable, ask for feedback, and don't drink your own Kool-Aid.
Question of the week comes from a follower on LinkedIn who said, "I've been told that I come across as aggressive in meetings and that people are afraid to speak up. I don't think I am being aggressive. People are just too sensitive. What should I do"
I love this question! Be sure to tune in to find out what I told him!

Transform Your Company Through Mindfulness w/ Brenda Jacobsen

Guest: Brenda Jacobsen, President of Mindful Communications, is an accomplished business leader in the health, wellness, and healthcare spaces, with deep expertise in scaling, multi-state business operations, and M&A. The former CEO of Lakeside Medical Centers and Life Cross Training, Brenda’s career has focused on improving the health and wellness of workforces globally, focusing first on physical wellness and now on wellbeing. Brenda is a sought-after keynote speaker and thought leader on leadership, mindfulness, and building resilience.
Brenda serves on the board of directors for LifeXT and Mindful Communications. She has previously served on the board of the Homeless Empowerment Project, the National Association of Occupational Health Professionals, and the Friends of the Art Museum of the Americas. She currently serves as the Network Chair for the Young President’s Organization’s (YPO) Women’s Business Network, an organization dedicated to elevating the global profile of female leaders to be more impactful, more extraordinary, and more connected.
Episode in a Tweet: As employers and leaders, we must be willing to lean into, support and think creatively and innovatively about how to help people be their whole selves at work.
Quick Background: Brenda Jacobsen sees mindfulness as a unique and profound approach to social change and our work as a social innovation initiative. As the President of Mindful Communications, her mission is to bring mindfulness into the mainstream, and it presents a historic opportunity to transform society. Brenda and I discuss how Mindful Communications brings mindfulness coaching into the workplace through their LifeXT program during our conversation. Brenda shares how LifeXT combines digital tools with customizable and scalable professional coaching for a unique program that increases employee engagement and optimizes wellbeing and performance.
Brenda and I also discuss the need for companies to invest in benefits such as mindfulness coaching and other mental health programs to remain competitive. Brenda makes a case for leaning into our roles as leaders and finding innovative and creative ways to support employees who are struggling mentally and emotionally.
Finally, Brenda wraps up the conversation by explaining social innovation and why leaders should create a company and culture that makes the world a better place.
To find Brenda, visit her LinkedIn page here.
To find Mindful Communications, visit their website here.

How to Build An Inclusive Team

"Inclusivity means not 'just we're allowed to be there,' but we are valued. I've always said: smart teams will do amazing things, but truly diverse teams will do impossible things." ~ Claudia Brind-Woody – Executive at IBM
I love this quote from Claudia Brind-Woody. If you want to build an exceptional team and company, you must create an environment where everyone feels included, valued, and as they belong. Because diverse and inclusive teams go on to do impossible things.
But what does belonging actually mean? And how do you create a team that is inclusive and encourages belonging?
Nobody wants to feel like an outsider on a team, but unfortunately, many do. I can promise that you have people on your team who don't feel like they belong — who absolutely feel like outsiders. Leaders need to address belonging to create a much more inclusive, safe space for everyone on their team.
In this week's episode of Reflect Forward: Advice From a CEO, I discuss why it's important to create a sense of belonging on your team and how to go about doing it.
The first step is to define what belonging means to you, your team and your company. Belonging means different things to different people. Survey your team to find out what belonging looks and feels like to everyone on your team so that you can find common language and meaning.
For some contact, the Cambridge Dictionary defines belonging as "a feeling of being happy or comfortable as part of a particular group and having a good relationship with the other members of the group because they welcome you and accept you."
The next thing you need to do is get to know people on your team and help them get to know each other. When you take the time to understand people and their life stories, you build deeper connections and create opportunities for understanding. As Berne Brown so articulately says, "Never underestimate the power of being seen."
Another important aspect of belonging comes in the form of giving feedback. It takes trust and respect to deliver meaningful and helpful feedback. And there is nothing kinder than saying, "I care enough to share this feedback with you." Giving and receiving feedback creates opportunities for meaningful dialog, deeper understanding and a sense of belonging.
Always lead with gratitude. As often as you can, say, "Thank you. I really appreciate you. I liked your idea and the different point of view you brought to the conversation."
Finally, create team operating principles that define the team's purpose and articulate the behaviors and attributes required to succeed. Operating principles create clarity, alignment, and healthy teams – but only when team members hold themselves and each other accountable to living the principles.
Question of the Week
This week's question comes from a fellow YPOer who asked, "Kerry, how do you always stay so focused?" Listen to my tips on staying focused and getting things done.
I talk about my friend Chris Schembra and his Gratitude Experience in the episode. You can find out more here.

Your Brand Is the Stories People Share About You When You’re Not in the Room w/ Gabrielle Dolan

Guest: Gabrielle Dolan is a master storyteller and teaches executives how to use stories to connect with customers, partners, and employees. She is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, educator and author, Gabrielle’s extensive client list includes Telstra, EY, Accenture, VISA, Australia Post, National Australia Bank, Amazon, Vodafone and the Obama Foundation.
She holds a master’s degree in management and leadership from Swinburne University, an associate diploma in education and training from the University of Melbourne and is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education.
Gabrielle is also the bestselling author of Real Communication: How to Be You and Lead True, a finalist in the Australian Business Leadership Book Awards for 2019. Her most recent book is called Magnetic Stories: Connect with Customers and Engage with Employees with Brand Storytelling.
Episode in a Tweet: The ability to share your ideas or instructions in an impactful way is vital for leaders and executives alike. To be an effective leader, you must become an effective storyteller.
Quick Background: Gabrielle Dolan knows how to tell stories. In fact, it was while working in a senior leadership role at National Australia Bank that she realized the power of storytelling in effective business communication. Since that epiphany, Gabrielle has found her calling as a global thought leader on strategic storytelling and real communication.
In this week’s episode of Reflect Forward, Gabrielle and I discuss the importance of storytelling in business. She shares the five types of business stories and how to use them effectively. We discuss why leaders are intimidated to tell personal stories and the importance of getting a bit vulnerable. We talk about how stories motivate people and why you should always make your employees and customers the hero of your story.
This is a great episode, and you’ll love learning how to be a better storyteller with Gabrielle.
How to find Gabrielle: https://gabrielledolan.com/

How to Be An Emotionally Strong Leader

Have you ever wondered how some leaders breeze through tough situations, never appearing stressed? It all comes down to being emotionally strong.
All leaders must deal with stress, but the very best leaders handle the ups and downs with ease, letting things slide off their backs with resiliency, grace, and grit.
How do these leaders get to the place where stress doesn’t consume them day in and day out? That’s the topic of this week’s Advice from a CEO on Reflect Forward. Because if you want to be an executive leader, especially in the C-Suite, you’ve got to be able to manage stress well.
During the episode, I share my top tips, which include:
Prioritize Yourself
I know this is a foreign concept to so many people, and it may sound selfish, but it is not. If you are not taking care of yourself, you cannot care for other people. If you want to be an exceptional leader, you can’t just push and push yourself. Constant pushing leads to burnout and stress and increases the chance of reacting poorly to a stressful situation.
Be Clear About What You Want
So often, people can’t make changes in their lives because they don’t know what they want. If you don’t know what you want, it’s hard to say no to things. And when too much piles up on your plate, it’s hard to manage stress. Because I know what I want out of my life, I can prioritize the things that are important to me and say no to everything else, which builds up my emotional strength.
Focus, Focus, Focus
The only way to manage stress and increase your emotional strength is to focus, and I recommend using a tool that helps you remain focused on your most important tasks. To handle stress well, you need to ensure that the quality of your working hours is high. When you feel like you are working on the right things, you can better handle curveballs when they come your way because you can deal with them and then get back on track quickly.
Stop Feeling Sorry For Yourself
This piece of advice may sound harsh, but it’s true. If you want to be a leader worth following, you can’t feel sorry for yourself. Your job is hard and thankless, and it comes with great responsibility. You have to let things slide off your back. Your job is to lead, so lead with confidence. Remain even-keeled. Use my mantra always to be cool, calm and collected.
Stop Ruminating
The number one cause of stress for leaders is rumination – where we just can’t stop thinking about a negative situation. We lose sleep replaying conversations or imagining all the terrible things that will happen tomorrow. To be an emotionally strong leader, you must break this habit. Go for a walk. Write down what you want to say or how you want to handle the situation to get it out of your head and on paper. Read a book to distract yourself. Mediate or do breathing exercises. Talk it through with your spouse or a trusted friend. But don’t let yourself spin – not if you want to manage your stress well and move through tough situations easier.
What Are Your Triggers
Finally, learn about what triggers you. I began working with a coach who helped me understand what triggered me and why it changed my life and leadership style. Why? Because I could stop myself from getting upset because I understood my emotional response. The best way to stop reacting and start responding appropriately – cool, calm and collected – is to know why you are getting aggravated and then have the tools to control yourself in the moment, breaking your patterns and increasing your emotional strength.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help
Great leaders delegate and ask for help. But many think that doing these things is a sign of weakness, and the truth is, it’s just the opposite. Emotionally strong leaders are not afraid to ask for help or delegate tasks off their plates.
Question of the Week
This week's question comes from one of my employees who asks, “How do I get better at giving presentations?” I share my tips, so be sure to listen to the end!

Work Hard for An Idea You Believe In w/ Kara Goldin

Guest: Kara Goldin is the Founder of Hint, Inc., best known for its award-winning Hint water, the leading unsweetened flavored water.
She has received numerous accolades, including being named EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 Northern California and one of InStyle’s 2019 Badass 50. Previously, Kara was VP of Shopping Partnerships at America Online. She hosts the podcast The Kara Goldin Show. Her first book, Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters, was released October 2020 and is now a WSJ and Amazon Best Seller. Kara lives in the Bay Area with her family.
Episode in a Tweet: Work for an idea that you believe in. Overcome your doubts and doubters. Build a company that changes lives.
Quick Background: In this week’s episode of Reflect Forward, Kara Goldin, Founder of Hint, talks about what it was like to build Hint, taking it from an idea in her kitchen to the superstar, mission driven brand that it is today. Kara shares how she overcame adversity and figured out how to compete in the gigantic beverage industry. We talk about the divisive marketing branding companies use to lure consumers into to drinking sugary beverages and how she built Hint about the motto “Drink Water, Not Sugar.”
Kara and I also talk about employee-ownership. All of Hint’s employees are owners – a near and dear topic to me as StoneAge is an employee-owned company, too. Kara discusses how powerful it is when people believe in the mission of the company and how it translates to success when they have equity in the company.
Finally, Kara shares what she has learned during her 16-year leadership journey at Hint: what it takes to bounce back from rejection and setbacks, the impact you can make on peoples’ lives, and how to grow a company from nothing to a 250-person mission-based brand that people love.
You can find Kara here:
https://karagoldin.com/
https://www.instagram.com/karagoldin/
https://www.facebook.com/KaraGoldin/
https://twitter.com/karagoldin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/karagoldin/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/karagoldin/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-kara-goldin-show/id1327208777
https://www.drinkhint.com/

Advice From a CEO: Staying Calm When Receiving Hard to Hear Information

Write Up Form Staying Calm
In this week’s episode of Reflect Forward: Advice From a CEO, we’re talking about how to stay calm when you receive challenging information — perhaps something you didn’t want to hear or deal with — or feedback that is uncomfortable. It’s not easy to absorb hard to hear news at the moment. But how we handle ourselves in these situations will either make it safe for the person to speak up or shut down.
During a recent speaking event on having candid, courageous conversations, a woman brought up a situation where having conversations about compensation with your employees triggered her. She had always been on the side of self-advocation, but now that she’s in a leadership role, her team members are asking her for raises, and she’s not always comfortable with what to do or say in the moment.
I gave her this advice:
1. Say thank you. It’s hard for people to have candid conversations, and you should always commend bravery, even if it triggers you.
2. Don’t feel like you have to respond right at that moment. It’s okay to say, “I need some time to think about what you’ve said. I’ll follow up with you tomorrow.” Just make sure you follow up.
3. Remember that we are all humans first and foremost. It’s not your employee sitting in front of you delivering hard to hear information. A fellow human being is most likely feeling anxious and intimated, and how you react will make them feel seen and heard or dismissed and regretful.
The question of the week asks, “I gave a peer some tough feedback, and as I was delivering it, I could tell she was unhappy by the look on her face. What should I do?”
First, don’t assume that you know what she’s thinking. You are projecting your interpretation of a facial expression onto her, but you genuinely don’t know what’s she’s feeling. Rather than project, address it objectively and say, “I noticed a look cross your face, and I don’t want to misinterpret it. Did my feedback land wrong?
Second, don’t backpedal or soften the message if the message isn’t landing well. Often, people assume that it’s their content that needs to change. Instead, understand that receiving tough feedback always stings, no matter how tough the person may seem. They are allowed to let it sting – they are entitled to having feelings about what you are saying. But that doesn’t mean you should change your message. Speak your truth with kindness and compassion but be direct. Clarity is kindness. Give them space to process, but don’t backpedal.
Finally, follow up. If you are worried about how the person took your feedback, the only way to know for sure is to ask her. Following up shows you value the relationship, and it allows the two of you to talk about the situation once she’s had a chance to process it, and it allows for follow-up questions and closure.
To hear more of Kerry's Advice From a CEO, visit her website or YouTube channel.
https://kerrysiggins.com/podcast/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUkUm5NWErHdI2o-v9jqB0A/videos