Kristin: 0:00

Leaders with a CEO mindset tend to think big picture instead of getting stuck in the day-to-day. They make decisions rooted in purpose and data, not emotion or distraction. They say no to good opportunities so they can say yes to great opportunities. Welcome to Elite Achievement, the podcast for high-performing business owners and leaders. I'm Kristen Burke, your coach and host. Together, we'll unpack the stories, mindsets and habits of top achievers and explore how to turn ambition into remarkable results. If you are ready to maximize your potential and elevate your success, let's make it happen. When was the last time you paused to really evaluate what's working and what's not working in your business? If you're leading at a high level, it's easy to move from one goal to the next without stopping to reflect, but those moments of honest evaluation are often where the most strategic growth happens. In this episode of Elite Achievement, I'm sharing three lessons I learned in Q1 that shaped how I'm running my business this year, from strengthening my CEO mindset to staying consistent with business development, to navigating a key team transition with clarity and intention. If you're ready to lead the rest of this quarter and the second half of the year with more focus and alignment, this episode is, for you, the first lesson I learned this year was the importance of strengthening my CEO mindset, and when I talk about a CEO mindset, I am thinking it's the ability to lead your business with clarity and strategy and long-term vision. A CEO mindset also means making decisions based on alignment, not urgency. It's about prioritizing what moves your business forward, protecting your energy and confidently setting boundaries. Leaders with a CEO mindset tend to think big picture instead of getting stuck in the day-to-day. They make decisions rooted in purpose and data, not emotion or distraction. They say no to good opportunities so they can say yes to great opportunities. They stay focused on their most valuable work, delegating and streamlining wherever possible, and they protect their time to think, plan and lead, not just do. In the first quarter, I prioritized my thinking time through weekly Friday rituals, calls with my own business coach, month-end goal reviews and a focused quarterly reflect and plan session. This time gave me the space to make strategic, aligned decisions. That strengthened my CEO mindset.

Kristin: 2:54

The practice of making space allowed me to lead with more intention and clarity, which resulted in three strategic shifts in my business. One I shifted my marketing focus from Instagram to LinkedIn. For years, I tracked Instagram metrics like follower count, engagement and profile activity. But the truth is those numbers didn't lead to clients. In contrast, I've gained multiple clients from LinkedIn and know no. That's where my ideal audience tends to be the most active. Professionally, my ideal audience is on Instagram, but they're likely using Instagram the same way I am to relax, stay connected with friends and family and maybe watch a couple of funny reels. So I gave myself the permission to let go of the pressure to grow on Instagram. We haven't stopped posting, but I stopped making it my priority. I started measuring more meaningful activity on LinkedIn, like followers or connections. You know the comments I'm making and this decision didn't happen in a moment. It came from looking at my data, reflecting on where results were coming from and asking myself where should I be focused? Two I stay grounded in my core offers. At the start of the year, I made the intentional decision to stay committed to what I know works Private coaching, facilitating study groups and leading planning days. These are the offers I enjoy delivering, that consistently create results for my clients and that align with how I want to grow my business.

Kristin: 4:33

It takes confidence to stay focused, the confidence to silence the noise of what all of the other coaches are doing. It's being able to scroll through LinkedIn and, when I see a coach launching a new product or growing quickly or getting attention, not letting that derail my focus. It's also about resisting the urge to measure my success against someone else's highlight reel. This is a mindset game. It's not about ignoring what I see other people doing. It's about how I respond when I see what other people are doing. So I have a question for you how do you respond when you see what others are doing? Are you confident and grounded in what you're building? Staying committed to what I know works also requires the confidence to resist the pressure to diversify, and this is all about strategy and restraint. It's the belief that what I'm already doing is enough, even when the market or my own ambition tempts me to add more. It's not just about ignoring shiny ideas. It's about evaluating opportunities through my lens and having the discipline to say no even to good ones, because they're not aligned.

Kristin: 5:42

This happened this morning, the morning I'm recording the podcast. I was having a great conversation with my coach and we were coming up with all these awesome ideas and came up with a workshop that was similar to a free workshop I launched last year, and I had to say no, no to doing this in Q2 because of the other priorities we had outlined. I think Kristen, in past years would have felt the pressure to say yes and to do it and to figure it out, and that would have taken me away from what I already outlined as my quarterly priorities. Also earlier this year, I had a call with a businesswoman who I trust and admire and she invited me to collaborate on one of her programs. At first I thought awesome, yes. But after slowing down and asking myself more questions, I realized that saying yes to this collaboration would pull me away from what I want to focus on this year.

Kristin: 6:39

This conversation reminded me that staying true to what you know works requires confidence, the confidence to believe that depth and consistency are more powerful than doing more. It's choosing mastery over expansion and leaning into the discipline of consistency, refinement and repetition. This kind of confidence doesn't just happen. It has taken years of intentional reflection through my weekly Friday ritual, monthly month and goal reviews and quarterly planning sessions. It's come from reviewing my client testimonials and learning to own the value I bring as a coach and aligning with what genuinely energizes me. Not what someone else says should energize me energizes me, not what someone else says should energize me. If you've been questioning your own offers or feeling the pull to do more, pause and reflect. Ask yourself where are my best results coming from? What do my clients say about working with me? What do I love delivering? And you can use the answers to these questions to gain clarity and build the confidence to go deeper, not wider. And three the other strategic shift I made this year is that I evolved the Elite Achievement Podcast and I hope, if you've been listening to the podcast this year, that you are enjoying the Evolved Podcast and especially that you're liking the Elite Insights.

Kristin: 8:07

I decided to evolve this podcast because I have honestly gone back and forth with the podcast over the past year, trying to reconcile how much I enjoy creating it with whether or not it's worth the time and energy. Okay, I love the process of podcasting and learning and connecting with other guests, but I haven't seen a lot of growth in downloads recently, which made me question whether podcasting is still a top business priority. I started this podcast early in my business journey as a way to give back and impact others. Much in the same way, podcasts impacted me when I was considering leaving my corporate role to build my business. It started as a passion project, a way to share what I was learning, connect with incredible guests and serve people. I might not get the chance to meet in a coaching relationship, but over time, podcasting has become a key part of my brand and credibility. It reinforces my expertise, supports my outreach and helps people understand who I am and how I work. So as I was doing my reflections, I had to shift my mindset and stop questioning whether the podcast was worth it and start asking a better question how can I make this work smarter for my business? And that's when I got clear on a few changes that needed to happen so I can continue podcasting and it supports you and it supports my business goals. The changes meant expanding the focus of the podcast to speak more broadly to elite achievers and high-performing business owners the type of clients I love working with. Aligning content with my outreach strategy so episodes can support connection, visibility and client growth, and launching elite insights. These are the shorter solo episodes that are more tactical, efficient to produce and deeply valuable to my audience.

Kristin: 10:04

This wasn't a flashy relaunch. It was more of a quiet strategic evolution in my podcast, but it's helping me stay aligned with my business and my goals. If there's something in your business that you're wrestling with, ask yourself is this still part of my bigger vision? If yes, maybe it's not time to give it up. Maybe it's time to evolve it. What would it look like to keep going, but to do it differently, more strategically or in a way that better supports where you're going? Each of these strategic shifts evolving my podcast, staying grounded in my core offers and shifting marketing focus to LinkedIn Each of these shifts came from making space to think and lead like a CEO. They weren't reactive, they were intentional, and yet they've brought more clarity, alignment and focus into how I run my business. Strengthening my CEO mindset isn't about doing more. It's about leading with purpose, protecting my energy and making decisions that move the business forward in a meaningful way. And while this mindset is foundational, consistent execution still matters. And this leads me to my second lesson I've learned this year, and that is that outreach and business development still drive growth. Now, this isn't a new lesson.

Kristin: 11:30

I've talked about the importance of outreach in several of my past Lessons, learned podcasts but this is one of those lessons that keeps resurfacing, and for good reason. Outreach is the activity that fuels growth. It's how we create opportunity. It's how we build relationships, get new clients and grow our business. But it's one of the first things many business owners want to avoid. Especially early on, outreach can feel uncomfortable and vulnerable. You don't want to bother people. You're not sure what to say, you're afraid of hearing no or, worse, getting ignored. But even as your business grows, outreach doesn't go away. If anything, it becomes more strategic and just as important. If you stop doing outreach, your business stops growing. It's not always immediate, but the slowdown eventually shows up in fewer conversations, fewer proposals and fewer opportunities. That's why this lesson continues to earn its spot.

Kristin: 12:36

In my Lessons Learned episodes. The theme of outreach came up. During multiple Friday ritual entries. I wrote things like keep up business development. You never know who will say yes or no. The best way to reduce anxiety is to generate new business, and when you're not consistently doing outreach, every no hits harder. Losing a client feels more personal. You start to feel stuck, anxious or like things are slipping. But when you're actively creating new opportunities through outreach, you stay in motion and that momentum builds confidence. It reminds you that growth is still within your control.

Kristin: 13:18

What I've experienced is that when I start increasing my outreach, unexpected opportunities begin to surface. In fact, as I was preparing for this episode, someone reached out to me for an exploratory conversation, and on the day I'm recording this episode, one of my clients reached out and wants to talk about expanded services. Here's the kicker Just a couple weeks ago, I experienced about an $80,000 swing in my year-end projections, and this swing could have left me paralyzed. Instead, I processed the emotion of it, but then I bounced back and I created a plan, a plan for how I was going to bring that revenue back and close the gap between the goal I set and the goal I want to achieve. And that plan included a robust outreach plan. And that plan included a robust outreach plan. You know there have been several times this year where I've talked with my peer accountability partner about how consistency and outreach leads to predictability and results.

Kristin: 14:20

We often remind each other how easy it is to talk about what we want to do and how important it is to actually do the thing. In a recent coaching call with a woman who is wanting to grow her business, I saw this temptation to avoid outreach show up when I asked her her next step, in other words, what she was going to get done between now and our next call. She told me she was planning to ask multiple people for feedback on her website. That's not outreach, that's preparation, that's planning and, honestly, it might be a form of hiding. She probably didn't need more feedback. She needs more conversations, invitations, real connections, and I shared that feedback with her. But this was such a clear reminder that we all do this. We all avoid the uncomfortable work in favor of the easier work that feels more productive. So if you're building a business, leading a team or scaling your impact, outreach isn't optimal. It's how growth happens, but it has to be intentional, and here are some recommendations I have for making outreach sustainable and effective.

Kristin: 15:38

One use a repeatable process. Don't rely on motivation. Motivation comes and goes. Instead, create a system that guides you when you're reaching out and you know who you're reaching out to, when you're reaching out and why. Your process is what makes outreach consistent, even when your calendar fills up with other things. Two, track real outreach activity. The prep work doesn't count. It's important, it helps you do the outreach, but it's the conversations, it's the invitations, it's the messages that you're sending. Those are the actions that lead to results. Three treat business development like a client meeting. If a client had a meeting on your calendar, you wouldn't skip it. Hold your outreach time to the same standard.

Kristin: 16:25

Four start with manageable goals but show up consistently. You don't have to go big every week, but you do have to stay visible. Momentum builds from consistent action, not big sprints, but those big sprints can help you jumpstart the momentum. Just don't do one big sprint stop and then expect the next big sprint to solve your problem. And five catch yourself when you're avoiding the uncomfortable. Reworking your website or designing a lead magnet or practicing your language could feel productive, but it's not the same as putting yourself out there. Recognize when you're avoiding the work that actually moves the needle. So if you have an opportunity to be more consistent with business outreach, I encourage you to ask yourself am I waiting for business or creating it? Where do I need to be more intentional and what process do I need to put in place to support consistent outreach? Outreach is how we open doors, but sustaining success also means being able to adapt when circumstances shift, especially when those shifts happen inside your business. And this leads me to my third lesson I've learned this year Don't let a team transition derail your progress One of the realities of building a business is that team transitions are inevitable.

Kristin: 17:56

People move on, roles evolve and support structures shift. Even when a transition is planned or aligned with what's best for both parties, it can still create disruption. I experienced this when I was working in corporate. I've coached clients through it and for the first time as a business owner, I unfortunately truly felt what it feels like to go through team transition. This past quarter I got a text on a Monday of all days from my longest tenure VA asking if I had time for a quick call so she could share some exciting news. I had a feeling I knew what the call would be about. She shared that she received an amazing offer and would be leaving the VA company within two weeks and, to my surprise, I didn't feel panic at the end of the call. Feel panic at the end of the call. Instead, I saw it as an opportunity to re-evaluate what I need in a VA now. I brought her onto my team nearly four years ago and since then the services I offer have evolved, the clients I coach have elevated and my confidence as a coach has changed and grown.

Kristin: 19:08

This team transition gave me a reason and, quite frankly, a responsibility, to slow down and reassess what kind of support would serve the business best. Going forward, as I walked my outgoing VA through the off-boarding process, I had her focus less on step-by-step task instructions and had her focus more on institutional knowledge. I told her if someone can Google how to do it, skip it. Focus on how you think about the task, how you prepare for meetings with me, how you approach communication and capture the context that lives in your head and can't be taught through a video or a checklist. This mindset helped us preserve the why behind how we work, not just the what.

Kristin: 20:02

I also made the decision to delay a couple of projects I had been planning to launch with my VA. I wanted to give my new VA the space to settle into a role and master the basics of the reoccurring task before layering on complexity of new projects. I unfortunately learned this the hard way when I was working in corporate. I remember being so excited about a new hire and I was ready to offload the work I had been doing in that role, and I ended up overwhelming her right out of the gate. I wanted to give her everything I had been doing in that role and I wish I would have known about the impact of layering on different tasks and responsibilities, so she could have gotten a better grasp of what was expected. That's exactly why I now coach my clients to think about what do you want your new hire to have mastered in their first 30 days, and this helps them simplify the onboarding process. Get really clear with expectations and then they can continue adding work to their new hires plate after they've mastered the fundamentals.

Kristin: 21:12

As I reflected on Q1 and what stood out the most, it wasn't how much I accomplished, it was how much I have grown. I strengthened my CEO mindset by making space to lead and think. I stayed consistent with outreach even when I felt busy or pulled in other directions, and I navigated a team transition with intention, choosing to slow down, reassess and stay grounded in what works. These weren't dramatic changes, but they were powerful changes. Each one created more focus, more alignment and more momentum the kind of momentum that comes from leading with clarity, consistency and intentional decisions. And that's exactly why I created the Strategic Reset Sprint.

Kristin: 22:02

And, just to be clear, the Strategic Reset Sprint is still grounded in my core offers. It's a six-week experience designed to help you reflect, realign and create a focused 90-day plan. You can actually follow. Whether you're stepping into a new season of growth, returning from a transition or realizing you need more clarity and structure to move forward, this sprint is designed to give you both momentum and direction forward. This sprint is designed to give you both momentum and direction. You'll walk away with a renewed focus, a clear set of priorities and a simple plan to guide your next 90 days. And I'm calling it a sprint for a reason it's a short, powerful experience built to create real movement without the overwhelm.

Kristin: 22:46

If you're ready to reset with purpose and move forward with clarity, email me at meetkristinbarkcom and let's talk. Let's make the next 90 days your most focused and intentional yet. Until next time, elite achievers, celebrate your wins, reflect on your lessons and consistently show up with the mindset and habits that will elevate your success. Remember, progress is made one step at a time. By listening to today's episode, you've taken an important step toward achieving remarkable results. If you're ready to continue your journey, visit my website, kristenburkecom, for resources, tools and strategies designed to help you experience elite achievement. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode, and let's keep embracing the mindset, effort and values that drive consistent elite performance. Thank you for listening.