The Ownership Mindset: EY Entrepreneur of the Year Kerry Siggins on Shifting Your Mindset
“Women need to embody The Ownership Mindset because doing so is how to build the life you want. No one is responsible for your career except you. Don't wait to be tapped on the shoulder. You have to own your effort, attitude, and career trajectory. You must take action if you want to achieve your goals. Owning it allows you to go for it!” Today’s woman dreamer, Kerry Siggins is a business leader to know. Based in Colorado, she is the CEO of Stone Age, recognized as one of the Top 10 Influential CEOs by Industry ERA, and the recipient of EY Entrepreneur of the Year. In this interview with Women Who Win, she shares the how having an ownership mindset has been essential in her career journey!
1. You have an impressive story as a business leader. Based in Colorado, You are the CEO of StoneAge, a leading manufacturer of industrial cleaning equipment and one of Outside magazine's top 100 companies to work for. In 2021, she was honored by Industry Era magazine as one of its Top 10 Most Influential CEOs, and in 2017 she was a finalist for Colorado's CEO of the Year. You also received EY Entrepreneur of the Year. Tell us your story and what motivated and inspired you to be the woman you are today?
That's a long, winding story but it all starts with my mom! My mother, Sue Petranek, is the hardest working person I know, and I watched her put in endless hours to ensure my brother and I had a good life. In fact, when I was 12, she decided to go back to college to get a teaching degree and drove 60 miles each way to attend college while maintaining two jobs. It was incredible to watch, and it taught me that I could do anything if I put in the effort.
Like many teenagers, high school was bumpy and I was wild, pushing boundaries anywhere and everywhere. After getting in a bit of trouble, I decided to put my head down and do everything I could to earn a softball scholarship at Colorado School of Mines, a highly-rated engineering school in Golden, Colorado, just outside of Denver. My hard work paid off, and I left Montrose for Golden, swearing I would never live again in a small rural town.
After graduating from college in 2001, I was lost. From a career perspective, I knew I didn't want to be an engineer, but I didn't know who I was or what kind of job I wanted. Feeling useless, I succumbed to my wild ways again and developed substance abuse issues. I decided a fresh start would help, so I moved to Austin, TX, working for Eaton Corporation. Eaton helped me find my love for people management and the complex world of manufacturing and engineering operations. Still, my drug issues, ever-present, diminished my effectiveness and almost took me down. In 2006, I decided enough was enough. I knew I had potential and could live a more fulfilling, successful life, so I moved back to a rural town in Colorado to start over, once again. When I got to Durango, I did what you do in a small town, apply for jobs posted in the local newspaper. StoneAge was looking for a General Manager, and even though I was grossly underqualified, I applied. The co-founders saw something in me – potential, drive, smarts, and a positive attitude – so they took a risk and hired me. I had just turned 28.
As with all inflection points, getting my job at StoneAge changed my life. I poured all my energy into learning to be a leader, grow a company, and heal from addiction. Working at StoneAge allowed me to find myself and be myself. Being employee-owned, I learned how to think and act like an owner. I stopped worrying about my paycheck and focused on adding value to my team, customers, and industry. I learned the power of personal responsibility and took full ownership of everything that happened in my life and company. And it changed how I viewed building a culture and growing a company. I love what I do and want everyone who works for me to love their jobs as much as I love mine.
2. What inspired you to write your book, The Ownership Mindset? Why is it so important for women to have the ownership mindset in their careers?
I've always been a writer. In fact, my dad suggested I go to journalism school rather than engineering school. I clearly didn't listen and find it amusing that I've come full circle to writing again. In 2015, I decided I wanted to write a book but I had fallen out of the practice of writing over the years. So, I decided to build my own blogging website and start writing about my leadership philosophies and how I was building a world-class company. When the pandemic hit, I decided it was the perfect time to go after my dream of authoring a book, so I created it on the content I had already written. The Ownership Mindset aims to help leaders learn how to lead themselves and others in a way that inspires effort, responsibility, self-reflection, and growth.
Women need to embody The Ownership Mindset because doing so is how to build the life you want. No one is responsible for your career except you. Don't wait to be tapped on the shoulder. You have to own your effort, attitude, and career trajectory. You must take action if you want to achieve your goals. Owning it allows you to go for it!
3. Based on your extensive experience as an entrepreneur and female business leader, what are your top 3 actionable tips for women to improve their ownership mindset at work and in their personal lives?
First, adopt the mindset that you are responsible for everything that happens in your life. Don't get me wrong; bad things happen to people they are not responsible for. Some people are truly victims of circumstance. But that doesn't mean you need to be a victim. You get to choose how you respond and how let what happened impact your life. We empower ourselves to change our lives when we step into that responsibility.
Second, develop deep self-awareness. It's tough to "own it" if you don't understand your strengths, weaknesses, and how you impact others. Don't be afraid to look inside – when you do, you'll better understand what triggers you and why you make certain decisions. You can develop deeper self-awareness by using personality assessments, working with a life or business coach, meditating and practicing mindfulness, asking yourself tough questions and writing down the answers, or simply by asking others how they perceive you.
4. You are certainly a busy woman. How do you relax and unwind/find your work life balance? What is your ideal weekend?
I try to integrate my life and work rather than balance it. Work can be all-consuming, which I don't mind because I love what I do and I love to work. But I need downtime to keep my brain and body fresh. And my family needs me to be present and there for them, too. So, I take time to care for myself and them. I get a weekly massage, exercise every morning before work, and turn off my phone and computer from 530pm-8pm every night to spend time with my family. I only allow myself to work a few hours on weekends, and when I do, I try to work on creative projects like writing or planning my podcasts. I don’t know that I would call my life balanced, but I am utterly fulfilled and happy – which should be a goal we all strive for.