Elite Achievement

Kristin Burke

Elite Achievement with Kristin Burke You’re a financial advisor. Your calendar is booked with back-to-back client meetings. You have a vision to grow your firm. You’re not sure if you have the right team in place. You’re holding on to work you know you should be delegating. You want to spend more time doing complex planning and working with your best clients, but you’re still trying to deliver for every client in your book. At the end of the day, you’re still the one driving the revenue. Or… You’re leading a team of financial advisors or a firm. You’re responsible for growth, but don’t produce the results yourself. They come through the people you recruit, develop, and retain. And many of them aren’t traditional employees, which means you’re leading as much through influence as you are through expectations and accountability. Your calendar is full, but your time doesn’t always feel well spent. You start the day with a plan, and it quickly shifts as people come to you with questions, challenges, and decisions that need your input. You’re constantly balancing competing priorities. Attracting and bringing in new talent. Launching and developing new financial advisors. Supporting career advisors as they continue to grow. Having difficult conversations when someone isn’t performing. Protecting the culture and keeping everyone aligned to the vision. At the end of the day, you’re still accountable for the results. Different roles. Same challenges. How do you create clarity around your vision and get others aligned to it? How do you focus on the right priorities when everything feels important? How do you develop people and hold a high standard of performance? How do you lead effectively while still driving results? This is the work of Elite Achievement. A leadership and execution podcast for financial advisors and firm leaders who are building and scaling a firm and being challenged to lead at a higher level as success becomes less about your individual effort and more about how you lead. Kristin Burke brings over 20 years of industry experience and works closely with financial advisors and firm leaders as they build firms, develop people, and navigate the challenges that come with growth. Elite Achievement is about setting a bold vision, executing consistently, and becoming the kind of leader capable of building a legacy.

  1. APR 2

    Elite Insights - A New Direction for Elite Achievement

    In today’s episode I’m sharing a direction shift I’ve been thinking about for a long time and finally feel ready to say out loud: I’m focusing my work on financial services leaders who are growing and scaling advisory firms. I explain how my coaching evolved from goal achievement to leadership and execution, why focus strengthens impact, and how you can test a niche without treating it like a final decision. In this episode you will learn: • Why I’m narrowing my focus to financial services and wealth management leaders • How my work shifted from goals to leadership, execution, and firm growth • What I notice in ambitious leaders who need space to slow down and think • Why “partner” matters and how I blend coaching with consulting • Common fears about niching down and how clarity strengthens your message • Practical prompts to identify your niche based on repeat conversations and best work • How the podcast is evolving plus a short pause to update the show behind the scenes If you want to know when new episodes are released, make sure you're following the show. You can also join my email list here. If today's insight inspired you, I'd love for you to leave a review in the Apple Podcast app, and let me know what stood out. Work With Kristin Kristin partners with business owners and leaders as a thought partner, asking the questions that create clarity, challenge assumptions, and move clients from emotion back into execution. Learn more about private coaching at kristinburke.com. Connect with Kristin LinkedIn Website Goal Setting Success Course

    10 min
  2. MAR 26

    138. The Three Traps That Quietly Stall Business Growth

    You can probably name the exact actions that grow your business, so why do they keep slipping to the bottom of the list? Referrals, outreach, follow-up, and protected business development time are rarely mysterious. What’s hard is doing them consistently once they start to feel repetitive, vulnerable, and weirdly high-stakes. I unpack why that happens and how to fix it before it quietly slows your momentum and revenue. We dig into three common reasons high-performing owners drift away from the fundamentals. First, success changes your expectations. After you’ve hit goals and earned recognition, it’s easy to think the basics should feel easier by now, and if they don’t, something must be wrong. Second, when results dip, we often blame the strategy instead of our execution. Switching systems feels proactive, but the real lever is usually sustained consistency. Third, as your role expands into leadership, urgent team and operations demands crowd out the work that actually creates new opportunities. I also share a practical reset: study your real data to identify where your best opportunities truly come from, clarify the few activities that reliably lead to new conversations, and commit long enough for the strategy to play out, often a full quarter. If you want stronger business growth, a healthier pipeline, and a simple plan you’ll actually follow, this one is for you. Subscribe, share with a fellow founder, and leave a review so more elite achievers can find the show. In this podcast you will learn about: • The hidden cost of letting fundamentals slide as routines get repetitive • Why success can make normal effort feel like a problem • The interpersonal risk underneath referrals outreach and follow-up • How frustration leads us to question strategy instead of consistency • Why most growth plans fail from stopping too early • How CEO responsibilities and team needs crowd out business development • Using real business data to identify what actually creates opportunities • Committing to a full quarter of consistent execution Highlights: 0:00 Welcome And The Core Question 1:23 Why Fundamentals Still Feel Hard 4:00 Doubting Strategy Instead Of Execution 5:40 Leadership Demands Crowd Out Growth 7:04 Audit What Actually Drives Leads 8:41 Commit Long Enough For Momentum 9:01 Closing And Next Steps Ready to elevate your leadership and accelerate your growth? I provide strategic coaching for high-performing financial advisors, service-based business owners, and leaders who want coaching that goes beyond accountability. I partner with you to execute on your vision and focus on what truly drives results: executive presence, leadership development, scaling, and prioritization. The outcome? You realize your full potential, influence and inspire others, and lead a high-impact business that reflects your next-level goals. To explore if coaching is the right fit, email me at meet@kristinburke.com to schedule a discovery call. Goal Setting Success If you’re ready to set goals you’ll actually achieve, the Goal Setting Success course will help you do it. This self-paced experience walks you through the same framework I’ve used for years with leaders and advisors to create meaningful goals and a plan that drives real results. Inside the course, you’ll learn how to: Clarify your vision for successReflect on what worked and what didn’tBrainstorm strategies with focus and intentionCreate a clear, actionable plan for the year ahead Start the new year with clarity, confidence, and structure. Listeners of the Elite Achievement Podcast can save $50 with code PODCAST50 at checkout. Enroll today at kristinburke.com/goal-setting-success-course Connect with Kristin LinkedIn Instagram Website Goal Setting Success Course Breakout Plan

    9 min
  3. MAR 12

    137. Think Like A CEO: From Founder To CEO with Joseph Frost

    Ever feel the pull to “think like a CEO” while your founder instincts crave speed, risk, and fresh ideas? We sit down with Joseph Frost - idea guy, fractional futurist, and builder of multiple seven-figure businesses in parallel - to unpack why the traits that start companies rarely match the traits that scale them, and how to bridge that gap without losing your spark. We start with values and purpose - freedom, nonconformity, and a long journey toward create and inspire - then draw a clean line between three leadership phases: the founder who proves the model, the scaler who builds systems and teams, and the CEO who sets simple vision and delivers steady results. Joseph explains why so few people inhabit all three roles well, and how to time your evolution or your handoff. Along the way, we break down the rise of fractional leadership and why startups can now embed true C-suite execution from day one. Fractional CMOs, CFOs, and COOs aren’t consultants; they’re accountable leaders who compress learning curves and make senior talent accessible. From there, we get practical about talent and growth. Joseph shares how he develops two very different groups: veteran CMOs who must learn business development and prospecting; and distributed coordinators across countries who thrive with clear structures, peer feedback, and periodic in-person sessions. We explore the sales mindset every founder needs, the E-Myth path from technician to builder, and how to avoid half-finished projects by channeling creativity into the core flywheel, like using AI agents to amplify strategy instead of spinning up another standalone venture. Joseph closes with the habits that protect focus and resilience: daily journaling, short meditations, and a mantra forged after a life-changing health scare. The takeaway is simple and powerful. Let your creative energy start the fire, then use discipline, delegation, and development to keep it burning brighter. If this conversation helped clarify your next leadership move, follow the podcast, share it with a founder friend, and leave a quick review to tell us where you are on the founder-to-CEO journey. In this podcast you will learn about: • Values of freedom and nonconformity driving entrepreneurship • Purpose distilled to create and inspire • Founder, scaler, CEO as distinct leadership phases • Why many founders shouldn’t become CEOs • Fractional executives as early leadership leverage • Peer groups plus fractionals for balanced growth • Developing veteran CMOs in sales and prospecting • Building remote teams with structure and periodic in-person time • Focusing creative energy on the core with AI as an enabler • Journaling and meditation as daily reset practices Highlights: 0:00 Think Like A CEO Series Setup 1:02 Meet Joe Frost And His Purpose 3:55 Freedom, Nonconformity, And Entrepreneurship 6:48 The Seven-Business Vision 8:44 Founder Versus CEO Mindsets 11:13 When Do Titles Truly Fit 13:58 Skills To Grow Into CEO 17:04 Fractional Leadership Changes The Game 20:00 Developing Talent In Fractional Teams 22:21 Remote Development That Actually Works 24:07 Prospecting And Sales For Builders 27:05 The Gift And Cost Of Endless Ideas 29:14 Focus Systems And AI As Enabler 31:00 Journaling, Cancer, And Meditation 34:10 Closing Reflections And Takeaways If you were truly leading at the level your vision requires, what decision would you make this week? I provide strategic coaching for high-performing financial advisors, service-based business owners, and leaders who want coaching that goes beyond accountability. I partner with you to execute on your vision and focus on what truly drives results: executive presence, leadership development, scaling, and prioritization. The outcome: you realize your full potential, influence and inspire others, and lead a high-impact business that reflects your next-level goals. To explore if coaching is the right fit, email me at meet@kristinburke.com to schedule a discovery call. Connect with Kristin LinkedIn Instagram Website Goal Setting Success Course Breakout Plan Connect with Joseph Website LinkedIn

    36 min
  4. FEB 26

    136. Think Like A CEO: Building A Life-Centered Business with Daren Blonski

    What if the real measure of success isn’t how much you achieve, but how intentionally you spend your time? We sit down with Daren Blonski—founder of Fermata Advisors, including Sonoma Wealth Advisors and related firms—to unpack how he built a fast-scaling advisory enterprise by designing for freedom first. Darren shares why leaving a high-travel consulting career forced him to redefine success, and how a clear, values-driven schedule helped him be present at home and decisive at work. We walk through his simple, powerful calendar architecture—days working in the business, on the business, and in renewal—and how mapping years in advance creates permission to focus without guilt. Daren explains how he hires complements using the DISC framework, pairing visionary drive with detail excellence to eliminate bottlenecks. He opens the playbook on scaling during uncertainty: pivot fast, pursue green lights, and keep culture practical. Along the way, we dig into his 10% rule for personal reinvestment through masterminds and coaching, and why curating the right rooms accelerates leadership growth. Feedback takes center stage as Daren reframes it as data, not drama. He shares a no-cringe tactic to raise feedback quality—ask every team member, “What are your expectations of me?”—and highlights the obligation to follow through. We close with the habits that sharpen decision-making under pressure: pre-dawn reading to expand perspective, hard training to discharge stress, and sleep as a non-negotiable lever for cognition and steadiness. If you lead a growing team and crave clarity, presence, and sustainable performance, this conversation gives you concrete tools to design your time and think like the CEO your business needs. Enjoyed the episode? Follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to help more leaders find these conversations. In this podcast you will learn about: • Redefining success around time freedom • Moving from consulting to a life-centered business • Choosing financial planning as an entrepreneurial medium • Evolving from practitioner to CEO across growth stages • Leading with presence and credibility • Hiring complements using DISC to fill gaps • Scaling through pivots and “pursue green lights” values • Investing 10% in masterminds and coaching • Treating feedback as data and filtering projections • Morning reading, hard training, and sleep for sharper decisions Highlights: 0:00 Rethinking Success Through Time 2:55 Leaving Consulting To Build A Life 5:30 Choosing Financial Planning As A Medium 8:25 Evolving From Soloist To CEO 10:55 Designing Work, On-Work, And Renewal 14:20 Presence As A Leadership Advantage 17:05 Building Teams With DISC Strengths 20:10 Scaling Through Pivots And Principles 23:00 Masterminds, Coaches, And The 10% Rule 26:05 Feedback As Data, Not Drama 29:05 A Better Way To Ask For Feedback 32:10 Morning Learning, Training, And Sleep 35:00 Where To Find Darren & Closing If you were truly leading at the level your vision requires, what decision would you make this week? I provide strategic coaching for high-performing financial advisors, service-based business owners, and leaders who want coaching that goes beyond accountability. I partner with you to execute on your vision and focus on what truly drives results: executive presence, leadership development, scaling, and prioritization. The outcome: you realize your full potential, influence and inspire others, and lead a high-impact business that reflects your next-level goals. To explore if coaching is the right fit, email me at meet@kristinburke.com to schedule a discovery call. Connect with Kristin LinkedIn Instagram Website Goal Setting Success Course Breakout Plan Connect with Daren

    40 min
5
out of 5
36 Ratings

About

Elite Achievement with Kristin Burke You’re a financial advisor. Your calendar is booked with back-to-back client meetings. You have a vision to grow your firm. You’re not sure if you have the right team in place. You’re holding on to work you know you should be delegating. You want to spend more time doing complex planning and working with your best clients, but you’re still trying to deliver for every client in your book. At the end of the day, you’re still the one driving the revenue. Or… You’re leading a team of financial advisors or a firm. You’re responsible for growth, but don’t produce the results yourself. They come through the people you recruit, develop, and retain. And many of them aren’t traditional employees, which means you’re leading as much through influence as you are through expectations and accountability. Your calendar is full, but your time doesn’t always feel well spent. You start the day with a plan, and it quickly shifts as people come to you with questions, challenges, and decisions that need your input. You’re constantly balancing competing priorities. Attracting and bringing in new talent. Launching and developing new financial advisors. Supporting career advisors as they continue to grow. Having difficult conversations when someone isn’t performing. Protecting the culture and keeping everyone aligned to the vision. At the end of the day, you’re still accountable for the results. Different roles. Same challenges. How do you create clarity around your vision and get others aligned to it? How do you focus on the right priorities when everything feels important? How do you develop people and hold a high standard of performance? How do you lead effectively while still driving results? This is the work of Elite Achievement. A leadership and execution podcast for financial advisors and firm leaders who are building and scaling a firm and being challenged to lead at a higher level as success becomes less about your individual effort and more about how you lead. Kristin Burke brings over 20 years of industry experience and works closely with financial advisors and firm leaders as they build firms, develop people, and navigate the challenges that come with growth. Elite Achievement is about setting a bold vision, executing consistently, and becoming the kind of leader capable of building a legacy.

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