The HR Playbook for Balanced and Equitable Workplaces with Kirsten Zeigler

In this episode, Tara chats with Kirsten Zeigler, founder of KDZ HR Consulting. The discussion focuses on strategies to keep burnout at bay while building equitable workplaces. 

Kirsten gets into her HR expertise, offering practical advice on managing energy, setting boundaries, and leading with integrity. They also cover the importance of pay transparency, inclusive hiring practices, and how to effectively scale a business while maintaining well-being. 

Tune in for insightful tips and relatable stories that will help you strike that perfect work-life balance.

To connect with Kirsten:

• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/kdz_hrconsulting/)
• LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirsten-zeigler-humanresources/)
• Website (https://www.kdzhrconsulting.com/)

00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:24 Meet Kirsten: HR Pro
01:24 Icebreaker: What's Bringing Joy?
03:05 Building Equitable Workplaces
06:58 Personal Stories of Value Misalignment
12:25 Practical Steps to Manage Energy and Avoid Burnout
21:39 The Importance of Communication and Boundaries
25:32 Equity in Action: Creating an Equitable Workplace
25:55 Pay Transparency and Fair Compensation
27:54 Inclusive Hiring Practices
30:02 The Value of Employee Handbooks
33:48 Balancing Growth and Well-being
39:21 Defining a Balanced Badass
42:59 Where to Find More Resources

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction and Welcome
• 1:10 Meet Kirsten: HR Pro
• 2:10 Icebreaker: What's Bringing Joy?
• 3:51 Building Equitable Workplaces
• 7:44 Personal Stories of Value Misalignment
• 13:11 Practical Steps to Manage Energy and Avoid Burnout
• 23:09 The Importance of Communication and Boundaries
• 27:02 Equity in Action: Creating an Equitable Workplace
• 27:25 Pay Transparency and Fair Compensation
• 29:24 Inclusive Hiring Practices
• 31:32 The Value of Employee Handbooks
• 35:18 Balancing Growth and Well-being
• 42:14 Defining a Balanced Badass
• 45:52 Where to Find More Resources

Transcript

Tara: [00:00:00] All right. Hey there, and welcome back to the Balance Badass podcast. I'm Tara, your host and fellow human trying to navigate this whole wild world of work life balance without totally losing it. Today, I've got a treat for you. We are talking all about how to keep burnout at bay while building workplaces that actually work for leaders and also for their teams.

My guest is the amazing Kirsten Ziegler, founder of KDZ HR consulting. Kirsten is an HR pro who helps female identifying founders, tackle hiring, create equitable workplaces and survive those inevitable growing pains that we all know exist and maybe know and love or know and hate depending on the day.

We're going to get into everything from how leaders can avoid burnout and set a good example for their teams to practical ways that employees can manage their energy. So I want to just jump right into it and say, welcome to the [00:01:00] podcast, Kirsten.

Kirsten Zeigler: Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited.

Tara: Yes. So, um, just for the listeners, Kirsten and I just got to know each other about 15 minutes ago, but I feel like we are already fast friends. So, I'm really excited to see where our conversation goes today. And just so you know, Kirsten, I talk, or I start every Thursday. guest interview with an icebreaker question, and it's the same question.

And so I want to ask you, what's something that you're just loving in your life right now?

Kirsten Zeigler: Ooh, I am loving the holiday season right now.

Tara: Amen to that.

Kirsten Zeigler: I am focused on Christmas. joy to the point where I'm like, almost forcing it down my throat in a way, you know, I have like, um, Christmas lights and all over the place. I am just really leaning in

Tara: I love it. I

Kirsten Zeigler: So

Tara: love it. I feel like you have to binge it because it [00:02:00] only comes like, although it should come out year round, but like it only comes in this short sprint of time. So you have to binge it as much as you can.

Kirsten Zeigler: And I'm in New Jersey, so like we're, you know, right now it's been gloomy and dark and raining and we're just gonna get into that winter and, I'm taking every opportunity I can to bring all the sparkles into my home.

Tara: I feel that. I feel that. I grew up in Pennsylvania, like I was telling you earlier. And like, the season of gray from like October to March, April, really bummed me out most of the time.

Kirsten Zeigler: Oh, I have a happy light. I have like,

Tara: Oh yeah, you, you gotta.

Kirsten Zeigler: Yeah.

Tara: Yeah. Um, well anytime you want to come to the beach, we have sunshine most days. So, come on down.

Kirsten Zeigler: You may regret that. Come

Tara: Absolutely not. We love having guests.

Kirsten Zeigler: Okay, remember me.

Tara: Yeah, we got a [00:03:00] guest room. It's all yours, girl.

Kirsten Zeigler: Thank you.

Tara: All right, well, let's get into it. So, um, you know, you help female identifying founders build equitable workplaces and navigate those growing pains like we talked about in the intro. And that really like hit home for me, because that's something that I'm super passionate about, too, as a female identifying individual, but also really focused on building those equitable.

Environments and cultures. So I'm, I'm just curious, like what inspired you to focus your work on that specific mission and maybe what have been some of your biggest lessons along the way.

Kirsten Zeigler: Great question. So I've been in HR for almost 13 years at this point. I fell into it as most people do. I didn't know it was a thing. I went to school for art and all of a sudden I'm

Tara: you are.

Kirsten Zeigler: people in a retail store and Oh, this is a whole job. So [00:04:00] that's how I started my career in HR. Um, but I went out on my own two years ago.

So I was in the corporate world for about 10 years. I worked for tech startups. I worked in healthcare services. I worked for an art gallery. Like I really changed industries because that's what kept it interesting to me. But everywhere I went, I really was just so. Disappointed in the environments I was a part of. Um, and found myself being kind of forced in situations that really made me uncomfortable and like, didn't align with my own values. Like I'm very, I got into HR because I love people, but I'm really big on like ethics and fairness. And I've always like, those have always been things that really resonate with me. And. It wasn't always like that in corporate America, you

Tara: Yeah.

Kirsten Zeigler: And so, and when you are working in a company, you know, your job is on the line if [00:05:00] you aren't doing what you're being directed to do. So I really just felt twisted and uncomfortable. And so I had an experience a company and. I was let go because I was giving my honest and truthful opinions about, you know, how to treat people, how to run a team that the owner was like, I don't. I don't want that information. I want to do what I want to do.

Tara: There.

Kirsten Zeigler: on who I work with. Like

Tara: Hmm. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.

Kirsten Zeigler: right? And similar [00:06:00] challenges. And so for me, it was about finding leaders that want to build teams that reflect their own personal values that treat people well, that treat people like people and not just. Numbers or workers so that's what really pushed me and led me to, you know, doing the work I do.

And, you know, the piece about working with, like, female identifying founders is that it. Still in in the year of almost 2025, women are such are still so underserved truly, in my experience, are some of the greatest leaders, right? Like, they lead with intellect, but also compassion and. is something that in my experience, I just wasn't finding with some of the male founders.

I was working with. And so that's what really led me up on this mission.

Tara: Yeah. You and I have very [00:07:00] similar stories while I don't work in HR obviously. But like, I too was working for an organization that values just were not aligned in a lot of ways. And like, you know, you kind of notice it like the the discomfort there at first, maybe at least for me, like I was. Brush it aside.

Like, Oh, I can get over this. Like this is, this is fine. Um, but it became to the point where like my core values that are my personal values, but also my professional and workplace values were being compromised in a lot of ways, like integrity is a huge one. And you, you know, you mentioned that as kind of a piece of that.

And like one of my favorite sayings, and I think I mentioned this probably in one episode already, but like one of my favorite sayings from a mentor of mine is that integrity is not a part time job. And.

Kirsten Zeigler: love that.

Tara: I kept hearing that like in the back of my mind as I was like starting to question and feel the [00:08:00] heaviness.

Um, so yeah, so I think, you know, one, I appreciate that you shared that piece because it just goes to show that it's not uncommon for folks to have this kind of back and forth, you know. Right.

Kirsten Zeigler: unfortunately let go, but also that kind of forced my hand into figuring out what's the next step, right? And I was in a place where I was like, I need to try to make this work for myself. That's not always, that's a luxury, right? Like, that's not always something you can say. need to find a new job, and it has to align with my values. You know, sometimes we, I mean, everybody's been in the position where we've been in places that don't align with us. I mean, my advice is that, like, you have to come up with your non negotiables, right?

Like, you Is the salary the non negotiable? That's fine, right? Maybe your values are taking [00:09:00] a backseat at the time, but just, doesn't mean, like, don't stay there. Don't become comfortable there then. You know, you want your job to align with who you are and what you're good at, because that will, Be the most beneficial for you.

And honestly, in the company, right? Like when a company has people that are aligned with the mission, the vision, the values, then they're going to thrive too. So it's better

Tara: Okay.

Kirsten Zeigler: everybody. You know, if you have to take jobs for other reasons, just don't forget your ultimate goal is and what your ultimate mission is.

Tara: I think that's a great message to share with the listeners, because I too, like, talk all the time. Like, not everyone has the opportunity to leave a role, or not everyone has a say in whether they leave the role or not. Hence layoffs. Um, but you always have control over. What's important to you and there's [00:10:00] typically always a way to find something that you can kind of bring back the reins on.

It may be something very small and minuscule, but. It may help you at least sustain until you find the right time, the right season, the right opportunity that comes along. So yeah, it's definitely, it's definitely a hard place to be in, but also it's a great opportunity to really reflect and figure out what's important and think about the season of your life.

Like there were times where for me, like the benefits. were the primary factor into why I accepted a job because I needed those benefits at that time and season in my life. Similar to you, like, I luckily didn't, well, I don't know if I say luckily, because honestly, some days I wish I would have gotten laid off because there would have been opportunities there.

But you know, I survived a round of layoffs, but I had the support from My husband to be able to leave on my own terms. And I know that that is a [00:11:00] privilege. And like you said, that's a luxury that not everybody has. And I every day am thankful for that. Like there are many days I call him my splendid daddy.

Cause you know, it's like sugar light. We don't,

Kirsten Zeigler: so

Tara: rolling in the dough here, but I will thank him for being my splendid daddy, you know?

Kirsten Zeigler: love that.

Tara: So

Kirsten Zeigler: That is

Tara: anyways, yeah, you know, um, maybe, maybe we'll trademark that someday, put it on a t shirt.

Kirsten Zeigler: you should. I really think you should. I haven't heard that before and I really like it.

Tara: Yeah, it's, it's really good. People get confused. They're like splendid daddy. I was like, well, we ain't got no sugar here. Like we might even be not even splendid. Like we might just be the generic, like sweetener, you know?

Anyways. So another question that I have for you, because you brought up the point about female founders often having such a great [00:12:00] intellect, but also heart and being able to kind of lead both from your brains and your gut almost, but You know, I'm finding in my research with burnout that. Those that identify as women are often more likely to experience burnout.

Kirsten Zeigler: Okay.

Tara: all the things and, and leading from all the ways. Um, so I'm curious from your perspective and from the work that you do, like what are some practical steps that leaders can take to really manage their own energy, but also model that healthier kind of work life balance work approach for their teams?

Kirsten Zeigler: I think that, first of all, this is such a big struggle for

Tara: hmm.

Kirsten Zeigler: not just to do it for themselves, but sometimes they don't realize that by practicing these bad behaviors, they are modeling it for their team. So I love that you said that. Um, [00:13:00] think it honestly starts with learning more about themselves, right?

And so figuring out, you know, What? So like, let's say you have your own business, right? So you have the flexibility and you lead a team. What times of the day are you the most productive? Right? Like, so for me personally, I've found that first thing in the morning is when I need to write blog posts, do like employee handbooks, like really focus on that, like thoughtful, intense, maybe like build something new. then I like to talk like I need that human interaction 3 p. m. My brain turns to mush

Tara: Same.

Kirsten Zeigler: need to step away Yeah, it happens to a lot of people actually the

Tara: Mm hmm.

Kirsten Zeigler: talk about this But I need to step away take the dog for a walk work out clean do something fun Who cares? Take a break. And then sometimes I'll come back do more thoughtful [00:14:00] stuff around like 5. 30. Like,

Tara: hmm.

Kirsten Zeigler: when the sun is setting for me, I can't focus. I need it to be light out or dark out for some reason. So I think that, you know, even if you're stuck in a position that, Maybe you're more time bound, like a more traditional 9 to 5 finding out, like spending time with yourself and figuring out what types of things work for you for different parts of the day.

So that's number 1, I think, because I, I think that you have to help manage your own. Energy also determining what gives you energy versus what drains you because I know there's a lot of things I do during the day, even though I have full control over my own life. I'm a solopreneur. There are a lot of things that drain me.

Right? And

Tara: Right.

Kirsten Zeigler: to balance those out. with things that recharge me. So figuring out what those pieces are for yourself, and creating a schedule, right? Block out your calendar to say, I have to do [00:15:00] these annoying tasks for an hour, but immediately after that, I'm going to have a conversation with X, Y, Z, right?

Like maybe it's people that give you energy, or I'm going to do some Heads down stuff, because maybe focusing is the thing that gives you energy. What is it that really, like, fills your cup? Make sure to spread that out. Don't, don't put that all in one day. Because cup will overflow. You'll have a great day, and then you will hate the rest of your week.

Tara: Mm hmm.

Kirsten Zeigler: those are some things you can do for yourself. Um. I think that modeling good behaviors when it comes to time off and logging off are really important too. So if you're the type of leader, and listen, some, there are some people out there that are like, no, I expect I'm on 24 seven. I expect my people to be on 24 seven.

There are jobs like that. There are workplaces like that. And if that is, [00:16:00] What your business needs, then you need to find the right people that

Tara: Um,

Kirsten Zeigler: that same way. There's nothing wrong with that, right? It just needs to be clearly communicated. you know, let's say you're a business owner that, you know, really values work life balance.

And that's the, that's what you preach. That's what you want your team to have. And you want that for yourself, then you need to start putting tools into practice. So that you can have work life balance so that your team sees that good example. So. Take time off. Take time off. I know

Tara: Preach.

Kirsten Zeigler: business happening, but you need time off to recharge. I don't listen to my own advice. I've only recently, I took a week, went on a business retreat and it was the best decision I've ever made for myself. And that really You know, sometimes you don't listen to yourself. So, right. Absolutely. Absolutely. Um, but when you're out of [00:17:00] office and you have a team determine what's, what are the rules of communication you're out of office?

What is an emergency? Versus what's not an emergency, maybe you set, like, if you're the type of person that's like, no, I can't fully disconnect, right? Maybe you set a time. I'm going to check my email at 10 a. m. every day. I'm out, or I'm going to check my email once. At this time on this day, right? So if there's anything urgent, put it in the subject line. you're like, you know what? I'm staying out of my inbox because I don't want you to sit there scrolling on your time off, right? Like, so

Tara: Okay. Okay. [00:18:00] Okay.

Kirsten Zeigler: yourself, Allow your team that time off. Don't bother them. Don't email them. Right? Maybe there is, there are things that you need to send them via email. Maybe you could set that to be scheduled to send, you know, for the day

Tara: Okay. Okay.

Kirsten Zeigler: scheduled.

That's like scheduling send is my favorite thing.

Tara: Yes, it was the best thing that was ever created. Yeah.

Kirsten Zeigler: to me, I'm not responding [00:19:00] back. So let me just send this tomorrow. And then I scheduled this end. So really think it's about determining, know, what the rules of engagement are for time off, what the expectations are for you.

Cool. as a leader and also like letting your team know what the expectations are so that there's no questions that they don't feel insecure about logging off, taking time off, what does done look like during the day, right? Sometimes maybe your team members need to complete a few things before the end of the day, let them know what needs to be done by the end of the day so that they can log off and not have to worry about it.

Um, Remote work is like the best and worst thing that's ever happened to us, right? Because we're able to be more flexible with how, where, when we work, but also we're working all, we're always on in one way or another. So, you know, maybe it's setting do not disturb for periods of time. I [00:20:00] know I do that.

I've gotten into the habit of doing that all the time now where I have different do not disturb set up, you know, and again, What is an emergency? Should something happen while you're in that like blackout mode? So I know it's hard. It's a lot about setting your own boundaries, right? Um, I think that sometimes it's easier to think I'm a leader.

I have a team. I can't do this, but think of it as doing it for not only yourself, but for your team. Sometimes it's easier to think about doing it for other people.

Tara: Yeah, I think that's a great point, especially for anyone that is a people pleaser. Like I don't want to condone the people pleasing conviction necessarily or support that because I am a recovering people pleaser and perfectionist myself. Um,

Kirsten Zeigler: Same!

Tara: and it can definitely be like a dangerous spiral, but I think a lot of that people pleasing comes from the care that you have for [00:21:00] others.

And if you channel that care, Like you said, into you are modeling ways to show care for your employees and for your team to be able to see what care looks like for themselves, too, because, like, self care isn't just bubble baths and, you know. You know, shopping sprees and getting your nails done. Like self care genuinely is about these things that you mentioned, like setting those boundaries, knowing what your energy looks like, like all that kind of stuff.

There was so many good gems. So I hope folks like rewind and relisten to a lot of those things, because those are things that I share all the time too. Um, one thing that I thought, saw as like a theme that you were saying mostly is that communication is. So important when it comes to kind of modeling this behavior.

Yeah. Everything. Um, but modeling this behavior and, um, I don't, I'm like obsessed, like fangirl over [00:22:00] Brene Brown. So let's just go with that. Um, and she always says like, communication is a form of care and you know, clarity is kind. So like that is really important, especially because like. Setting boundaries can feel scary and icky and cringe in some ways.

But if you think about it more as I'm setting this to show care, I'm setting this to be kind to my team, at least for me, like that really helped me with, I am a, like a boundary girl now. Like I used to not have them. I worked in residence life in higher ed, so I lived where I worked and that was. An experience, um, that I will never do again, but, um, you know, lesson learned, but, you know, you talked about what's urgent, what's not like, how do you communicate with me, depending on [00:23:00] the different circumstances, that was something that I had to learn the hard way in working with student resident advisors.

So that was my team at the time I was leading a team of 29 RAs. So I had

Kirsten Zeigler: Whoa.

Tara: students. That we're also learning how to discern what is important, what can wait. Um, and we did a lot of conversation around, okay, like is, if you reach out to me, whenever something comes to your plate and comes to your table, if I respond within 30 minutes, is anything going to change?

Or if we wait 24 hours, is that going to be okay? Like, what's going to be the difference here? Like if somebody's arm is falling off, call me. If

Kirsten Zeigler: an emergency.

Tara: like, if the roommates are fighting over soup, like that can wait until tomorrow, like, and then from there, then you can discern like, okay, do you call [00:24:00] me, do you text me, do you email me?

Like all that kind of stuff. So like a lot of that just hit home with me, but you have to learn these things along the way and kind of like test what's going to work for you too. Mm hmm.

Kirsten Zeigler: some time with yourself to how do I best receive. Information you know, like everyone is different right with how they communicate they want to be communicated with so learning that about yourself and learning about your team members is really helpful not just with tackling things like burnout and leadership, but also just day to day business operations.

Tara: Right. That's what, like, most of my work is focused on just getting to know people. That's why I love what I do, because, like, I just get to know you, and then we just figure out what's going to work. So, um, and I think that's why, you know, for me that I have felt confident in leadership roles, because I see [00:25:00] leadership as a relational process.

So the more that I can relate to another individual, the better leader I'm going to be. Ultimately, and like you said, like it's, it's not just for you, it's for your team. It's to model that behavior. And it shows such a sense of care that will not go unnoticed. I think employees notice when you don't care and they notice when you care and they know the difference of what that feels like.

Kirsten Zeigler: Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. Yeah.

Tara: bit about equity in action. Um, so I'm curious. Just from your perspective, especially knowing your background and just all the different industries that you have worked with, what does an equitable workplace look like in practice? And maybe what are some steps that leaders can consider taking in order to build one if that's a value of theirs?

Kirsten Zeigler: Honestly, okay, so one of the things that I love that's come about in the [00:26:00] past few years, um, like a state level are pay transparency laws.

Tara: Yes.

Kirsten Zeigler: And I'm a big fan, big fan. And I do think, like, obviously this helps employees, job seekers, but I also think it helps businesses. I, you know, like, I know a lot of times people can see this as just like a pain to the business and a benefit to the employee.

But I totally disagree with that. Um, New Jersey, the great state of New Jersey, where I reside, we are passing hours in 2025, so we'll have paid transparency laws. Currently, Jersey City is the only place in New Jersey that has that. Fun fact. you know, I think there are 14 states at this point that have pay transparency laws, and those require good faith salary ranges in job descriptions. And then also if employees inquire about pay or salary ranges for, you know, different jobs, you have to disclose those salary [00:27:00] ranges. So I think that forces businesses to be very thoughtful

Tara: Mm hmm.

Kirsten Zeigler: compensation and making sure that their team. Is paid fair and equitably. So to me, this is one of those things that's really

Tara: Mm hmm. Mm

Kirsten Zeigler: compliance things are passed and you're like, Ooh, this

Tara: hmm.

Kirsten Zeigler: but this to me is a great thing. And I think it helps businesses, fair compensation practices into place. And it allows thoughtful conversation to happen. It allows employees to understand where they are in the ranges and why. And

Tara: Mm hmm.

Kirsten Zeigler: potential is in their current role or in other roles. So to me, that is the best

Tara: Mm

Kirsten Zeigler: to start

Tara: hmm. Mm hmm.

Kirsten Zeigler: Right. And then even like when it comes to hiring, I mean, really it all starts at hiring because that's [00:28:00] when you're coming up with these ranges, but then also determining what the absolute needs are for the role you're hiring for. Most, and I say this all the time, but there are so many roles that don't require a college degree. I think that it's something that people just put on there at this point to check a box.

Tara: Hm. Hm.

Kirsten Zeigler: roles, the more inclusive your hiring practice will be, and your team will be, because what you're really looking for, not culture fit, you want culture add, you want to hire people that add to your business, that don't just, you know, fill a slot and just, and be, you want someone to bring new perspectives, new ideas, And share your values.

That's where, you know, the fit [00:29:00] is, but the ad is what they're bringing to the table. So removing some barriers from what you're looking for in hiring, you can also really open up talent pool, which I think is an absolute incredible way to really start creating fair and equitable teams.

Tara: Yeah,

Kirsten Zeigler: And then also making sure, oh, sorry,

Tara: no, I was just going to say, I love the, I love the ad, the value, the culture ad, instead of fit. Mm hmm.

Kirsten Zeigler: Because like, all you want in your business is for it to grow and expand and be this like, amazing thing. You don't want it to just stay the same. Because

Tara: Right.

Kirsten Zeigler: small existence. So, you know, adding people to your team that have, different

Tara: Okay. Mm hmm. [00:30:00] Mm

Kirsten Zeigler: attention to the policies you have in place. I love to tell business owners that if you have 1 employee, you should have an employee handbook because it's the guideline for your business. Not only are there a ton of things you have to be compliant with that should be in there, but also you get to model. What your business looks like, what your practices are, who you are, and it puts. Into place like this, the structure for your team and you to operate around. I find that it helps business owners a lot when they're thinking about, Oh, this person came to me with, you know, time off or something along those lines. And I'm, you know, a lot of people when they first start leading, lead with their heart, not with, you know, their brain sometimes. um, that could lead to. inequalities [00:31:00] without meaning to, right? With the best of intentions. And so sometimes having policies in place help you as a leader treat everybody fair.

Tara: Yeah, I think, you know, structure allows for freedom more, more than what we think automatically. Because when you think structure, like, you really think rigidity, but in reality, it lets you make the right decisions and the strategic decisions that organizations need to thrive. I love the whole concept of like, if you have one employee, you need to have a handbook, I think.

One, it's a great practice for the employee, obviously, but I think it's a great practice for the leader because it forces you to think strategically about not just current situation of where your business is, but like you said earlier, like most founders want their businesses to grow and be more than what the initial [00:32:00] start and launch looks like.

And. By doing the work ahead of time that allows you to think bigger and to plan accordingly and then to make decisions that align with that strategic vision, which everything that you just said is all about strategy. It's all about and I think you can lead with heart with strategy.

Kirsten Zeigler: Absolutely. Yeah.

Tara: that allows you not to go off the rails.

It basically like when you're bowling and you get the little bumper guide rails, like that's what it helps with, you know?

Kirsten Zeigler: definitely. And I think that sometimes, you know, you get yourself into trouble as a leader. If early on, you know, let's say your first employee, you're allowing them, you know, all of these, these things that you wouldn't be able to provide to anybody else if they were hired. And so, you know, while you want to be. as, [00:33:00] you know, wonderful and welcoming and inviting as possible, you have to think about, okay, if I am going to hire somebody else, I have to treat this person the exact same way.

Tara: Yeah. I think that brings up a great point too, like we were talking about with capacity and energy because your energy looks different. Towards one person than it does towards 10. And so you have to, I love that point about thinking more broad scale of like, is this going to be sustainable

Kirsten Zeigler: Mm

Tara: as the company and the business grows?

Kirsten Zeigler: Yeah.

Tara: all right. So, you know, actually, while we're talking about that with like companies growing businesses, kind of scaling. What advice do you have for leaders who are trying to grow and scale their business with still maintaining their own mental, physical, social, [00:34:00] everything, well being?

Kirsten Zeigler: Yeah, so I think that, you know, there, there's going you have to expect that there's going to be times where you are frazzled. You are busy. The goal is to not have that be a constant, right? Like, there there's never you're never going to be at 100 percent of feeling

Tara: Perfect.

Kirsten Zeigler: and yes. So, you know, with growing and scaling. Um, there does come times that, you know, you're going to have a lot of work put on you to get your team to where they need to be. The goal is always, it's not going to immediately solve the problem, but it will eventually. So, even if you don't have team members that are directly tied to revenue, they are still going to free up your time. So that you can focus. On bigger, better, you could take some rest because your time is the most expensive. Um, [00:35:00] I think it comes down to being extremely thoughtful about what you need. So what you need as a business, I love to just have like a note open on my computer. And as I'm going through my work day, jotting things down that I can delegate, right?

I don't need to be doing this. My time would be spent better elsewhere. And eventually you're going to have a running list that will turn into a job description. So from that brain dump, you could really go through and bucket them into categories. And that's how you determine what you need to hire for. So I think it's a really important practice to be very thoughtful about where are the gaps in your team. What does the business need to move forward? And then you start to think about how to fill it. Um, I actually am coming out with a new program next year. it's called the team framework and it work.

I work with [00:36:00] businesses to help them through growing pain. So. You know, if we're at the stage where maybe you have a few employees, or maybe you have hundreds of employees, but you're going through going growing pains, identifying the business needs, but then also assessing the current team you have, because the goal isn't to get rid of them and replace them.

The

Tara: Okay. Okay. Okay.

Kirsten Zeigler: in hand, right? There's one

Tara: [00:37:00] I

Kirsten Zeigler: we're not aware of? you know, maybe you do need to hire outside to fill those roles, but let's start with who you have first.

Tara: love that perspective. I really appreciate the tangible thing that somebody can do. Starting now, like, of taking notes, like, I mean, I'm a huge brain dumper, too, but never really thought about that. Like, I'm Planning on staying a solopreneur for a while, but it's still a good idea. Cause that even if you don't hire a team, there are still ways to delegate or to automate or to figure out what's going to work for you.

And I think it comes back to our conversation about energy too. Like

Kirsten Zeigler: Yes.

Tara: what tasks are you, when you do that kind of energy audit, what tasks are draining you? What, what do you get gains from? I always call it the gains and drains. Like where, where's this coming from to help you kind of [00:38:00] figure Figure out like, what do you need to do yourself?

What can others do? Or is it something that you can completely drop? Like, cause you know, a lot of us do stuff just cause we think we have to,

Kirsten Zeigler: absolutely.

Tara: and your business may not need it.

Kirsten Zeigler: Yeah, and you could really evaluate and I think that's also sometimes it's really overwhelming. And scary to think about. I have to, I'm going to sit down right now, and figure out what my business needs, and it's like, then nothing comes out. You've forgotten everything you do.

Tara: You're like, what's my business.

Kirsten Zeigler: Yeah, exactly.

You're like, who am I? So, that's why I just like having the running list, so that it really takes no time out of your day, either. And you're not forcing yourself into a situation where you're like, Where you're not going to get the outcome you want because just not there.

Tara: And it does make, when you get to the brainstorming phase so much easier cause you've already started and it's in the moment [00:39:00] versus like, like you said, just trying to spontaneously like come up with all these, Um, well, yeah, so this is a great conversation, but I also want to respect time, but before I let you go, I have one last question that I ask everyone also on the podcast.

And so, you know, this podcast. The Balanced Badass Podcast is all about having some balanced living but with badass results because I firmly believe that you can be a balanced badass in life, in work, in everything. And so I'm curious, just from your perspective, how do you define being a balanced badass in your own life?

Kirsten Zeigler: Oh, that's such a tough question. I define being a balanced badass in my own life. Honestly. Okay. So I said that I was in corporate for like 10 years and I've had my business, you know, two going on the third year. [00:40:00] It's taken me a long time to decondition myself

Tara: I'm gonna watch

Kirsten Zeigler: here I am saying figure out where you Uh, like during the day, how you work when like took me a full two years to figure

Tara: that. Hmm.

Kirsten Zeigler: And I'm honoring myself so that I'm able to actually do good work for others, but then also good work for myself, which frees me up to do things I want to do, you know? And so, I don't know if that exactly answers that question, but that's, I feel like that's what's empowering to me in a

Tara: Yeah.

Kirsten Zeigler: being able to take control over. my own time, understand myself and have it work for me as opposed to being told what I'm

Tara: Mm hmm.

Kirsten Zeigler: doing, how I'm supposed to be doing. And [00:41:00] it's really empowering, I think.

Tara: Yeah. I love that ownership piece.

Kirsten Zeigler: Yeah, it's hard and it takes a while, right?

Tara: Oh, sure.

Kirsten Zeigler: saying all these things, giving all these tips. This does not mean that tomorrow you wake up and you're like, I'm so balanced. I'm so, know, I am not burnt out. No, this takes time. Like we're conditioned in such a way where we have to be on all the time.

We have to be doing things all the time. know from personal experience that when I am doing that, my work suffers.

Tara: Mm hmm.

Kirsten Zeigler: suffers. And so I have proof that that doesn't work. Right. So, you know, take a look at, at the proof. I feel like,

Tara: you need to revisit that proof on a regular basis, especially depending on like the season of life or, you know, um, I came across like a friend of mine. And she says like when a life bomb hits you, like

Kirsten Zeigler: Oh

Tara: a great moment to revisit the [00:42:00] proof and to look at the conditioning that kind of.

might have led to that life bomb or might have shaken up your life in some way. So

Kirsten Zeigler: Yeah.

Tara: love that. Well, Kirsten. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. This was so much fun. I,

Kirsten Zeigler: was

Tara: we're going to, we're totally going to have to do this again. Um,

Kirsten Zeigler: anytime you let me know. Yeah.

Tara: anyways, I really do appreciate you sharing your insights. You know, you have a just huge breadth of knowledge and I can't wait to continue following your journey and to learn from you.

Kirsten Zeigler: Silence. Silence.

Tara: myself, I'm going to be revisiting on this episode.

Um, but before we go, can you let our listeners know, where can they find you? How can they connect with you and just learn more about the incredible work that you're doing?

Kirsten Zeigler: [00:43:00] Of course, so I, you can find me on Instagram and LinkedIn. So Instagram is KDC underscore HR consulting. LinkedIn is my name, Kirsten Ziegler, and I share a lot of educational content tips, resources. Um, I like to just help owners. So if you're thinking, hey, you know, I don't need consulting, HR consulting services, but you know, I want to pay attention to things that are going on.

Follow me in those places. You might find something that's helpful. I also have a biweekly newsletter through LinkedIn that you could sign up for. Um, but I'm also, I have a three month HR startup program that I run quarterly. So So April will be a brand new session. It's for small business owners who are looking to hire their first employee, or maybe you have a small team and you're looking for, you know, how to actually hire correctly or how to lead correctly.

We [00:44:00] dive into hiring, onboarding, interviewing, compliance. And then leadership through the first 90 days. So that's really good again for small business owners who have like a small team or are looking to hire their first employees. Um, I also offer consulting, hourly consulting services. And then my team framework, which I talked about earlier, will be launching next year for those experiencing growing pains and really, really excited to start working on that.

Tara: Awesome. Can't wait to learn more about that too. Um, I love frameworks. I'm a huge fan. And once again, that goes back to the structure thing. I think that has something to do with my type of personality. I don't know, but, um, I'll make sure to have everything linked in the show notes so that way listeners can revisit and check you out and connect with you All the things and with all the things.

So listeners, folks, friends, if you enjoyed today's episode, I would really appreciate if you did me a favor and share it with a [00:45:00] friend who could just use a little extra balance in their life. And don't forget to hit subscribe. So you don't miss any future episodes and future guest interviews. Also, if you really enjoyed our time together and want to show Kirsten and I a little bit of extra love.

Reviews are always welcome too. They really help us spread the balanced badassery far and wide, and that is my ultimate mission. So as always, remember to stay balanced, stay badass, and make good choices, friend. We'll be back next week with another episode. See you then.