Most leaders don’t fail because they lack clarity. They fail because their life is not built to support who they are trying to become.
In this final episode of the Design Yourself series, I focus on the piece most leaders overlook when trying to change their leadership or their life: structure. You can have deep self-awareness and a clear leadership identity, but if your calendar, systems, and environment are misaligned, old patterns will resurface under pressure.
2026 will not test your intentions. It will test your structure.
Why Willpower Breaks Down Under Pressure
Many leaders rely on discipline and motivation to create change. The problem is that leadership rarely happens under ideal conditions. Stress, uncertainty, emotional load, and constant disruption are part of the job.
Research from Stanford University shows that environmental and structural cues drive nearly 45 percent of daily behavior, far more than conscious intention. Under pressure, leaders don’t revert to goals. They revert to structure.
Your leadership is perfectly designed for the results you are currently getting.
The Invisible Leadership Load
Decision overload, emotional labor, unresolved tension, and constant context switching create an invisible leadership load that pushes leaders back into urgency and control.
The problem is not the leader. It is the load.
Architecting your 2026 means identifying what you are carrying that you were never meant to hold alone and redesigning your life so leadership does not require constant force.
The Three Areas That Matter Most
This episode focuses on three essential design domains.
Energy design
How your day drains or restores you matters more than productivity. Leaders must protect recovery, thinking time, and white space in order to lead effectively.
Decision design
Reducing decision fatigue requires clear ownership, strong filters tied to values and strategy, and pushing decisions down instead of pulling everything up.
Relationship design
Leadership is relational. Access boundaries, feedback flow, and proximity shape how you lead and how others experience you.
Your Calendar Tells the Truth
Your calendar is not a scheduling tool. It is a leadership tool.
If your calendar does not reflect your priorities, neither will your leadership. If it doesn’t change in 2026, neither will your results.
Key Takeaways
• Willpower fades, structure holds
• Stress reveals the quality of your design
• Energy, decisions, and relationships must be intentional
• One structural shift can change everything
Mic Drop Moments
• You don’t need more discipline. You need better design.
• Stress doesn’t test your intentions. It exposes your structure.
• Build the structure, and the behavior will follow.
This episode completes the Design Yourself series by showing how to build a life and leadership that actually support who you are becoming.
Listen or watch the full episode of Reflect Forward on your favorite podcast platform or on YouTube.
Connect with Kerry
Visit my website, kerrysiggins.com, to explore my book, The Ownership Mindset, and get more leadership resources. Let’s connect on LinkedIn, Instagram, or TikTok!
Find Reflect Forward on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kerrysiggins-reflectforward
Find out more about my book here: https://kerrysiggins.com/the-ownership-mindset/
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-siggins/
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Most leaders don’t fail because they lack clarity. They fail because their life is not built to support who they are trying to become.
In this final episode of the Design Yourself series, I focus on the piece most leaders overlook when trying to change their leadership or their life: structure. You can have deep self-awareness and a clear leadership identity, but if your calendar, systems, and environment are misaligned, old patterns will resurface under pressure.
2026 will not test your intentions. It will test your structure.
Why Willpower Breaks Down Under Pressure
Many leaders rely on discipline and motivation to create change. The problem is that leadership rarely happens under ideal conditions. Stress, uncertainty, emotional load, and constant disruption are part of the job.
Research from Stanford University shows that environmental and structural cues drive nearly 45 percent of daily behavior, far more than conscious intention. Under pressure, leaders don’t revert to goals. They revert to structure.
Your leadership is perfectly designed for the results you are currently getting.
The Invisible Leadership Load
Decision overload, emotional labor, unresolved tension, and constant context switching create an invisible leadership load that pushes leaders back into urgency and control.
The problem is not the leader. It is the load.
Architecting your 2026 means identifying what you are carrying that you were never meant to hold alone and redesigning your life so leadership does not require constant force.
The Three Areas That Matter Most
This episode focuses on three essential design domains.
Energy design
How your day drains or restores you matters more than productivity. Leaders must protect recovery, thinking time, and white space in order to lead effectively.
Decision design
Reducing decision fatigue requires clear ownership, strong filters tied to values and strategy, and pushing decisions down instead of pulling everything up.
Relationship design
Leadership is relational. Access boundaries, feedback flow, and proximity shape how you lead and how others experience you.
Your Calendar Tells the Truth
Your calendar is not a scheduling tool. It is a leadership tool.
If your calendar does not reflect your priorities, neither will your leadership. If it doesn’t change in 2026, neither will your results.
Key Takeaways
• Willpower fades, structure holds
• Stress reveals the quality of your design
• Energy, decisions, and relationships must be intentional
• One structural shift can change everything
Mic Drop Moments
• You don’t need more discipline. You need better design.
• Stress doesn’t test your intentions. It exposes your structure.
• Build the structure, and the behavior will follow.
This episode completes the Design Yourself series by showing how to build a life and leadership that actually support who you are becoming.
Listen or watch the full episode of Reflect Forward on your favorite podcast platform or on YouTube.
Connect with Kerry
Visit my website, kerrysiggins.com, to explore my book, The Ownership Mindset, and get more leadership resources. Let’s connect on LinkedIn, Instagram, or TikTok!
Find Reflect Forward on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kerrysiggins-reflectforward
Find out more about my book here: https://kerrysiggins.com/the-ownership-mindset/
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-siggins/
The Bravery Effect How Leaders Build Courage w/ Jill Schulman
Reflect Forward
32 minutes 41 seconds
4 months ago
The Bravery Effect How Leaders Build Courage w/ Jill Schulman
Great leaders build courage
What if the biggest risk to your leadership isn’t failure, but staying stuck where you are? Playing it safe may feel comfortable, but over time it erodes growth, impact, and confidence. That’s why bravery is the defining trait of great leaders.
In this week’s Reflect Forward episode, The Bravery Effect: How Leaders Build Courage, I sit down with Jill Schulman, a former U.S. Marine Corps officer, leadership development expert, and founder of Breakthrough Leadership Group. Jill has dedicated her career to studying the science of bravery, resilience, and peak performance, helping leaders reframe fear not as a barrier but as a signal for growth.
Her story is remarkable, going from combat engineering in the Marine Corps to a thriving pharmaceutical career and then leaping into entrepreneurship. Along the way, Jill discovered that bravery isn’t about being fearless. It’s about taking meaningful action in the presence of fear which every leader needs if they want to step out of the rut and into real influence.
In this powerful conversation, Jill and I explore:
• Why fear—not failure—is often the greatest barrier to leadership growth
• How micro-moments of bravery build resilience and confidence over time
• The importance of aligning your career with your strengths and values
• How to overcome self-doubt by taking action, not waiting for motivation
• Why vulnerability is at the heart of true courage
Jill also shares insights from her new book, The Bravery Effect, written as a parable to help readers build their bravery “muscle” one small act at a time. Whether it’s speaking up in a meeting, having a tough conversation, or making a major career change, Jill shows us how courage compounds into transformation.
Listen to the full conversation on your favorite podcast platform or watch on YouTube.
Mic Drop Moments
💥 “If you’re waiting to feel confident or motivated before you act, you’ll be waiting forever. Action creates confidence. Action fuels motivation.”
💥 “If you don’t feel fear, it’s not bravery. The presence of fear is what makes courage possible.”
💥 “Everyday bravery isn’t about running into a burning building. It’s raising your hand in a meeting, having the hard conversation, or saying yes to the stretch assignment. Those choices compound and that’s how you change your life.”
Key Takeaways
1. Bravery is not the absence of fear; it’s action in the presence of it.
2. Confidence and motivation come after you take action, not before.
3. Micro-moments of bravery compound over time into life-changing courage.
4. Aligning your work with your strengths and values leads to lasting fulfillment.
5. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s the gateway to true courage.
Connect with Jill
Company website: https://breakthroughleadershipgroup.com/
Personal website: https://jillschulman.com/
Social Media
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillaschulman/
https://www.instagram.com/jillschulman
https://www.facebook.com/jill.schulman.5/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiS29aCCoaDGEDPLc6JJklQ
The Bravery Effect: https://www.amazon.com/Bravery-Effect-Teaching-Conquering-Achieving/dp/B0F2BBPR35
Connect with Kerry
Don’t forget to subscribe to Reflect Forward on your favorite podcast platform or YouTube. Visit my website, kerrysiggins.com, to explore my book, The Ownership Mindset, and get more leadership resources. Let’s connect on LinkedIn, Instagram, or TikTok!
Find Reflect Forward on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kerrysiggins-reflectforward
Find out more about my book here: https://kerrysiggins.com/the-ownership-mindset/
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-siggins/
Reflect Forward
Most leaders don’t fail because they lack clarity. They fail because their life is not built to support who they are trying to become.
In this final episode of the Design Yourself series, I focus on the piece most leaders overlook when trying to change their leadership or their life: structure. You can have deep self-awareness and a clear leadership identity, but if your calendar, systems, and environment are misaligned, old patterns will resurface under pressure.
2026 will not test your intentions. It will test your structure.
Why Willpower Breaks Down Under Pressure
Many leaders rely on discipline and motivation to create change. The problem is that leadership rarely happens under ideal conditions. Stress, uncertainty, emotional load, and constant disruption are part of the job.
Research from Stanford University shows that environmental and structural cues drive nearly 45 percent of daily behavior, far more than conscious intention. Under pressure, leaders don’t revert to goals. They revert to structure.
Your leadership is perfectly designed for the results you are currently getting.
The Invisible Leadership Load
Decision overload, emotional labor, unresolved tension, and constant context switching create an invisible leadership load that pushes leaders back into urgency and control.
The problem is not the leader. It is the load.
Architecting your 2026 means identifying what you are carrying that you were never meant to hold alone and redesigning your life so leadership does not require constant force.
The Three Areas That Matter Most
This episode focuses on three essential design domains.
Energy design
How your day drains or restores you matters more than productivity. Leaders must protect recovery, thinking time, and white space in order to lead effectively.
Decision design
Reducing decision fatigue requires clear ownership, strong filters tied to values and strategy, and pushing decisions down instead of pulling everything up.
Relationship design
Leadership is relational. Access boundaries, feedback flow, and proximity shape how you lead and how others experience you.
Your Calendar Tells the Truth
Your calendar is not a scheduling tool. It is a leadership tool.
If your calendar does not reflect your priorities, neither will your leadership. If it doesn’t change in 2026, neither will your results.
Key Takeaways
• Willpower fades, structure holds
• Stress reveals the quality of your design
• Energy, decisions, and relationships must be intentional
• One structural shift can change everything
Mic Drop Moments
• You don’t need more discipline. You need better design.
• Stress doesn’t test your intentions. It exposes your structure.
• Build the structure, and the behavior will follow.
This episode completes the Design Yourself series by showing how to build a life and leadership that actually support who you are becoming.
Listen or watch the full episode of Reflect Forward on your favorite podcast platform or on YouTube.
Connect with Kerry
Visit my website, kerrysiggins.com, to explore my book, The Ownership Mindset, and get more leadership resources. Let’s connect on LinkedIn, Instagram, or TikTok!
Find Reflect Forward on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kerrysiggins-reflectforward
Find out more about my book here: https://kerrysiggins.com/the-ownership-mindset/
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-siggins/
