Elite Achievement

By Kristin BurkeBusiness Entrepreneurship Education Self-Improvement

Elite Achievement episodes

October 29 How to Build a Successful Advisory Firm Without Sacrificing Your Life with Sten Morgan
Today we talk with Sten Morgan about building a scalable financial advisory firm without giving up nights, weekends, or family dinners. We unpack the mindset shift from “this is my business” to “I’m an investor,” plus the practical hiring, iteration, and leadership moves that turn friction into growth.
Key topics discussed in this episode:
• Noticing friction points that show up while scaling and naming what is not revenue generating
• Iterating quickly toward “good enough to move on” instead of chasing perfection
• Making the producer to CEO shift and finding validation in team wins
• Deciding whether leadership fits by watching your energy around risk, growth, and comfort
• Involving the right team members early and parking good ideas to avoid dilution
Follow Elite Achievement for more conversations on leadership and high-level execution.
About Sten
Sten Morgan, CFP®, ChFC®, is the founder of Legacy, a multimillion-dollar financial planning firm based in Franklin, Tennessee, and the Elite Advisor Network, where he coaches thousands of financial advisors nationwide. Recognized as one of InvestmentNews’ 40 Under 40 at age 30, Sten is also the author of three books: 7 Mindsets of Success, Value First Prospecting, and Wish I Knew That Sooner. He is passionate about challenging conventional thinking and helping financial advisors recognize their value, grow their businesses, and reach their full potential.
Connect with Sten
LinkedIn
Website
About Kristin Burke
Kristin Burke works with financial advisors and leaders in financial services who are building and scaling firms. She helps them lead more effectively, develop their team, and execute consistently on the priorities that drive growth.
Work with Kristin
If you are building a firm and want a strategic partner to help you think through leadership, team development, and execution, you can learn more about working with Kristin here:
Website
Connect on LinkedIn
LinkedIn
41 min
October 22 Think Like a CEO: The Decisions Behind Building a Successful Firm with Gene Farrell
Today we talk with Gene about the real mindset shifts that happen when you go from senior leader inside big brands to CEO of a startup with no safety net. We dig into culture, decision making, and hiring so you can lead with more clarity, move faster with better judgment, and build a team that fits the stage you are in.
Key topics discussed in this episode:
• Leading inside established cultures versus defining culture from scratch
• Building customer-centric and metrics-driven habits as a leadership operating system
• Raising the performance bar without losing humanity in tough people decisions
• Making faster calls with the one-way door vs two-way door decision framework
• How the CEO role evolves from product discovery to revenue, fundraising, and operations
Follow Elite Achievement for more conversations on leadership and high-level execution.
About Gene
Gene Farrell is the CEO of Vanilla, an estate planning platform built for financial advisors. He brings extensive executive leadership experience from companies including Coca-Cola, Amazon, and Smart Speed, where he helped take the company public and grow revenue from approximately $100 million to more than $500 million. In 2021, Gene joined Vanilla as CEO, bringing his experience scaling businesses to an early-stage company with a team of approximately 20 employees
Connect with Gene
LinkedIn
Website
About Kristin Burke
Kristin Burke works with financial advisors and leaders in financial services who are building and scaling firms. She helps them lead more effectively, develop their team, and execute consistently on the priorities that drive growth.
Work with Kristin
If you are building a firm and want a strategic partner to help you think through leadership, team development, and execution, you can learn more about working with Kristin here:
Website
Connect on LinkedIn
LinkedIn
39 min
October 15 Elite Insights - What Kind of Practice Are You Building?
Today I challenge the idea that clear revenue goals automatically create a clear business plan, especially when advisors feel disconnected from what they typed into planning software. We explain why a professional vision should be treated as a draft and how that clarity helps you hire, delegate, and build a firm you actually choose.
Key topics discussed in this episode:
• Why annual planning often turns into numbers without commitment
• How our planning approach creates space to envision, reflect, and execute
• Why a vision works best as an evolving draft rather than a fixed promise
• The difference between a personal vision, professional vision, and public vision
• Three models to choose from: advisor-led practice, ensemble, CEO-led firm
Follow Elite Achievement for more conversations on leadership and high-level execution.
About Kristin Burke
Kristin Burke works with financial advisors and leaders in financial services who are building and scaling firms. She helps them lead more effectively, develop their team, and execute consistently on the priorities that drive growth.
Work with Kristin
If you are building a firm and want a strategic partner to help you think through leadership, team development, and execution, you can learn more about working with Kristin here:
Website
Connect on LinkedIn
LinkedIn
8 min
October 08 From Advisor To CEO with Leo Kelly
Today we talk with Leo Kelly about what it really takes to move from successful advisor to full-time CEO while scaling a client-first RIA. We dig into hiring, culture, and the hard tradeoffs behind building a platform firm that can grow without breaking client experience.
Key topics discussed in this episode:
• Building Verdence around the idea that the client is the architect
• Hiring people not positions and recruiting for character
• Building capacity ahead of growth to reduce stress and protect service
• Addressing culture problems quickly without avoiding hard calls
• Committing financially, emotionally, and in identity to the CEO role
• Leading through market crises by leaning into the hard moments
Follow Elite Achievement for more conversations on leadership and high-level execution.
About Leo
Leo J. Kelly III is the Founder and CEO of Verdence Capital Advisors, an independent wealth advisory and multi-family office firm based in Hunt Valley, Maryland. He and his partners built Verdence from the ground up in 2017, and the firm now serves business owners, corporate executives, and high-net-worth families.
Before founding Verdence, Leo spent two decades in wealth management, first at Merrill Lynch and later as a Managing Director and Partner at HighTower Advisors. That background shaped how he leads today, with a focus on independence, culture, and client-centric relationships.
As a founder himself, Leo understands what entrepreneurs face when they build, scale, and sell a company. He hosts the podcast From the Ground Up, where he talks with founders about how they started and what they learned.
Connect with Leo
LinkedIn
About Kristin Burke
Kristin Burke works with financial advisors and leaders in financial services who are building and scaling firms. She helps them lead more effectively, develop their team, and execute consistently on the priorities that drive growth.
Work with Kristin
If you are building a firm and want a strategic partner to help you think through leadership, team development, and execution, you can learn more about working with Kristin here:
Website
Connect on LinkedIn
LinkedIn
41 min
October 01 How to Turn Business Planning into Execution
Today I break down why a planning day only works when business planning becomes an ongoing process that starts before the meeting and continues long after it ends. I share how to use vision, reflection, focused priorities, and real accountability so a leadership team leaves with clarity and then actually executes.
Key topics discussed in this episode:
• Treating business planning as a process rather than a one-day event
• Doing deep preparation beyond an agenda to design the right conversations
• Reconnecting to vision as an inspiration and alignment tool
• Reflecting on results to uncover the real “why” behind progress and shortfalls
• Identifying limiting beliefs that shape behavior and reframing them with better questions
Follow Elite Achievement for more conversations on leadership and high-level execution.
About Kristin Burke
Kristin Burke works with financial advisors and leaders in financial services who are building and scaling firms. She helps them lead more effectively, develop their team, and execute consistently on the priorities that drive growth.
Work with Kristin
If you are building a firm and want a strategic partner to help you think through leadership, team development, and execution, you can learn more about working with Kristin here:
Website
Connect on LinkedIn
LinkedIn
11 min
October 01 How to Turn Business Planning into Execution
Today I break down why a planning day only works when business planning becomes an ongoing process that starts before the meeting and continues long after it ends. I share how to use vision, reflection, focused priorities, and real accountability so a leadership team leaves with clarity and then actually executes.
Key topics discussed in this episode:
• Treating business planning as a process rather than a one-day event
• Doing deep preparation beyond an agenda to design the right conversations
• Reconnecting to vision as an inspiration and alignment tool
• Reflecting on results to uncover the real “why” behind progress and shortfalls
• Identifying limiting beliefs that shape behavior and reframing them with better questions
Follow Elite Achievement for more conversations on leadership and high-level execution.
About Kristin Burke
Kristin Burke works with financial advisors and leaders in financial services who are building and scaling firms. She helps them lead more effectively, develop their team, and execute consistently on the priorities that drive growth.
Work with Kristin
If you are building a firm and want a strategic partner to help you think through leadership, team development, and execution, you can learn more about working with Kristin here:
Website
Connect on LinkedIn
LinkedIn
11 min
September 24 Team First Leadership with Vaughan Scott
Today we sit down with Vaughan Scott to unpack how a financial advisory firm survives big transitions by putting the team first and hiring people who treat advice as a calling. We dig into practical leadership moves that keep talent for decades, create clear growth plans, and make succession planning feel steady instead of scary.
Key topics discussed in this episode:
• The origin story behind Axiom Financial Strategies Group and lessons from industry upheaval
• Why “team” beats individual heroics in firm growth
• How long-term retention is built through care, support, and shared values
• Why paraplanners can bridge service and advisory work
• Succession planning mechanics, valuation, financing, and early economic clarity
Follow Elite Achievement for more conversations on leadership and high-level execution.
About Vaughan
Vaughan Scott, MBA, CPWA®, is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Axiom Financial Strategies Group, an independent registered investment advisor. He has advised family enterprises and entrepreneurs on financial, strategic, transition, and succession needs since 1997. Vaughan is also a professor in practice at the University of Louisville, where he teaches business consulting in MBA and graduate programs, and an instructor with the Family Firm Institute’s Global Education Network. Throughout his career, he has been dedicated to helping families preserve their wealth, capitalize on opportunities, and successfully transition their businesses, wealth, and values to future generations.
Connect with Vaughan
Website
LinkedIn
About Kristin Burke
Kristin Burke works with financial advisors and leaders in financial services who are building and scaling firms. She helps them lead more effectively, develop their team, and execute consistently on the priorities that drive growth.
Work with Kristin
If you are building a firm and want a strategic partner to help you think through leadership, team development, and execution, you can learn more about working with Kristin here:
Website
Connect on LinkedIn
LinkedIn
Axiom Financial Strategies Group LLC (“Axiom”) is a registered investment advisor. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Axiom and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure.
The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice and it should not be relied on as such. It should not be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell a security. It does not take into account any investor's particular investment objectives, strategies, tax status or investment horizon. You should consult your attorney or tax advisor.
For additional information, please visit our website at https://www.axiomfsg.com/.
33 min
September 17 Elite Insights - Raise The Bar, Then Hold It
Today I share a coaching story from the early days of training new financial advisors and the hard moment when missing expectations led to a contract termination. We explain how raising standards, coaching beyond the minimum, and following through consistently changes performance and culture.
Key topics discussed in this episode:
• A 75-day onboarding system with three 25-day review periods and clear activity requirements
• The pressure and consequences of missing early targets and letting everything ride on the final period
• Changing our coaching to focus on surpassing standards, not just meeting the minimum
• How repeating expectations early and often improves clarity and execution
• Why inconsistent enforcement creates a new standard for everyone watching
Follow Elite Achievement for more conversations on leadership and high-level execution.
About Kristin Burke
Kristin Burke works with financial advisors and leaders in financial services who are building and scaling firms. She helps them lead more effectively, develop their team, and execute consistently on the priorities that drive growth.
Work with Kristin
If you are building a firm and want a strategic partner to help you think through leadership, team development, and execution, you can learn more about working with Kristin here:
Website
Connect on LinkedIn
LinkedIn
5 min
September 10 What Changes as Your Firm Grows with James Spinelli.
Today we talk with James Spinelli about how he helps scale Great Valley Advisor Group from a startup into a community supporting 200+ advisors and more than 400 people. We break down what changes as growth accelerates, from hiring and meetings to data, culture, and the hard work of letting go.
Key topics discussed in this episode:
• Building trust through one-on-one conversations and shared transition experience
• The leadership shift after 100+ advisors, managing time and expectations
• Creating advisor success and business strategy roles to stay connected at scale
• Reinforcing mission and values through department leads and consistent communication
• Stepping into the CEO role by getting out of the weeds and upgrading seats
• Handling tough people decisions, documenting processes, and avoiding “drag”
Follow Elite Achievement for more conversations on leadership and high-level execution.
About James
James Spinelli is Co-Founder and CEO of Great Valley Advisor Group (GVA), a Pennsylvania-based RIA supporting nearly 200 advisors and managing more than $12 billion in assets. James built GVA from the ground up, growing it from a start-up RIA into a nationally recognized firm focused on helping independent advisors grow, build enterprise value, and achieve true ownership. Before launching GVA, he worked at Comcast Corporation in capital forecasting, financial systems, and operational efficiency. James is also the founder of AdvisorBOB, a fintech platform designed to simplify advisor compensation and business management, which was acquired by AdvicePay in 2025.
Connect with James
Website
LinkedIn
About Kristin Burke
Kristin Burke works with financial advisors and leaders in financial services who are building and scaling firms. She helps them lead more effectively, develop their team, and execute consistently on the priorities that drive growth.
Work with Kristin
If you are building a firm and want a strategic partner to help you think through leadership, team development, and execution, you can learn more about working with Kristin here:
Website
Connect on LinkedIn
LinkedIn
35 min
September 03 Elite Insights - Meetings That Drive Execution
Today we challenge ourselves to judge team meetings by outcomes, not agendas, and to lead conversations that turn updates and scorecards into real decisions. We share a practical approach to accountability that feels like coaching, plus a reminder that consistent meetings create momentum for the whole firm, including us as leaders.
Key topics discussed in this episode:
• Auditing the last team meeting by asking what changed because it happened
• Shifting from scorecard review to decisions, blockers, and next actions
• Turning project updates into action items with clear ownership
• Using a coaching tone to remove shame and surface what got in the way
• Creating leader accountability through preparation and planning cadence
Follow Elite Achievement for more conversations on leadership and high-level execution.
About Kristin Burke
Kristin Burke works with financial advisors and leaders in financial services who are building and scaling firms. She helps them lead more effectively, develop their team, and execute consistently on the priorities that drive growth.
Work with Kristin
If you are building a firm and want a strategic partner to help you think through leadership, team development, and execution, you can learn more about working with Kristin here:
Website
Connect on LinkedIn
LinkedIn
7 min

About Elite Achievement

From the publisher's feed

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.