Doing the Hard Things: How She Leads, Balances and Breaks Barriers with Erin Kagan
Ever made a mistake so big you thought it would define you?
Erin Kagan has been on the softball field and in her career and she’s proof that setbacks can fuel the ultimate comeback.
Lisa and Cindy sit down with Erin, now Manager of National Accounts at Ferguson Enterprises, to talk about fearlessly leaping into new industries, thriving in a male-dominated space, and why she ditched “work-life balance” for a healthier blend.
You’ll hear practical tips on building confidence, setting boundaries at home and at work, and finding mentors who open doors you didn’t know existed.
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
01:56 Erin Kagan's Background and Career Journey
03:25 Impact of Athletics on Professional Success
05:00 Overcoming Setbacks and Building Resilience
07:21 Career Transition and Facing Fears
09:20 Mentorship and Networking
12:07 Women in a Male-Dominated Industry
16:01 Balancing Career and Family Life
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
The Athlete Advantage – How Erin’s years as a Division I softball player taught her focus, discipline, and the “amnesia” mindset for bouncing back fast.
A Leap of Faith – Leaving a thriving railroad career for a brand-new industry and the fear she had to face head-on.
Networking as a Power Play – Why visibility matters, especially when you work far from HQ, and how Erin leveraged relationships to rise quickly.
Mentorship That Moves Mountains – The story behind being paired with Ferguson’s Chief People Officer and how it transformed Erin’s trajectory.
Thriving in a Male-Dominated Industry – Real talk on confidence gaps and Erin’s approach to lifting other women up.
Creating a Women’s Leadership Summit – How spotting an industry gap led her to build an impactful annual event in just two years.
Work-Life Blend, Not Balance – Erin’s color-coded calendar trick, hiring help without guilt, and her secret to keeping family first.
Shared Goals at Home – Why transparent communication with her husband turned them into true partners in both career and parenting.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
“If I can do it, you can do it too. The only difference might be your confidence.” - Erin Kagan
“You can have it all, just not all at once.” - Erin Kagan
“If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.” - Erin Kagan
“So, you know, you make a bad play. You have to have amnesia and move on to the next play.” - Erin Kagan
“Blend your life; don’t balance it. Balance makes you feel like something has to lose.” - Erin Kagan
“If a bad sales call is haunting you, remember the doctor’s probably forgotten it already. Don’t let it paralyze your next move.” - Anneliese Rhodes
“A setback can be the setup for your comeback.” - Anneliese Rhodes
“You can’t move forward if you’re dragging yesterday’s mistakes with you.” - Anneliese Rhodes
“Sometimes the fear of change is louder than the change itself do it anyway.” - Anneliese Rhodes
“Your focus is your greatest asset; guard it like gold.” - Anneliese Rhodes
“Where there’s a will and a solid plan there’s always a way.” - Cynthia Ficara
“Stop calling it balance. Call it alignment, because nothing good comes from feeling like something always has to give.” - Cynthia Ficara
“Mentorship isn’t a luxury. It’s the shortcut to growth.” - Cynthia Ficara
“Time is the most valuable currency, spend it where it counts.” - Cynthia Ficara
“Identify the gap, then take the action to close it. That's leadership in motion.” - Cynthia Ficara
About Erin
Erin Kagan is a people-focused leader known for her curiosity, competitive spirit, and passion for building strong teams. Born and raised in Yorktown, Virginia, she now lives in Tampa, Florida with her husband and two children. Erin began her career at Norfolk Southern before making a bold industry switch to Ferguson, where she’s spent the past eight years growing as a manager and leader. Inspired by her father, a CPA turned CEO and shaped by years as a Division I softball player at the University of North Carolina, Erin brings integrity, resilience, and a team-first mindset to every challenge she takes on.
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Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Anneliese Rhodes: Welcome everyone to another episode of Secrets in Medical Device Sales, brought to you by the Girls of Grit. Today we have another spotlight series. I'm excited, right, with a fantastic lady who we just absolutely adore. And you guys, she's got a really neat story and you'll see a lot of parallels with her story and probably your stories.
So today we have Erin Kagan, and Erin is a manager. Of national accounts, multifamily with Ferguson Enterprises. So not medical devices, you guys, but I'm gonna tell you, you're gonna find a lot of parallels in
Cynthia Ficara: this interview. Very exciting. And Erin, welcome. We are so, so happy to have you here today. So why don't you just start and tell us your story, please.
Of
Erin Kagan: course. Well, first thank you both for having me. I'm honored that you believe that my insights will be valuable to your audience, so I'm really excited to be here. I thank you. Two are wonderful and you're both inspirations to me, so thank you. Thank you.
So, uh, again, my name is Erin Kagan. I grew up born and raised in Yorktown, Virginia. I live in Tampa, Florida today with my husband and our two beautiful children. I, um, really kickstarted my career with Norfolk Southern, which is an Eastern Railroad. And then about eight and a half years ago, I did a complete industry switch and moved over to Ferguson.
And when I look at my, look at my life from a leadership perspective, I really contribute a lot of what I've, what I've achieved so far in large part to my parents. So, um, my father in particular, he's a CPA by trade, but he was the president and CEO of financial institution in Hampton Roads for over 20 years.
And so to have that impact from a leadership, um. You know, coaching and mentor was really valuable and impactful in my life. And then, um, as a, as a young girl, I was very curious. Still am and more than anything else, I was a relentless competitor and still am to this day. So I give a lot of credit to my parents.
They, they recognize these values that I had and immediately got me into sports, and I played just about every sport they let me get my hands on and really gravitated to, to softball, which ultimately led me to getting a scholarship to play softball at the University of North Carolina.
Cynthia Ficara: Wow, girl, that is really
Erin Kagan: awesome.
Cynthia Ficara: Such an impressive university. Yeah. Oh, congratulations. Yeah,
Erin Kagan: thank you. Yes. Amazing. Four years.
How Athletes Turn Setbacks into Comebacks
Cynthia Ficara: Yeah. So how would you say being an athlete impacted and or did it have any impact in your professional career?
Erin Kagan: You know, I would say it had the biggest impact on the success that I've achieved thus far, and a few contributors to that.
And you don't, you don't realize it as you're going through some of the sacrifices you make to be a elite athlete, but in hindsight you look back and things like time management. I wasn't, I don't really, I manage my calendar, but I more so manage my. Focus. And as I set outside time to complete those tasks, I am focused on getting those done.
And that is work related. It's focused for my kids, it's focused on my husband, it's focused on my health. Um, you, you two know better than most. You're gonna get calls from customers anytime of day, and customers always come first. But if I am. Focused on something like my family, I will just say, Hey, I will call you back.
Give me an hour, give me 30 minutes, whatever that looks like. I'm with my kids and I really need to, I really need to pour into them for this time. Um, so time management for sure. Another big, another big contributor that most people don't talk about is the ability to have amnesia. So as an athlete ing, interesting.
Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, you make a bad play. You have to have amnesia and move on to the next play. That's so
Anneliese Rhodes: we're both like amnesia. Hmm. But you know what, Erin? Such a great analogy. I love that. Tell us more. 'cause that's really, you're right, as an elite athlete, you can't hang on to bad stuff.
Erin Kagan: No. So I have a great example.
So when I was in college, we were playing Arizona State. And Arizona State has always been an amazing program. Um, you know, top five, top, top 10 program. And I was an outfielder in college and I made an error and I was really strong defensively. And it was just one of those moments where you're like, I cannot believe I just did that.
And that era resulted in giving up a run. And I'm eating myself from the out, like from the inside out. I'm. So mad, I'm so disappointed, and it's like, okay, you have to forget that and you have to move on, and you have to focus on the next play, and you have to focus on what can I do for my team to make that up.
And so my next step back there was a runner at second and I hit a two row homer to put us up by one. So you are gonna have setbacks, but it's what are you doing to, to come back and to, if it's a team or an individual contributor, like what are you doing to make the setbacks a tremendous comeback.
Cynthia Ficara: I
Erin Kagan: love that.
Cynthia Ficara: That's tremendous because it's not all about what happens, it's how you react and what you do after. And to fix something like that and be able to compartmentalize. And so, but I love your term amnesia. That's my favorite because we all do wanna forget the bad. Yeah. But think about some of those people out there that focus too much on the negative, and then where does that get them?
Nowhere.
Erin Kagan: Yeah. Nowhere.
Anneliese Rhodes: And you know what, as I, as I'm listening to your story, it's making me think, obviously of our listeners, right? And. Though they may not have played softball in medical device sales or any type of sales or anything at all. You, I think when you beat yourself up and you hang on to things, they keep you from moving forward, right?
So. If, let's just say you had a bad sales call with a doctor, guaranteed he probably is not gonna remember in a week from now, but you remember, and is that paralyzing you now, in order to not move forward, right? Instead of it being it's a setback and it pushes you back, you set it well, it's a comeback or a set up to be even better.
And I, I love that and I think that is so key. Absolutely.
Erin Kagan: Of course we've all been there and I think that's, it's definitely a healthy balance of you do need to sit back and say, what did I do? Where did I misstep? How do I course correct? But you gotta be able to let that go and move on quickly. Oh, I love that.
That's so great.
Anneliese Rhodes: Great lessons. Yeah, that's for sure. Yeah, I, I just think that's fantastic.
Leaps of Faith & Fear
So, okay, so hang on though. So you said you were in Virginia and you were working for the railroads, and then you moved to Tampa and you started a brand new role with a brand new company. You dove right in. Like, talk to us about that.
Like was there fear involved? Was there concern involved? I mean, you were learning something new. Um, obviously a new company, you know, we do that a lot in medical devices. Or maybe people are jumping into medical devices or they're moving from sales rep to manager. And I know you've made some moves yourself and we'll talk about that.
But tell us a little bit about how you handled that complete crazy transition.
Erin Kagan: You know, um, there was a lot of fear involved. I, I loved, I loved what I was doing at Norfolk Southern. I had amazing people. I was working for people that came to my wedding. I still have relationships with them to this day. So I, there was a lot of fear of am I doing the right thing because I have such a great position.
I had such a bright future. Um, there was a lot of personal things. Um. I was getting moved, my husband was getting moved, and we just really, what we did and, and I would say to especially your young listeners. Is really have difficult conversations with your significant other early on, because had we not done that, I'm not sure we would've ended up, we wouldn't be here today.
Right? And so there was a little bit of a leap of faith on a personal front, but from a, from a professional standpoint, there was a lot of fear and anxiety over, am I making the right decision? Is this a good move for me? And what I would encourage your listener like. It was the best thing I ever did. Like I was so scared, but it was the best thing I ever did and, and completely.
Total shift of what I was doing, but trust your ability to figure it out. If you've got the grit, you'll figure it out and you'll be
Anneliese Rhodes: fine. And I love that, that you had the insight to really discuss this with your husband. You know, it's sometimes we get paralyzed by that fear and so we're like, oh, well let's just not talk about, it's all gonna work out.
But you really hit that head on and I think that's obviously what ultimately led to you being able to not only trust him, but then trust yourself. Right. And get into a new position.
Fast-Track to Leadership
So. Tell us a little bit about what you, what you did and where, you know, how you've moved up because you've definitely moved up in your company, um, and how you did that.
Right? How, how you did that in such a short amount of time. I mean, eight years is not that long to start in a brand new company and move up and to being, you know, manager of national accounts. I mean, that's a lot.
Erin Kagan: Yeah. Yeah. So started in outside sales in Tampa, and I think a large part, my success was not being afraid of challenges being thrown my way.
Like, Hey, can you, I was supposed to be Tampa. Hey, can you take on South Florida? Can you take on like Sarasota? Can you go down to Fort Myers? And I'm like, yes, yes I can. Yes I can. And you just figure out you don't wanna be a, you also need to know your boundaries, of course, but not being afraid of the challenge.
And more importantly, learning how to network. I mean, you gotta be able to network with your company and it's really hard. Ferguson is based in Newport News, Virginia. I am in Florida. You, you both know well, that the further you get away from headquarters, you're on an island and sometimes you lose visibility.
And so figuring out how to network and who, who do I need to like, hit my wagon too, that are, that are really gonna help me and propel me to, to get where I wanna go. Um, that was kind of. Be successful. You won't, you won't move anywhere if you're not excelling in the role that you're in, number one. So check that box and then who can I learn from, be mentored by that are really gonna help me?
And so what was truly instrumental in my role from outside sales to national accounts is Ferguson does an internal mentorship program. Oh, really?
Anneliese Rhodes: That's
Erin Kagan: nice. Yes. Yes. Wow. And I, I got matched, uh, I got matched with Allison Stirrup, who is our chief people officer. She was not our chief people officer at the time.
Like the Yeah. People, yeah. Chief people. She's amazing. And so a lot of the questions I had for her was, how did you do it? How did you manage a family? You've got kids, you're, you've this flowering career. Like how did you do it? And she really did give me a lot of tips. She introduced me to a lot of people and we still have a great relationship to this day.
So finding those people that are really gonna help propel propel you is is really instrumental. And then be, if you stay ready, you don't have to get ready. That's something that I always believe. I like that, Erin. Yeah. Good bombs. But truly when the opportunity came up, um, I took advantage of it and so I made that switch and my role in national accounts was very similar to what I was doing at Norfolk Southern.
So I was very comfortable. I different industry, but the fundamentals were the exact same. So I kind of, I moved into that role and it felt like home a little bit. And so there was so much that others maybe had to learn that I already had. I just propelled pretty quickly.
Mentoring Women in a Male-Dominated Industry
Cynthia Ficara: So in listening to you talk about your mentorship and, and how you found people from, and, and I mean, I, I look at Ferguson as a company that I'm not all that familiar with, in all fairness, but in our previous conversation we mentioned that we know it is more of a male dominated company that you work within.
So how do you, in this male dominated environment. Commit to really meeting other women, mentoring other women who may or may not be matched up as well as you were in making sure that their shoes are filled to be the best they can be.
Erin Kagan: Right? Nope, that's a great question. It is very, very male dominated, but it takes, I think this is where getting back to athletics really helped me where I wasn't, I'm not afraid to talk to people.
I'm not afraid to reach out. I'm not afraid to say, Hey, you can, wildly successful. Can I ask you a few questions? And a lot of women get a little nervous about doing what, right. They're, they're, we're all afraid of being told no. And I think what most people would realize, especially women, like, they're not gonna tell you no.
They wanna help you. I wanna help, I wanna help anybody that I can. Well said. So I, um, I've been very fortunate to have lots of leaders, men and women that have helped me along the way, but then I also wanna reach back and, and help. And so, um, however that comes, if someone reaches out to me, I always say yes.
Like, I will help you. Whatever questions you have, call me whenever, set up a call. My calendar is always up to date, or I have. Women that I know in the company, and I'll just call them periodically and say, Hey, how's it going? And um, anything I can help you with any questions that you have. And that tends to go a really long way.
'cause what I've learned is the, especially within Ferguson. Women are so, so amazing and they're talented, but I think it's maybe a little bit of the confidence of, am I capable of taking that next step? And I say all the time, I'm like, look, if I can do it, you can do it too. The only difference in some cases is your confidence in maybe your, your, your work ethic perhaps.
But if I can do it, everyone's capable of doing it. That's
Anneliese Rhodes: awesome. Talk about building up women, and you were just telling us prior to us hopping on. Um, this call is, you've just got back from a really cool women's leadership summit that you put
Erin Kagan: together. Yes. Yeah. So, um, it was our second year that we did it.
Um, it's a really neat story. I was having lunch with a customer of mine who is a strong woman leader, and we were talking about gaps in our industry of finding top. Leaders, women that we could bring together and, and really talk about the, talk about our industry, how do we propel it forward, but really just really building strong connections with people.
So we pulled in a few other industry peers and we did a think tank session of what did we want it to look like? What, what, what were we like style topics, all of it. And um. And two years later, we, we just had a amazing, amazing summit. There was 35 ladies there. There was a portion that was focused on personal growth and development, but the rest was, uh.
A full day of us talking about business, which was so amazing and really enlightening and, and it could be business, but it was also talking about how do you, how do you find top talent? Then how do you retain top talent? How do you encourage women to speak up and have their voices heard, and how are you that positive influence inside your respective company to just.
Really advocate for, for women. So it was amazing. It was awesome. Awesome.
Family, Career, and Owning Your Calendar
Cynthia Ficara: Well, and I hope our listeners listening will pick up that the action that you took, you identified a gap and look at what you were able to create. You could have sat back and just said, well, we don't, we don't have anything to pull us together.
But in just two years to look and see what you were able to accomplish is, is quite impressive. Yeah. I, I, I think so. Yeah. So. Talk to us a little bit about, this is a lot that, that you're getting to do. So how do you balance? Mm-hmm. I did hear you say you had two young children. How do you balance that young family in such a high commanding career role?
Erin Kagan: Yeah. Uh, well first I will say my husband also has a pretty demanding career as well, so that makes an added, an added just additional, not stress, but, um, something to consider and think about. And number one is communication and having a shared calendar. So we we're far from perfect, but we do make a conservative effort to make sure that.
The shared calendar is up to date. Um, if I have an event or a trip that comes up before I say yes, I talk to him. Are you available? Like, is this okay? Um, and I think what makes me, and I hope for him too, so successful is that he doesn't make me feel guilty for, for doing these things. Yeah. And it's amazing.
And I, because I think. This is really for your young listeners. I'm telling you ladies, make sure you marry well. Um, love that. But having those conversations and just being honest with each other about what are your goals and your aspirations, and he, number one, he loves me and I love him too, but he supports me and he advocates for me and we're able to.
Um, really share ideas 'cause he excels in areas where I don't, and I excel in areas. If he doesn't, and we can, some, we don't always talk about work, but when we do, I can help him in an area and he can help me. And so we're almost like a team and we work together to make sure that our family is taken care of.
That is, that is
Cynthia Ficara: extremely impressive. Yeah. You know, and I, and I love that you pointed out that you both have high demanding jobs, but you're a perfect example of letting our listeners understand, hey, where there's a will, there's a way. If you make the right decisions, you can make this happen. You don't have to sacrifice.
And thank you for also saying that, you know, there, there are opportunities where you don't have to feel guilty either. Exactly. Absolutely.
Anneliese Rhodes: I'm, if I'm thinking of our listener base, which is, you know, a lot of medical device reps, you know, they're, they're probably thinking to themselves, so what exactly is your job?
How demanding is it? Like, I know, I know you travel a lot, so. You know, and, and maybe we can kind of make this work for them to understand how to connect the dots, but you know, you have a pretty demanding schedule away from the home. It's not like you're working in an office every day until five, right?
This is a totally different thing that you do. So why don't you just tell our listeners a little bit about that, so they're very clear when you talk about this work life quote unquote balance, which we all know. We don't like that word. It's not, we like the
Cynthia Ficara: word alignment because balance makes you think something has to be given.
We just kinda align better. Align better. Yeah.
Erin Kagan: Yeah. Um, I do not like the word balance either. It doesn't exist. I call it a blend. You gotta blend. There you go. Two. Um, and you know, don't be afraid to hire people. I think as women we have this tendency to feel like we have to do everything and it's. You.
Yeah. We're all raising my hand here. Listen. Yeah. Very, very Type A want everything to be perfect, but you have to. You can have it all. You cannot have it all at once. And so you have to figure out is that hiring a housekeeper? Is that hiring a nanny? Lord knows I have a Rolodex of babysitters and nannies that I call on, um, in any situation, is it having a nanny that takes your kids to school every day?
Just so that's taken care of and it takes the burden off of you or your spouse, um, you know, yard crew, like higher help if you can. If it works for your budget, I highly recommend you hire help. 'cause then when you come back you can, you don't have to worry about dusting the baseboards. You can focus on spending time with your family.
Um. My travel schedule comes in waves, so there are seasons where it's a little bit busier than others, so I get a little reprieve, but I'm in the middle of my busy season in terms of, of travel right now, and I spend a lot of time planning what events are coming up, what does my husband have, what do my kids have, and I try to set them up for success so that when I'm gone.
Everything runs smoothly. It's all about the preparation and the communication.
Anneliese Rhodes: I love that. And that brings back your focus too, I'm sure. Yeah. You know, you're focused on making sure that everything is really aligned. I love this. Yeah. And I, yeah, go ahead. Sorry, what were you gonna say? I, I was,
Erin Kagan: well, I was gonna say the only, the other tip I'd have for, for everyone is in Outlook.
I operate on an Outlook calendar. You can color code your calendar, so I, um, all my work. Um, you know, responsibilities have one color. My son has a color, my daughter has a color. Me individually. Self-care has a color. My time with my spouse. Has a color. So when I look at my, my calendar on a monthly basis, if it looks like, 'cause I'm a visual person, I'm like, purple is missing a little bit and then I'll just try to find a way to incorporate more purple into the month.
Anneliese Rhodes: I love that. And I actually didn't know that you could put colors in that. That's a
Erin Kagan: great visual.
Cynthia Ficara: Not even you do. I take mothers of monsters. But no, I think, but you just brought out something really good. Something that's important is actually having a visual way to look at your time. You know, time is money.
Time is the best currency our family time. And is, again, it's not a balance, but what had too much weight? Does it need that much weight? Can we level it out a little bit? Or like you said, things come and go in waves, so maybe you have a big. Purple rush or blue rush one month. But then you gotta make sure you communicate with your family, your husband, your work, and then say, okay, now we have to have less blue, more purple.
Yep. But visually.
Erin Kagan: Visuals.
Anneliese Rhodes: I love that. I love that. All right, so before we wrap up, Erin, and this has been an awesome discussion. I love all of your encouraging truth bombs and everything that you've given. Um, we always ask our, um, guests to tell us a favorite book or books that you either are reading currently or that you maybe read every year.
Um, and then a couple of quotes maybe to leave our listeners.
Erin Kagan: Yeah. Um, okay, so favorite books. I, I have a lot of favorite books, so I'll tell you my favorite book that I recently read, and it is How To Work With Complicated People by Ryan Leak. I think I've shared this. He, so an amazing leader in my life, turned me on to Ryan Leak, and then I bought this book recently and it's amazing.
I think we all work with complicated people. What's that? It, it is just the way that it is. And that book was very insightful, so I would encourage everyone to read that book. Um, how Women Rise is another great book that I have read. Yeah, I've never heard of that. I haven't read that. Who wrote that? Yeah.
Um, Sally, hold on. I, why can I not think of her last name? It's escaping me. Um,
uh, SSON is her last name. It's really good. You don't have to look bad. How drives? I love that. I have to remember that one. Yeah, that's a good one. And then I am a big John C. Maxwell fan. Oh yeah. We love him. Is so for me, especially when you think about leading people, it's about people. It's not about me.
How do I help you get where you wanna be? Or how do I, what do I need to do to get our company to the next level? So he's got a quote that says, um, if you want a lifetime of happiness, help people. I love that.
Cynthia Ficara: I love that. You know, great. Sometimes people say, you know, it's, it's, it's how you serve them and the impact that you make, and it's, it's amazing when you focus on that as not so much as the results.
The results come. And I think that what you said was, was really very well said.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah.
Cynthia Ficara: Thank you.
Anneliese Rhodes: This has been awesome, Erin. We've really enjoyed our time with you. I, you know, I think you are handling things in your life extremely well. I mean, you guys, she's, she's young, she's beautiful, she's very busy. Um, young family.
I mean, you've got a lot of things going on in your life and you really have done quite well. You've risen in your company. I'm sure you're gonna be going a lot more places. And the things that we talked about today, I think really tie back to a lot of what. We face, as you know, reps out there in the medical device industry, male dominated industries, and I think all of your insights were very spot on today.
So thank you for all of that.
Cynthia Ficara: I know you for having me for so much coming onto our podcast. We really appreciated having you.
Erin Kagan: Yeah, we did. We
Cynthia Ficara: wish you all
Erin Kagan: the best. Yes, thank you both. I appreciate your podcast. 'cause even though it's not my industry, your insights are amazing and very applicable to what, to what I do.
So thank you.
Cynthia Ficara: Thank you. Thank you, Erin.
