Lyndsay Seafoot on Quiet Leadership, HR for Childcare, and Trying It Anyway | Strong Like a Girl

Lyndsay Seafoot didn't grow up loud. She grew up watching. Born in a small town on the northeast tip of Scotland, raised in rural Manitoba alongside eight siblings spread across three continents, she learned early that quiet kids notice things other people miss. Two decades later, that habit became the foundation of an HR company.

Lyndsay sits down with Tanya to talk about how her family roots, her grandfather Hugh's farm, and a few unexpected detours led her to start Kerbridge Group in 2020. From a chiropractic clinic side hustle that paid $20 an hour, she's grown Kerbridge into a tech-forward HR firm with two flagship products: Standout Staff, a free digital resume platform that replaces the paper PDF, and Director's Desk, an HR software platform built specifically for the childcare industry in partnership with the Manitoba Childcare Association.

She gets real about what's happening right now. She's doubling her team this month. She's making decisions she hasn't made before. She's wondering what happens if it doesn't work. And she's pulling strength from the same place she always has: the people who came before her, the women who lead beside her, and a granddad who hired people that nobody else would hire.

Tanya and Lyndsay also dig into the contradictions women face in leadership. The "you'll never do it if you have kids" line. The way women apologize before they've even said the wrong thing. The word "just" showing up in every email. The strange territory of being underestimated and learning to enjoy it. And the philosophy Lyndsay's whole company runs on, the one she got from her grandfather: leave people better than you found them.

If you've ever stood on the edge of something new and wondered if you should bother trying, this conversation is for you. Lyndsay's answer is simple. The regret of not trying is so much worse than the worst case scenario of trying.

What we covered:

• How a quiet, observant kid grows into a leader who reads rooms in real time
• Growing up in a family of nine kids spread across Scotland, Canada, Australia, and the US
• How Lyndsay's grandfather Hugh, a farmer who hired people with criminal records and gave them a shot, shaped the entire philosophy of Kerbridge Group
• Founding Kerbridge in 2020 after a stint owning 40% of a chiropractic clinic
• Building Standout Staff, a free digital resume platform that ditches the PDF for short video intros and dynamic web pages
• Director's Desk, the HR software platform built for the childcare industry, in partnership with the Manitoba Childcare Association
• Why HR has become more about culture and "employer resumes" than minimum wage compliance
• How the unspoken contract between employer and employee has shifted in the last 20 years
• What it actually feels like to double your team in one month
• Why the strongest leaders lead with presence first and profit second
• How Lyndsay handles the moment of being visibly underestimated in a meeting
• The questions men never get asked about parenthood and ambition
• Why women add the word "just" to every other sentence and what it costs us
• Hugh's principle: leave people better than you found them
• The case for trying it anyway, even if you might fail

Connect with Strong Like a Girl:

Website: https://stronglikeagirl.ca

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stronglikeagirl.ca/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/strong-like-a-girl/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/STRONG-LIKE-a-GIRL