Steve McKinney spent the first thirteen years of his career in the athletic footwear industry, where he oversaw a five thousand person Reebok factory producing 1.2 million pairs of shoes a month and later led global product development for Adidas. In 2001 he founded McKinney Consulting in Seoul, South Korea, an executive search and leadership consulting firm. Steve is a master coach and an early graduate of proactive agility as a leadership philosophy, shaped by decades of building teams across cultures.
Bryan McKinney grew up between the United States and South Korea, attending international schools in Busan and Seoul before working in California with one of the first live streaming technology companies in the world. He returned to join his father at McKinney Consulting, where he has spent the past nine years building out the firm's technology, coaching, and executive search practice. Bryan is a master coach and is positioned to lead the firm's next generation of growth. McKinney Consulting is a partner firm within Kestria, a global executive search organization.
What You Will Learn
How proactive agility differs from reactive leadership and why anticipating change beats waiting for it. Why cross-cultural competence matters for every leader, not just expatriates, especially in a world of remote teams working across time zones. How Steve and Bryan built McKinney Consulting into a trusted executive search and coaching practice inside a global partner network. Why frontline expertise often outweighs formal title when making high-stakes business decisions. What the most successful executives and coaching clients tend to have in common. How the workforce transitions driven by retiring generations are reshaping recruiting across industries.
Episode Highlights
Steve and Bryan McKinney share their career paths, from athletic footwear manufacturing and global product development to founding and growing McKinney Consulting.
A discussion of the generational talent gap facing industries such as farming and manufacturing as experienced workers retire.
Steve reflects on witnessing South Korea's transition from dictatorship to democracy and how McKinney Consulting operates as both a local and global executive search partner through the Kestria network.
Steve explains proactive agility, a leadership philosophy shaped by his path from a career in music to athletic footwear leadership to executive search, and why anticipating change matters more than reacting to it.
The story behind their book project on cross-cultural leadership, which grew out of research the two originally intended for a coaching program called Success Factors.
Steve tells the story of consulting a factory line worker in a multi-million dollar production decision, illustrating how expertise and respect should outweigh title and hierarchy.
Bryan and Michael discuss how bringing frontline experts into high-stakes decisions applies well beyond manufacturing, including in healthcare policy design.
Bryan's advice for leading across cultures: seek out local experts, stay humble, and keep asking questions.
Closing thoughts on why understanding cultural differences builds stronger organizations and a richer world.
Guest Contact Information
Website: https://McKinneyConsulting.com
Next Steps
If this conversation resonated with you, visit https://www.breakfastleadership.com/leadershipos to schedule your Leadership Diagnostic and find out where your organization's leadership operating system needs the most attention.
