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We’re continuing our on Executive Speaking! This episode is full of inspiration and practical insights if you’re looking to enhance your leadership skills, embrace transformation, and make meaningful connections. Dr. Lesia Crumpton-Young's...
We’re continuing our new podcast series on Executive Speaking!
This episode is full of inspiration and practical insights if you’re looking to enhance your leadership skills, embrace transformation, and make meaningful connections.
Dr. Lesia Crumpton-Young's journey is a testament to the power of perseverance, innovation, and the importance of showing up.
Whether you're a seasoned leader or just starting your career, her wisdom will resonate and empower you to take bold steps towards your own greatness.
Dr. Crumpton-Young is an award-winning engineer, academic leader, and transformational coach. From her impressive journey as the first African American woman to earn a PhD in engineering at Texas A&M University to her pivotal role as a university president, Lesia shares her profound insights on leadership, transformation, and the power of showing up.
Tune in to discover:
Links:
Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/399/
Lesia’s website: http://www.greatnessgurus.com/
Lesia’s podcast “Heart to Heart: Transformation Conversations with Dr. C-Y”: https://www.wecareradio.net/
Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/
Enroll in our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/
Connect on LinkedIn:
Related Podcast Episodes:
It's time to escape the expert trap and become an in-demand speaker and thought leader through compelling and memorable business presentations, keynotes, workshops, and TEDx talks. If you want to level up your public speaking to get more and better, including paid, speaking engagements, you've come to the right place! Thousands of entrepreneurs and leaders have learned from Speaking Your Brand and now you can too through our episodes that will help you with storytelling, audience engagement, building confidence, handling nerves, pitching to speak, getting paid, and more. Hosted by Carol Cox, entrepreneur, speaker, and TV political analyst. This is your place to learn how to persuasively communicate your message to your audience.
Carol Cox:
We're continuing our series around executive
presence with how to communicate
transformational leadership with my guest,
Doctor Lesia Crumpton Young.
On this episode of the Speaking Your Brand
podcast. More and more women are making an
impact by starting businesses, running for
office and speaking up for what matters.
With my background as a TV political
analyst, entrepreneur and speaker, I
interview and coach purpose driven women to
shape their brands, grow their companies,
and become recognized as influencers in
their field. This is speaking your brand,
your place to learn how to persuasively
communicate your message to your audience.
Hi there and welcome to the Speaking Your
Brand podcast. I'm your host, Carol Cox.
We're continuing the series we've been doing
all around. Executive speaking last week, we
talked about storytelling for leaders,
crafting narratives that inspire and
persuade. And the week before that, we
kicked off the series with an episode called
Speak to Lead, elevating your executive
Presence. Today's episode is full of
inspiration and practical insights.
If you're looking to enhance your leadership
skills, embrace transformation and make
meaningful connections.
My guest is Doctor Lesia Crumpton Young, and
her journey is a testament to the power of
perseverance, innovation, and the importance
of showing up. Whether you're a seasoned
leader or just starting in your career, her
wisdom will resonate and empower you to take
bold steps to your own greatness.
Doctor Crumpton Young is an award winning
engineer, academic leader, and
transformational coach.
She was the first African American woman to
earn a PhD in engineering at Texas A&M
University, and her most recent position was
at a university president.
So in this episode, we talk about the power
of showing up, exemplified by how I met Leah
a few months ago. And you're going to love
the story, the essential qualities of a
transformational leader and how to cultivate
them, the significance of authentic and
transparent communication, and fostering
strong relationships and driving change,
which we as we know people don't like
change, especially within companies.
So that's what we talk about, is what
leaders and speakers need to do in order to
effectively manage change.
We also talk about practical tips on
overcoming challenges and making impactful
decisions. And Lesia shares a new project
that she's working on, which I know you're
going to be excited about as well.
Now let's get on with the show.
Welcome to the Speaking Your Brand podcast,
Lesia.
Lesia Crumpton-Young:
Hello, how are you today?
Carol Cox:
I am fantastic, I'm so glad to have you here
on the podcast.
I'm going to share a very funny story about
how we met, because this is so much the
power of showing up.
And I know that, you know, after the years
of the pandemic and all of us having to be
at home, I was been very excited to get back
out and about into the local community of
Orlando, where I live.
And at the beginning of this year, I made a
commitment that I was going to go to a lot
more events. I used to attend events all the
time before the pandemic, very much got out
of the habit. And then, you know, forcing
myself to get back in.
So I was at an event and I was walking out
at the end of the evening, and a woman who I
never had met before, that I had remembered,
was walking to the elevator at the same time
as me. And she had on, of course, this
gorgeous outfit and these like 4 or 5 inch
stiletto heels and five.
Lesia Crumpton-Young:
Inch, five.
Carol Cox:
Inch. Okay. Yes. Because, you know, and, you
know, just a gorgeous woman.
And I said, oh my gosh, like my feet hurt.
I after standing here for two hours at this
event, I can't imagine how you feel.
So we struck up a conversation kind of
figured out we knew had people in common.
She asked what I did.
She said, oh, you have to talk to my sister
Lesia, because she just started a podcast
and she's now getting into coaching.
And so I said, yes.
And so this was a delfine.
And so with three of us ended up having
lunch and we had such a great conversation.
I think we were there for almost two hours.
And I said, oh, I have to have you on the
podcast. So number one, the power of showing
up because you never know who you're going
to meet and then by extension, who you're
going to meet through those people.
So, Lesia, that brings us to what brought
you to Orlando, Florida, because you moved
here relatively recently.
So tell us, tell us what brought you here,
and then we'll back way back up and how
incredibly impressive and credentialed you
are in your career.
Lesia Crumpton-Young:
So let me say thank you for having me on the
podcast. And I'm super excited that you met
my sister. You noticed the five inch pumps,
and she is really a person who believes in
the power of communication, the power of
relationships. And as you said, the power of
showing up. So literally.
She called me that day and said, I met a
fantastic person, when can you go to lunch
with her? And and so it was wonderful.
I had a chance to meet you.
Um, I think that for me, when I talk about
my background, I have to tell you that I was
a little girl who loved math and science.
I loved math, science, I love strategy, and
I love fixing things.
Right. So in solving problems and that was
who I was. And then all of a sudden it
parlayed into someone saying you should be
an engineering major.
And so I did I pursued a bachelor's and
master's and a PhD in engineering.
And one of the things I'm very proud of is
that I was the first African American female
to earn a PhD in engineering at Texas A&M
University in the history of the
institution. And it was really because I
decided that I love math, I love science, I
love strategy, I love fixing things, I love
solving problems, and this is a wonderful
profession to do it in.
I specialized in human factors engineering
because the other thing I love is people.
And so I specialized in workplace injury
prevention and control.
And I specialized in ergonomics, which many
of you have heard about.
And I specialize in user centered design.
But all of this was to make sure that the
humans in every loop would always be
properly accommodated, and they would be
taken care of. And so that's my disciplinary
background. I then decided that instead of
going to corporate America and making
millions and millions and millions of
dollars, I decided that my gift was to
continue to think about designing for the
human in the loop.
And so I decided to go into higher
education. So I was there for 30 years, had
a chance to really my career excelled, had a
chance to serve in leadership roles, and I
had a chance to be at seven different
institutions. So I was at Mississippi State
University. I was at the University of
Central Florida, which is one of the reasons
I love Orlando and that I'm back here now.
I was at Texas A&M University.
I was at Tennessee State University, Morgan
State University. I had a chance to be at
the National Science Foundation in
Washington, and then I ended my career as
president of Texas Southern University.
So 30 great years in higher ed, 25 of those
in senior leadership positions.
And it was interesting that while I was in
the position of vice president, Carol, I
just decided I had not had enough education.
So I actually went back and completed my MBA
because I wanted to make sure make sure that
I was really prepared to be a good leader
and prepared to help the university flourish
in many of the ways that businesses
flourish. Uh, and so I love that.
And what I really loved was learning about
transformation. And I know we're going to
talk a lot about transformation, but I love
the concept of transforming individuals and
transforming organizations.
So after retirement, um, I moved back to
Orlando. So you're right.
I haven't been here long, moved back, and
I'm close to my sister.
I'm very close to the University of Central
Florida, which is where I was there for
many, many years on their faculty.
And I am now president of my own company.
And we are called the Greatness Gurus.
And, um, we're committed to transforming the
lives of individuals and helping to
transform organizations.
So a lot about my background and what I'm
doing now, and certainly I could probably
talk about that forever, but I won't.
Carol Cox:
Well, it is so impressive, Lesia.
And and let me let me ask you this about
transformation, because I definitely want us
to focus on that in our conversation today
around transformational leadership, what
that looks like as a leader, but also how
what it looks like from from a communication
perspective. But how do you define
transformation? What does that look like to
you?
Lesia Crumpton-Young:
So for me, I, I define it very simply as a
significant shift or change or making a
significant impact.
Right. So if you if there's a significant
shift or change in the state of an
organization, then they have transformed.
If there's a significant shift or change in
the life of an individual, then they have
transformed. And, um, it was wonderful when
I was president of Texas Southern University
because I simply said to everyone, our
mission is to transform lives, to transform
that life of a student from the time they
entered the institution to.
Uh, to their exit from the institution
because we know if they complete their
degree successfully, then we have made a
significant impact.
And they have they've gone through a
significant change.
So I like to define transformation very
simply as that.
Carol Cox:
And what experience or moment or story comes
to mind for you personally of a
transformational moment?
Lesia Crumpton-Young:
Yes. So one of the things that I loved, um,
was watching the university grow or expand.
Right? So as I was, um, working as
president, we had the opportunity to
transform our infrastructure.
I had the opportunity to plan for three new
buildings on campus, had an opportunity to
get the funding for those.
I mean, we had we had an historic
appropriation from the state.
So I was pretty excited about the fact that
I was the catalyst for that, um,
transformation for that significant change.
And so new buildings on campus is one
example of changing the landscape.
Also, though, to have a student to perform
well and be selected to participate in a
global opportunity, that was another
transformation, uh, transformational moment
for me as president or to have faculty
members say, oh my God, we're going to get
engaged in research and produce significant
outcomes associated with health disparities.
Or we even set up a wonderful, um, center
for Covid on campus.
And many individuals were not receptive to
getting the vaccine.
So we produced a lot of educational, uh,
courses and information and all types of
activities that then made a significant
shift in the number of individuals in the
community that agreed to get the
vaccination. So those are all examples of
transformation that I personally have had an
opportunity to be part of.
And I'm excited about.
You can hear in my voice.
I also say transformation requires
inspiration and passion and excitement when
you're a leader. And so you can hear in my
voice as I talk about transformation, how
excited I am, how passionate I am, and I
think, um, I think I always tell everyone
that's a true sign, that transfer that
you're thinking in a transformative way.
Carol Cox:
Oh, I love that. So as a leader, if you feel
like you are, you naturally have that
inspiration and passion for whatever it is
that that's obviously going to be conveyed
to whoever you're sharing that with.
What other qualities do you see in
transformational leaders?
What has helped you to become a
transformational leader?
Lesia Crumpton-Young:
Well, I think that, you know, number one,
inspiration is a big quality.
You have to have that, um, you know, vision
that's that's grand enough that inspires
people to action.
So I remember when I first came in as
president, I said to them, we are going to
achieve unprecedented success at an
accelerated pace.
And they were like, wow, okay, unprecedented
success. That means we're going to have, you
know, more success than we've ever had in
the past. Accelerated pace.
Oh, great. That means we're aren't going to
do this slowly. We're going to have some
quick wins.
And and so I think that that that having
that vision, something that's compelling,
exciting, something that engages
individuals, inspires them.
That's the that's a major ingredient, um, to
being a transformative leader.
I also think communicating communication is
key. You have to be able to talk about the
vision, you know, what does success look
like? How will we feel when we get there?
You have to be able to describe that.
Um, we have to be able to describe, you
know, we have to make things that are
complex, you know, a little simple.
They have to be clear and concise.
Although it's complex.
We have to talk about what are the steps,
what are the strategies, what's needed and
be able to communicate that, um, and
articulate that well.
I also think that to be a transformative
leader. You have to listen.
Most people think that, you know, because
transformation is such a significant shift
or change, they think that they have to be
talking the entire time, right?
Telling you what to do.
And and you also have to be a good listener
and, um.
I used to talk with my executives and I used
to ask them, you know, we talk about an open
door policy, but do we have an open ear
policy? Right.
Are you listening?
Are you open to hearing what people have to
say? Um, one of the things I learned in one
of my stories is that.
I went to work for one organization and they
said, we want you to be innovative.
We want you to be creative.
We want you to be disruptive.
We want you to be transformative.
But every time I started talking, they
interrupted me, you know?
And so finally, I found myself.
And I think a lot of women probably have
experienced this.
I found myself asking if I could just
complete my sentences.
So. And it was, you know, so I started out
very delicately and I'd say, you know, when
they would interrupt me, I would pause
because I've been taught not to interrupt
individuals. And so I'd pause and pause.
And finally I realized, I'm not going to get
to finish any conversation if I'm just so
polite and I can't scardina pause.
So. So then I would.
I moved to a new strategy.
I would say, May I complete my sentence,
please? You know, and then finally, that
didn't work. So then I used this, you know,
analogy, and I explained to him, I said,
well, I'm an only child and I didn't grow up
in a family where I had to fight to complete
my sentence or fight to have the chicken leg
at dinner. I'm just not accustomed to the
fighting. And so when I said that to them,
they were like the men realized, okay, we
are cutting her off.
She is having to fight or struggle just to
finish her sentences.
And so I, I couldn't.
I considered it a complete success.
One day, as the vice presidents were sitting
around the table. I was the only female at
that time. And we were talking and I was
trying to talk. And I had, you know, they'd
cut me off and interrupted me a few times.
And finally, one of the male vice
presidents, he said, can you please just let
her finish her sentences?
And I said, success.
I've communicated my needs enough so that
now someone else can communicate my needs.
Carol Cox:
Yes, Lesia, thank you for for mentioning
this. And I have a few thoughts that have
come to mind. First, good for that other
vice president.
The other the man and one of the men in the
room to point that out.
And because you need allies in the room.
And that's why they say, you know, it's so
important, whether it's for leadership at
companies or for boards, to have more than
one woman woman on them, because the other
women will probably notice these things more
quickly and then hopefully advocate for each
other and point it out when those things are
going on so that we can finish our sentences
and not get interrupted.
The second thing that came to mind is that
recently, as at the time of this recording
chat, OpenAI released their chat GPT for O
model, which has voice capabilities.
I don't know if you've seen some of the
demos, but you know, the AI talks back to
you in a conversational way, like the movie
her from ten years ago.
But I saw a LinkedIn post that a woman wrote
and she said she watched all the demo videos
from OpenAI. There were about a ten of them,
and every time there was a female AI voice,
the men that actually human men who were
doing the demos would interrupt the female
voice all the time, but they didn't do it as
much. If the AI voice was a man and I was
like, wow, right?
Like like we are.
So I just socialized.
Yes, right. To do that.
We don't think people realize that we do it.
Lesia Crumpton-Young:
And we I don't know if they realize that they
do it at all. So that was one of the reasons
that I would say, May I complete my
sentence, please? Is it possible that I
could complete my sentence?
Is this a good moment to complete my
sentence? And it was because I think they
needed to hear me say it, for them to
recognize that they were doing it right.
And it and it's I mean, it's it's common for
individuals in leadership roles.
I mean, it's it's sometimes it's too common,
all too common for them to talk the majority
of a meeting.
And I. And so I'm always saying to my
transformative leaders that, yes, we want
you to be clear in the training I do.
My company does leadership training.
We also do professional development
seminars. And then of course we do keynotes
and then we do coaching.
But as I'm working with my leaders, I'm
always saying to them.
Yes. Communicate clearly, concisely, and be
compelling. But you also have to learn to
listen, because if you aren't listening,
then you won't understand where those
hurdles are, where the difficulties are,
where the challenges lie.
You won't understand any of those things, and
those will become barriers to your
transformation. You won't know where they
are. You won't know where the landmines are
at all. But then you also won't know what's
happening in the culture of your company.
Right? Because and then if you don't
understand culture, you will it can derail
transformation. And and so we have to
understand that we have to know what their
concerns are. We have to know what their
hesitations are.
At the same time, we have to listen and
learn. What motivates them?
What inspires them?
Um, what they're excited about doing, where
are their strengths? Right?
We can assume that Lisa's strengths are in
math and science, but I also have strengths
in strategy. I also have strengths in
teaching. I also have other strengths.
And so it's important not to make those
types of assumptions.
As a leader, it's important to listen and to
learn. Um, so I think that's so critical.
Um, and so and so you have to learn to not
interrupt people so you can hear them, you
can listen to them fully well.
Carol Cox:
And and, Lesia, that reminds me that just
about a month or so ago, I did an episode on
this podcast, number 392 called why I No
Longer Teach from the Stage and why.
And what I do instead is what I call engaged
from the stage. Because and I talked about
this on the podcast all the time, that
especially as high achieving women, we get
stuck in what I call the expert trap, where
we get very much validated for our
expertise. And I always say, yes, be an
expert with your clients because that's what
they're paying you for and that's what they
need. But when we're out there talking about
transformational change, we're out there
helping our audiences think differently
about about their industry or think
differently about a topic.
And we want to add to the conversation
that's going on being being like stuck in
this expertise where you're telling people
all the time what to do, teaching them all
the time instead of listening, like you
said, where are they at?
How are they feeling about whatever change
they're being challenged with?
What are their goals?
How can you empathize with them and validate
what they're feeling and listen to them?
Even as a speaker, even if no one says
anything, back out to you out loud, you can
feel the energy of the room, and it's like
an energetic exchange with the audience.
And as a speaker, the better you get, the
more attuned you get to your audience and
what they need. And I'm sure you have found
that as well.
Lesia Crumpton-Young:
Oh, you're absolutely right.
I always say that in order for
transformation to occur, you have to have
innovation and you also have to have
disruption. Right.
And so innovation is creativity and action.
So I love when you said you engage others
because we have to be able to really pull
their creative.
I call them the creative juices.
We have to be able to pull their creative
juices out and allow them to put that in
action otherwise. Otherwise, it's not
innovation, it's just a creative idea.
I always tell everyone innovation requires
action and implementation.
But then we also to your point, we also have
to think about disruption as well, right?
Not doing those things that we've
traditionally done.
And I love when you said you changed that,
you would you would go to the stage and now
you're now you're engaging individuals
instead of trying to teach them.
And I think that as.
Leaders. That's one of the things I teach in
my leadership class the proven Practices of
transformational leaders.
I talk to them about why disruption is so
important, right?
So many of us, we continue to do what we've
always done. Number one, because it maybe it
works, but also we're comfortable with it.
Yes, but disruption means that we have to
become comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Right. And that is just sometimes that's
tough. I mean, that takes you really
rethinking and having activities that really
change your behavior so that you can become
a disruptive thinker.
Um, and, and be okay with being
uncomfortable. Right.
And my, um, I have my daughter.
I just of course, I'm in love with my
children, but I have a daughter who's
finishing up her master's degree in clinical
psychology. So she her specialty is mental
health. So she's always, you know, helping
the family, you know, with, with, with our
thoughts and things.
And so one thing she said, which I loved, it
goes along with disruption.
That's why I'm bringing it up on the
podcast, because I would love our listeners
to have the same liberating feeling that I
had when she said it to me, she said, mom,
it is okay not to be okay.
And so when you really think about it, it's
like it is okay not to be okay today, you
know? And it's okay to be to be
uncomfortable. It's okay.
And once we once I really listen to that and
internalize it, I was like, that is the
essence of disruption.
Now I can do things that I haven't done
before. I can be receptive to new things.
I can be open to exploring all types of
ideas, new strategies, new technologies, and
it's okay not to know about them.
It's okay not to be.
It's okay to be, um, be nervous about trying
something new.
Um, and so it was for me, super liberating.
So that's my new thing.
You know, they say if someone says, Lisa,
are you okay? I'm like, no.
And it's okay that I'm not okay.
I'm comfortable with that.
Yes.
Carol Cox:
Well. And all right. And it's also being
honest. And your role modeling for other
people that we don't have to put on this
perfect facade all of the time, that no one
is perfect, no one has everything together.
We're all have challenges, whether it's
personal or professional and, you know, and
some, some weeks or months or years of our
lives are better than others.
And that's okay as well.
And, you know, thinking about it from a
leader's perspective as a leader in one, if
you're not willing to be vulnerable in front
of your whether it's your team or your
audience or what have you, then how can you
expect them to come to you if they're not
feeling okay, even if it's just they're
they're feeling uncomfortable about a change
within the organization that they feel like
is going to impact them.
But if they don't have the trust in you as a
leader, that they can come to you and talk
about it because you're not willing to
listen to them, then that's that's really
going to impact the team's performance.
Lesia Crumpton-Young:
Yeah, I think I totally agree with everything
you've said, and the literature speaks to
that. It's right. If people are
uncomfortable talking with you, sharing
their thoughts with you, then they're not at
their highest level of performance.
And if they aren't at their highest level of
performance, then as a leader or an
organization, you aren't getting their
highest level of productivity.
So if we really think about we want high
performing teams and we want high performing
organizations, we have to become open to be
allowing our team members to communicate
openly with us, to be vulnerable with us.
And then the other one is to ask us
questions. You know, sometimes we act like
as leaders we are too busy for questions.
It's like, well, if a person has a question
and it's related to their work, they can't
be productive until they get that answer to
that question. So let's minimize the time
that they're unproductive. And let's just
answer the question, you know, and I think
it's so interesting.
Some people will they're not willing to do
it. They'll say they'll say there's no such
thing as a stupid question.
But then when a person asks one, they kind
of insult them and act like, well, that's a
stupid question, and I don't sometimes I
don't think leaders realize they're doing
that. So I, I always try to help my leaders
become very self-aware of, you know, their
biases, you know, the things that they that
annoy them, the things that and that.
And so therefore they know that.
And they can then rectify those things as
they're working with their teams.
Carol Cox:
Lisa, let me ask you if you have any, you
know, stories of your own, you know, times
where you've been, you have felt personally
challenged as a leader, like maybe something
was going on and it wasn't quite going the
way that you had expected, whether it was
communication with someone or maybe it was
getting buy in for a vision.
And you know, what did that what did that
look like? And then what helped you to get
through that?
Lesia Crumpton-Young:
Well, I will tell you, in 30 years, 25 years
in leadership, I had a lot of those
situations. Right.
And I think it's and the reason I started
off by saying that is that people would look
at my bio and say, oh my God, she won the US
Presidential Award for excellence.
I mean, only seven people in my class out of
the whole nation that received that.
Or she's the first, you know, female to
complete a PhD in engineering.
She was the first, um, female to be a
department chair at the University of
Central Florida in, in engineering.
So they will look at those things and think
that my entire career has just been all
about the triumphs, and there haven't been
any trials. Right.
And that's just not true in life.
Um, I think about, you know, the time that I
was super excited about, um, putting in some
new, um, strap techniques and new technology
on campus, and everyone was like, we don't
want to do that at all.
Like, why would we want that?
You know? And I said, oh, oh, oh, okay.
You know, so that was one of those moments
when you, you are you, you have to listen to
the team and say, well, I thought it was a
good idea. Perhaps it isn't.
And then you just do some, some
self-correction there.
Um, there have been some other times wherein
I, you know, have I haven't said I haven't
said yes to some ideas that other team
members have brought to me.
And I look back and I say, gosh, I should
have said yes to that, you know, where would
the organization be?
And, um, and you have to you have to do some
good reflection. I think you have to be
honest with yourself when you do your self
reflections. And so that's how I am as well.
Um, gosh, I can think about the time when I
was I made a terrible hiring decision.
Right? And when one of the things I always
say to my team members is.
The moment you discover that you've made a
bad hire is the moment that you have to
remove to.
To remove that person, you cannot.
Some people say, well, it was a bad
decision. I'm just going to have to live
with it. Not when it's one of your critical
members of your leadership team.
Um, transformation will not happen if you
don't have the right, right people on the
bus. And of course, many people have read
the book about having the right people on
the bus. So one of the things I, I pride
myself on is not is rectifying bad
decisions. If I make a bad decision and it
when it comes to my, you know, mind that you
have made a bad decision.
I think we have to rectify them quickly.
And I know a lot of our female leaders
struggle with that. But I'm here to say.
Fire people as quickly as you hire people.
If you have to have your facts and if they
are not the right fit, then they need to
leave your team and we have to have the guts
to do that.
Carol Cox:
Yeah, and it's not easy.
Right. And yeah.
And I feel you and thank you for sharing
those stories, Lesia, because it shows that,
you know, it's especially because you've had
such a stellar career.
Clearly, you know, you you've kept, you
know, getting these these increasing
positions of responsibility.
And guess what.
Like we all make mistakes sometimes we all
like do things sometimes that don't work out
the way that we thought or whatever.
It doesn't mean that things are over forever
just because something doesn't go right.
You know, I hear on the podcast I'm very
transparent. I talk about, yeah, I had a
speaking engagement a number of years ago
and it was awful, like awful.
Right. But I share that to show like, I'm
not perfect and maybe the listeners have had
a bad speaking engagement too.
It's like it happens. And guess what?
We still get back up on the stage and then
we have great ones. So like it happens.
And I think the more that we share that
these things happen to quote unquote, the
best of us, then we all realize that this is
just part of being human.
Yes.
Lesia Crumpton-Young:
And it's part of it's part of of being a
leader. Right.
You are. You have they're going to be
challenges. They're going to be mistakes.
They're going to be moments where you go,
wow, what's going what am I thinking.
And that's just all part of the process.
It's you know it's par for the course.
Carol Cox:
Yeah absolutely.
All right. So I want us to tell you about
uh, tell us about your podcast first, and
then I want to hear a little bit more about
the greatness gurus. So your podcast is
called Heart to Heart Transformation
Conversations. And I have a link to the
podcast website on the show notes page.
So make sure to go check that out.
So talk. And of course you have
transformation right there in the title.
But you also have heart to heart.
So tell me about that combination.
Lesia Crumpton-Young:
Yes. So one of the things that I learned is
that transformation can't occur without
authenticity. And so that's why it's called
Heart to Heart, that we need to have
conversations that may be difficult
conversations, but they're critical to our
advancement, to our success.
And so that's why the show is called Heart
to Heart. I want it to be open, transparent,
honest conversations about challenges, about
issues, situations, circumstances so that
people learn as much from someone else's
challenge or how they handle their
experience, that it helps them.
It transforms who they are.
It helps them to live their best life.
I always say Heart to Heart is about
transformative conversations that help you
live your best life, and that's what our
podcast is about and I love we do it on
Sundays at 3:00 because I love Sunday
brunch. I think it's a perfect time for
women to celebrate and and, um, celebrate
who they are, celebrate their successes,
reflect on the great things that they've
accomplished, and then think about those
challenges that they need to overcome as
well.
Carol Cox:
And then you have greatness, guru.
So I'll make sure I also include a link in
the show notes for that. So that is for the
leadership and professional development.
And with your sister Delphine, you also have
a fashion line.
Do you want to tell us about that?
Lesia Crumpton-Young:
I am super excited about it.
We are.
We just finished all of our technical
designs. Um, we have decided that our our
line is going to be manufactured in Italy,
and so literally the collection will come
out this fall.
And the name of the fashion line is called
greatness. So and it's really for us it's,
it's more than just fashion.
It's it's a movement.
We want greatness to be, um, an apparel line
that signifies that I'm, that I'm empowered,
that I'm elevated, I'm enlightened, that I'm
working towards being my best self, whatever
that is. You define it yourself.
But we want the line to be a symbol of your
empowerment, but also serve as inspiration
to others when they see you that, oh my
gosh, she's working on greatness or oh my
gosh, she's wearing greatness.
Um, and you know, I said to my sister when
we were thinking of the name of it, I said,
it's wonder. It'll be wonderful when
someone, you walk by someone and they say,
oh wow, who are you wearing?
And you just say, greatness.
So it is really meant to inspire.
It's meant to encourage, to empower women.
And then for them to also be that
inspiration for other women as they're
wearing it. So the name of it is greatness.
It will.
If you would like information about great,
the line we have on our website, the
Greatness gurus.com website, we have the
ability for you to join the greatness
community. And so it just gives you a chance
to say I want to be part of the movement.
I want to be part of a group of women who
are focused on being my best self, living my
best life, inspiring and helping others to
be their best selves, live their best life.
And, um, and then ultimately, we'll all wear
some things that are symbols of that.
Carol Cox:
I love that so much.
Lesia, I am so excited for the fashion line.
Cannot wait for it to come out.
Make sure to share it once it is ready to
go. Thank you so much for coming on the
podcast. It has been such a pleasure to chat
with you.
Lesia Crumpton-Young:
Thank you for having me and I hope everyone
has a great day.
Carol Cox:
Thanks again to Lesia for coming on the
podcast. Next week we're wrapping up the
series around executive speaking.
We're going to talk about why introverts
make great speakers and leaders.
Contrary to popular opinion, I believe
introverts do make great speakers and
leaders. I'm an introvert and so many of our
clients are as well.
And that's where we're going to talk about
on next week's episode.
Make sure to share this podcast with a
friend and a colleague, and don't forget to
take our free speaker archetype quiz as
speaking your Brand.com slash quiz.
Until next time, thanks for listening.