We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Leslie Ellis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Leslie below.

Leslie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

At Meaningful Change Consulting, we have learned over our 13+ years of supporting complex change initiatives in organizations, that there isn’t a one size fits all change management methodology or framework in our industry. There are some methods that are more comprehensive than others, more open to interpretation, and some intended for certain types of change but the truth is, the secret to being a great change practitioner isn’t the methodology or framework you use.

Please don’t misunderstand, it’s important for practitioners that support corporate change efforts to understand foundational methods and process in our advancing world of change leadership, but it’s actually the change practitioner that brings the key ingredient to leading complex change in organizations. Their ability to THINK.

We have worked with 1,000s of leaders across the globe and they all have unique characteristics in their organizational culture, including the less attended to emotion and power dynamics that surface and influence the change process, human behavior and ultimately, the desired outcomes. Not to mention the pace of change is becoming more rapid every day. This means that change practitioners must develop themselves above and beyond foundational methodologies and our tendency to rely on linear solutions.

As CEO of Meaningful Change Consulting, I believe one of the things we could do differently to advance our profession is to focus on helping practitioners develop design thinking skills. An advanced change practitioner with the ability to customize a change process and adapt quickly as internal and external dynamics surface has the capabilities that will deliver results and take our profession to the next level.

Leslie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Of course!
My name is Leslie Ellis, CCMPTM and I am the Founder & CEO of Meaningful Change Consulting, LLC based out of South Carolina. We are a woman-owned small business that helps visionary leaders navigate the complexities of transformational change using human-centered approaches to achieve sustainable results while minimizing the cost of unnecessary work. We also provide coaching to change leaders, consultants and practitioners to up level their capability to become strategic change leaders, improve results and be seen as a valuable strategic partner in delivering change.

In my career, I have led and managed all types of change within various government agencies and Fortune 500 organizations worldwide, such as Bank of America, Ingersoll Rand, Rentokil, NESTE and the State of North Carolina. It’s been amazing to attract and work with such wonderful companies and clients because I get to learn new ways to navigate complexity with every new change effort we support.

As my career has progressed, I have been drawn to sustainability efforts where the outcomes include ensuring positive impacts to the triple bottom line – people, planet and profit. This big shift is gaining momentum in the business world driven by environmental factors, human rights and customer demands. It’s meaningful change when leaders want to drive sustainable business results and this is where we see Meaningful Change Consulting’s future work to be. Helping leaders and other change practitioners navigate the complexity of this global shift is our future.

On the side…

I also own a thriving, off-grid cabin rental experience company in North Carolina with my husband, Brett: OG Cabins, LLC (https://www.carolinaglampingcabins.com/)
We’re excited to expand our business in 2023.

I advocate for small businesses as a member of the National Small Business Association Leadership Council

I am passionate about my houseplants, with over 25 spread across our home

I spend my leisure time walking the dogs, watching thriller movies and reading change leadership, sustainable business or personal development books.

I set aside time daily to focus on nurturing a successful mindset.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Like many young kids, I wanted to be accepted by my peers, my friends, and family. I sometimes made choices that maybe I didn’t really want in order to be accepted. I went along to get along so that I wasn’t different. I didn’t want my opinion to be rejected, made fun of, or be seen as ‘uncool’. There were many times that I adapted to what others wanted in order to belong or be accepted and I know there have been times I went the extra mile for others just to be seen as ‘a good person’.

At a young age, I learned how to fit in to others expectations of me – for a good reason – to survive. I adapted so that meeting others’ expectations slowly became my MO or modus operandi.

As an adult, I realized that this limiting belief of how I wanted to ‘be seen’ needed some work.  I needed to rebalance expectations for myself and others, especially in my work.My work could easily become my life because I love what I do. Once I started to truly embrace my own authenticity and soon after, entrepreneurialism, I started on an journey to unlearn this adapted behavior. I now intentionally practice voicing what I want and accept that others may not agree or have other expectations of me (some that I may have unknowingly created) but it’s my choice to agree with or adjust those expectations and then decide if I fulfill them.  

In the rebalancing process, I began to use my voice more, setting healthier boundaries, and learning that it’s ok if others didn’t agree with me or that I don’t agree with them. It’s an ongoing journey towards greater freedom to be me.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Oh yes! The first program I attended about 8 years ago that began to shift my view of who I was as a Leader was with The Coaches Training Institute (CTI) and their 10-month leadership program. I opted into this program because I questioned if I really knew who I was as a leader. This is program helped me gain clarity on how I show up and what type of leader I was naturally and capable of becoming. If you want to get a flavor for the program, read The Stake: The Making of Leaders.

Since 2021, I have been focused on nurturing a successful mindset under the mentorship of David Neagle at Life is Now who specializes in helping entrepreneurs become successful in business. This work has been amazing for me and dives into how I think and how it impacts the success I want in my business and in my life. A great place to explore some of his work is in his podcast: The Successful Mind

Contact Info:

• Website: www.meaningfulchangeconsulting.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meaningfulchg
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/meaningful-change-consulting/

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