Meet Leslie Ellis | Strategic Change Consultant & Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Leslie Ellis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Leslie, what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
As the owner of two small businesses – Meaningful Change Consulting, a boutique strategic change consulting firm that help leaders navigate complex change to achieve sustainable results and OG Cabins, LLC, an off grid vacation rental company in the North Carolina mountains I own with my husband, Brett (www.carolinaglampingcabins.com) – I constantly focus on learning and establishing habits to build an environment that supported the balance I desire between work, family and personal time.

Getting my calendar to work for me

To get started, I had to find balance in my schedule for ‘me time’. I blocked off my calendar every Monday – Friday during the week where I rarely take work calls before 9:30 AM. I have become consistent especially this last year to protect this time so that I can enjoy my coffee, set the tone for my day, walk the dogs in nature or work on writing.

To ensure family and friend time, I decided that Friday evenings and Saturday are non-working days. No matter how much work I have, I make a choice to not give into the pull of tasks to be done for my clients.

These ‘calendar’ boundaries were tough to implement but now I see how it keeps things in greater balance and my calendar works for me. I find I have more capacity for my clients when I keep these boundaries in place.

Having a success mindset

I also work on my mindset every day. I take at least 30 minutes daily to work on nurturing a successful mindset where I examine my subconscious mind’s (ego’s) agenda and what I need to shift about how I think so I create what I want in my life. I have been dedicated to this practice for 14 months straight and it’s amazing how much we can create for ourselves if we just make an intentional choice to do so.

Keeping people around who are “for me”

Surrounding myself with supportive friends and family. Being an entrepreneur isn’t a cake walk and I have learned it just as critical to surround myself with people that are interested in supporting me and my work, who will lift me up when I am stuck so I can see above the fray and cheer me on no matter how big or small the wins are.

Leverage delivery services

One of the positive impacts of the recent pandemic was the increase of delivery service options that are now available – groceries, laundry, office supplies, air filters, etc. This probably saves me on average 7-10 hours a month where instead I would be going to the store, shopping, and driving home. What a time saver!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

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

There is a tangible shift happening across the business world and in the marketplace for sustainable business. Demand for sustainable solutions is growing rapidly and 83% of top executives and investment professionals believe that Environmental, Social, and Governance programs will generate more shareholder value in five years’ time than they do today (McKinsey &Company). Visionary leaders are able to see that for-profit business needs to transform towards creating positive impacts in environment, society and governance while attending to their bottom line. At Meaningful Change Consulting, we are passionate about creating sustainable results and we are change process experts so it’s our superpower to be able to support leaders in making their sustainable business transformation a reality. We are excited to be in service of this monumental change in how business is done in the future!

How I ended up in opening a change consulting firm:

My ‘first’ career was in the staffing industry. I was a successful third party recruiter for 6 years. I realized that I had a knack for working with people and decided to obtain my Master’s in Human Resources & Industrial Relations. (University of Minnesota). I moved to North Carolina to work in Human Resources with a global diversified manufacturer and they asked me to work for a year with their change methodology and deploy a culture assessment. I knew very little about either of those topics so I jumped in! That was how I entered into the change profession – I never left after that.

After supporting HR transformation for global manufacturer for 5 years, I was laid off. While my first reaction was fear based, I remember what the VP of HR said to me after I was informed of my severance. “When we were making the decision, I knew that either way you will succeed”. Over the coming months, I sat with what she said to me and I realized, she was right. I would succeed no matter what. So, I started to take on freelance work. I was even called back to the manufacturing firm for a short term gig. Over time, I decided I should open up my own firm and voila! I was now self-employed and building a business.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

Charlotte is a beautiful city with a lot to offer visitors. There is so much to do! I would take them to:

For fun/adventure, I would spend a day on the following:

• Going to the U.S. White Water Center for outdoor adventure activities and to listen to the River Jam bands.
• Rent a boat on Lake Wylie or Lake Norman to have a ‘lake day’
• Spend a day going around town to visit breweries and seltzeries – Some of our favorites are Old Mecklenburg Brewery (OMB), Sycamore Brewing, and Summit Seltzery to name a few… or…
• Day trip it to visit a few wineries in the country side around Charlotte. One of our favorite wineries is Baker Buffalo Creek in Lawndale, NC. They have a great selection from light and sweet to heavier, dry reds on a beautiful farm.

For food, a few of our favorite restaurants are:

• Soul Gastrolounge in Plaza Midwood (Tapas and craft cocktails)
• Intermezzo’s (Serbian with the great pizza)
• Fahrenheit in Uptown for the view of uptown Charlotte, especially at night
• Kounter in Rock Hill, SC for the Sunday brunch
• Bottle Tree in Belmont also has a delicious menu with great drinks!
• Optimist Hall in Villa Heights offers many great small restaurants, bars and some entertainment off our light rail near the trendy NoDa (North on Davidson) neighborhood.

To get a great bottle of wine…Assorted Table Wines at the 7th Street Market is the best! Josh has a great selection and Orrman’s cheese is right there too…you can enjoy it there or bring it home so you don’t have to drive after.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband, Brett, who is my best friend, champion and encourages the entrepreneurial ideas in me to shine and stay the course. He is my number one supporter and confidant when I am struggling.

My ‘morning text’ friends – Ryan, Loren and Jay – who are always upbeat, supportive and keep it real as we joke about what life throws our way.

All of my mentors – family, friends, in-the-moment coaches, short term champions, long term influencers and future guides – who have and will help me continue to become the best version of myself in this lifetime.

Website: www.meaningfulchangeconsulting.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/meaningful-change-consulting/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meaningfulchg/

Image Credits
Workplay Branding