June 15, 2023 • 26 mins
Dr. Mailhiot steps into the realm of transformational leadership as we dive deep into the world of personal growth, professional development, and leadership excellence with renowned coach, author, and mentor Joyel Crawford. Joyel shares her profound insights, strategies, and inspiring stories to help you unlock your true leadership potential, become the driving force of positive change and make meaningful connections. Crawfordleadership.com @joyelcrawford
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Episode Transcript
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Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (00:00):
Welcome to Rowan College at Burlington
County's Baroness podcast I'mDr. Brooke Mailhiot program
chair and assistant professor ofour entertainment technologies
department. I am a co chair ofthe Women's Advocacy Group a
subcommittee of the President'sAdvisory Council on diversity,
equity and inclusion. Thismonthly series highlights women
(00:21):
in leadership, while encouraginglisteners to build their skills,
connect with the community andvisualize the opportunities
available to women in variousprofessions. Tune in for a
female perspective on theBurlington County community. We
are here to listen to theseamazing women and if you want to
hear from women who lead andinspire this podcast is for you.
(00:45):
Welcome to our June podcast thismonth we are still honoring
women. That is what we do hereon the bareness podcast. June is
effective communications month.And I don't think we could have
a better guest joining us thanJoyel Crawford, a certified
professional career coach, theycall her fairy god mentor, a
(01:07):
podcaster herself with careerview mirror, and amazing Amazon
Best Selling Author. Show usyour ask using your voice to
advocate for yourself and yourcareer. I am so happy to have
you in the studio with us Joyelhow are you?
Joyel Crawford (01:22):
I'm doing well Brooke, thanks for having me
here.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (01:24):
I just want to say that I need a fairy god
mentor. I mean, I don't evenknow what that is. But I feel
like I need one. Tell me whatthat is.
Joyel Crawford (01:34):
All throughout my life. And you've probably had
very good mentors. It's justlike gave the title to W IW. A
Fairy God mentor you probablyalready very good mentoring. All
throughout my career and mylife. I've had men and women who
have flown in to help lift me upas I climb the ladder of
(01:56):
success. People who've taught melife lessons and career lessons.
And I've dubbed them fairy godmentors and I was actually
talking to a very good mentor ofmine. She goes, if you keep on
using that, I'm going toregister it. And so I was like,
Okay, I better I better registerthis. This is a this is a great
title and name. And so
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (02:16):
we need to we need to register it, we need
to put it in the dictionary andthere needs to be a picture of
you. That's what I'm deeming.You know, I love that you said
that there's all these peoplethat bring you up and support
you and on the barrenness, Ifeel like that theme has comes
up every month we talk to thesewomen. And I'm like, they have
this kind of this network ofthese ladies that support them,
(02:42):
and inspire them. You know, it'sthe person the first person you
want to call and like you'reyou're outside of your immediate
family like network, right? Whoare some of those people? And
how do they support you in in inyour life,
Joyel Crawford (02:57):
I would definitely say that my my core
are my mother's best friends.They were the village that
really helped raise me up, therewas a point in time where I was
teased about how I spoke. Ididn't speak black enough, and
people would tease me and so Istarted to retreat inside of
(03:20):
myself. And these women startedto see me withdraw. And they saw
the potential that I had to kindof share my talents out in the
world. So they thrust me intoopportunities that really
showcased my voice. And theywere like original oratory and,
(03:43):
and singing competitions andpiano competitions. And I was
singing in festivals and thingsof that nature. And I didn't
understand it at the time. Butwhat they were doing was getting
me to appreciate the gifts thatI had and share them with other
people. And I used to be reallyresentful about how pushy they
(04:03):
were. And my mom was one ofthose people to you know,
constantly, you know, having meread at dinner time. And, you
know, if I was mispronouncing aword, she would correct it. I
used to love reading books likeJudy Blume or anything that had
a curse word in it. So it waslike okay to say, like, yeah, at
the dinner table while she'scooking. But yes, she was
(04:25):
helping me pronounce thingscorrectly and helping me get my
original oratory and my speakingmy professional speaking chops
together. So I really think thatthat village, my mom and her
best friends, they they were theOGS they were the OG fairy god
mentors that really helped pushme into the things that I really
(04:48):
passionate about.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (04:49):
I love that you said your speaking chops
because I feel that you know, Iwant you to tell our audience
basically you Your story and Ithink it's really powerful. And
I think many women don't reallyrealize the power that we have
at any time in our life. And youkind of did a change up. And and
(05:12):
you re I think reevaluated yourspeaking chops at this point and
your whole way, your wholepersona in your whole career.
Can you share audience yourstory of your career life
lifeline? I can say Oh, yes.
Joyel Crawford (05:29):
And it's, you know, if it was like, if I was a
palmistry, it would be likealmost like a spiral.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (05:35):
Give it it was so powerful. When we when we
chatted before we're here today,I was just like, so inspired.
I'm like, Wow, so many peopledon't don't realize that at any
age, at any place in your life.You can you can make a change.
Yes. Yeah. Tell us how you madethat change.
Joyel Crawford (05:50):
So it all started back. When I got my
first big girl job. I had justgraduated from college. Yeah.
And I was a psychology major.And I thought, oh, you know, I'm
going to, I need to be apsychologist. And do you know,
I'll be a guidance counselor andhelp other people? Sure. So I
didn't even know it at the timethat I career coaching was kind
(06:12):
of in the in the space alreadyin the mix. Yeah. So I had no
idea. My mom was a therapist,that at the time, she's a 40
year, veteran therapist, andshe's like, there's no money in
therapy. You get out don't don'tdon't She's like,
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (06:25):
do not. She's like, I know, I'm your
support system. But this is notfor you. Run Run for
Joyel Crawford (06:31):
money. Yeah. And I was I wasn't about the money.
I was about the impact. Sure.But she was just like, nah, nah,
yeah. And so a cousin of mine,she's a sister cousin, I could
consider more like a sister wasworking at this
telecommunications company, BellAtlantic mobile. And she's like,
(06:51):
if you get here, you could getyour degree, you could get
tuition assistance to get yourMBA, because nowadays, you need
more than just a bachelor'sdegree to get anywhere. Sure.
And so I was like, Oh, okay.only issue is that you've got to
answer phones. And I was justlike, What are you talking
about? She's just like, you'vegot to answer the calls. Like if
(07:12):
people have problems,programming their voicemail, or
their pagers, this is how longago this was that
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (07:18):
a lot of the pagers and all the numeric
codes.
Joyel Crawford (07:22):
And they're the, you know, the car phones that
were installed in the side ofthe car,
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (07:27):
the bag cars are like a bit heavier than
abreco, they
Joyel Crawford (07:31):
were huge. So I took the job. And I immediately
knew the guy in front of theclassroom, was doing what I
wanted to do, he was standing infront of the classroom talking
about the benefits of theorganization, and where you
could go, and I was like, I wantto do that literally day one of
my first job. I was like, Idon't want to do what I was
(07:52):
hired to do. I want to speak infront of a large audience. I
want to do that what you wantedto find your voice again, wanted
to find my voice again. So Ijust kept asking, which is why I
wrote show your ask. I just keptasking people, how did how do
you get there? How do I getthere? What do I need to do? And
I kept creating opportunities toalmost mimic where he was so
(08:16):
that people knew I was seriousabout getting there. And then
finally about three years intoworking at Bell Atlantic mobile.
I got a phone call from somebodywho I said, Listen, I'll take
out the trash. Just just hire meinto HR. That's where I need to
go. Yes, he called. And he said,we have an open, we have an
opening, I need an admin, youknow how to answer phones,
(08:37):
because she did it for threeyears phones are the key ones
are the key and communicatingwith people so quickly. And he's
just like, he wanted, he wanteda good voice on the other end of
the phone. And then I moved intohuman resources. And it was a
trajectory of continuing to pavethat. That way of speaking for
(08:59):
myself, just raising my voice. Ilike to tell people, when you
raise your voice, you raise yourvalue. And so whenever I would
meet a new supervisor, I waslike, Don't get used to me being
here. Because this is where I'mgoing to be I'm going to be in
front of that classroom. I'mgoing to be welcoming employees
still had that dream, just wantthat dream. And so it was like a
heat seeking missile. And I keptvolunteering to train and be in
(09:21):
front of audiences and speak andcontinue to speak. And
executives were like, Hey, howdid you? How did you get from
call center to human resourceslike Gladsome? Like, impossible,
and I started just asked, Sothen they were sending people to
me and little did I know I waslike a bootleg coach. I was
career coach. Undercover. Yeah,you didn't even know it didn't
(09:41):
even know I wasn't getting paidfor it either. Right, right.
That's right. Yeah. So I kept ontrudging through and asking
various people, how do I get towhere that guy is? And I
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (09:52):
think a lot of people are scared to do that.
It is it's intimidating.
Joyel Crawford (09:56):
That is I think the the overwhelming passion of
where I wanted to go blind at mefrom embarrassment. Because in
my mind, it was just a goal thatI wanted to get to. And I just
needed some direction. And I seesupervisors and leaders and very
good mentors, as people like acareer GPS, and you tell them
(10:20):
the address of where you want toget to, and they help you
calculate the route. Yeah. Andlove it. And you know, some PS,
yeah, they're, they're insecure.Find somebody else that can help
you calculate that route. Maybego up a step, or look outside of
the organization that you're in,or my some of my family members
(10:41):
were helpful in being a careerGPS for me. Yeah.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (10:45):
And I think a lot of people get stuck like
you were you were at thiscorporate job, you were doing a
lot of other things. And a lotof us were there for X amount of
years, and we're just we'refrustrated. We're burnout. We're
not, you know, feelingsupported. We're not feeling
motivated. What did you do atthat point in time in your
(11:06):
career?
Joyel Crawford (11:06):
Well, there were a couple of times where I didn't
feel supported and motivated.But I sought out people who had
helped me in the past, I kept intouch with the people who were
like my network. Yes, my boardof
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (11:23):
directors, I know of our sporting
directors. Yeah. And I reachedout
Joyel Crawford (11:27):
to them, I think it's super important to keep in
touch. And you know, you don'twant to just dine and dash with
you're getting
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (11:32):
I love that dine and dash. It feels like
that should be a dating site.Because that's what happens.
Yes.
Joyel Crawford (11:39):
Yeah. Oh, just diamond, I think it's so
important to keep in touch withfolks. And so I would keep in
touch with these peoplequarterly and reach out to them
and say, Listen, I'm having thischallenge with a supervisor or
I'm not getting where I want togo. And I remember this one
woman who was a fairly gotmentor to me, she was executive
director of HR at the time. Andshe said, You know, it's great
(12:00):
that you're talking about allthese things that you've done in
your career, but what have youdone for the business? And that
was like a lightbulb moment,because
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (12:09):
I turned it on.
Joyel Crawford (12:10):
I did not I did not understand that when I'm
positioning or pitching to goanother step further or get
unstuck or move forward. I needto make sure I share the return
on investment. What's the valueproposition for the
organization? Almost seeing thebusiness like Janet Jackson
singing? What have you done forme lately?
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (12:30):
I'm finna. Alright, breaking into karaoke.
Joyel Crawford (12:37):
So yeah, I think it's so important to think about
the true the business that way.And then if you're able to
articulate what's in it forthem, then they're more
interested in saying, Okay, letme help you get there. Because
we're getting something out ofthis investment. This promotion
is going to help you be moreproductive and come up with more
innovative ideas. And
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (12:58):
so how did you move from HR person in the
front of the classroom? To share
Joyel Crawford (13:06):
ask 18 years of doing all the things for
everybody, except for myself?Yeah, that's right. And I
putting everyone first I burnedout, yeah, burned out. And my
doctors actually said, this jobis killing you. Yeah. And they
said, If you don't leave, you'regoing to really suffer some
(13:27):
serious, yeah, consequences ofyour health. And so my I was
experiencing stress relatedsymptoms and surgeries in the
last two years of my careerthere, and I needed to leave.
And so within the last year ofwhile I was working in
corporate, I be grudgingly Imean, like literally crying,
(13:48):
signing my LLC paperwork tocreate my consultancy. And my,
my boyfriend, who's now myhusband at the time was just
like, you can do this. You'vegot like, almost 20 years of
experience. Sure to do this.Just consult. You know, just
yeah, do the things that youused to do and just get other
people to pay the things youlove. Yeah. And he's like, and
(14:11):
you can even like, get out thereand be a public speaker like
you've wanted to do. And I wasjust like, Rand
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (14:16):
could still be at the front of the
classroom, but not undercorporate America. Exactly. On
my on your terms, my terms andyou are owning it. Yeah. And so
Joyel Crawford (14:25):
I moved up to Penn Philadelphia. I was in
South Carolina at the time.That's where we met. He's from
Philly, but we met in SouthCarolina, and he brought
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (14:34):
you back. Yeah, yeah. Oh, man. Yep.
Joyel Crawford (14:38):
And we just, I didn't I knew one person there
and literally just keptnetworking, shaking hands and
kissing babies and going intodifferent spaces. One fairy god
mentor who is a dear friend ofmine. I just I saw a sign
literal sign on the side of thewall of her business and said,
I'm going to be working with youone day and I saw her at a
(15:01):
professional organizationmeeting and followed her into
the bathroom, not into thestall, but followed her to the
bath. And I was like, I need towork with you. Yeah. And you're
my person. She was my firstclient. And I got in front of
class I was facilitating,helping raise leader, you know,
I love grown leaders for livingand just helping develop women
leaders. And that was how I gotin front of everybody. I asked,
(15:24):
I kept asking,
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (15:25):
that's amazing. So tips and tricks for
our listeners who want to be aleader, what what? What kind of
tips would you give them of whatto do?
Joyel Crawford (15:39):
I think the biggest thing is to understand
you will not know everything.You don't have to know
everything huge. You don't haveto know everything as a leader.
You just need to know where tofind the answers, and use your
resources. I think that's super,super important. Understanding
the skills and talents that yourteam has, and knowing how to
(16:00):
leverage them so that everyone'ssuccessful. I also think that a
big skill and tip as being agreat leader, is understanding
that not feedback is a gift.That it's it that it's nothing
personal. It's just information.Yes. And it's on you, it's
incumbent on you to provide thatgift to the people that report
(16:22):
to you as well as being able toreceive that information help
you grow and develop.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (16:27):
I think a lot of us as women are scared to
receive that critique andfeedback. What, what would you
say like your first time? Do youremember that first time people
were saying, hey, I need you todo this, this, this and this?
And you're like, what I thoughtI was doing? Right, right? Or
oh, what to change up? Or whatto
Joyel Crawford (16:47):
think there's a lot of shame. Yeah. And just
feeling like, You'reembarrassed. I can't believe I
didn't live up to thispotential. Yeah, I think stress
the biggest piece of that isowning some of it don't, you
know, like, obviously, it's itcan be like an iron cloak.
Sometimes when you get thatfeature and weigh you down.
However, I think it's alsoimportant to come up with some
(17:10):
solutions. And I think that'sanother leadership skill. That
is integral to being a greatleader is what solutions how can
we make it better? So if youfeel stuck, or you've gotten
feedback, that you're not doingthings correctly? Well, what can
we do to make it better? Whatsuggestions do you think you
have? I have a suggestion, whatdo you think it's more of the
(17:32):
going into the woods? You know,what do you think about this? Or
what do you think we could doabout X, Y and Z to improve x
y&z? Yeah,
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (17:41):
when you're stuck on finding a solution? Or
what to improve? Or what to moveforward with? Or really what to
do, right? Because you had justsaid, you don't have to have all
the answers, right? Or the allthe solutions? Where do you go?
What do you do to like, getaway, turn off, turn off, turn
off everything that's firing allat once your brain? And you have
(18:04):
those aha moments? Is there aplace that you go? Is there? Is
it a hobby that you like to do?Is it what is it for you? Where
can you escape to do that?
Joyel Crawford (18:14):
There's three places Okay, one is the shower.
Okay, I find out that the bestideas that I come up with are in
the shower, and there needs tobe some kind of I don't know if
anyone's listening, and theyneed to invent something where
there's like a dry erase boardor something that does Yeah,
wash off. Yeah, or I like itamazing ideas in the shower. The
(18:34):
second is walking. I find thatwhen I am walking, my brain is
just I don't know if it's justclears your head. And there's
been studies that like some ofour greatest thinkers, and
artists, artists, and scientiststake a daily walk just to kind
of clear their mind and theycome up with all these amazing
(18:55):
ideas. So walking, not only isgood for your health, but it's
also good for your, for your,for your creativity. And the
third part is just kind of whenin doubt, toss it out. So not
what do you think I should do?But like, more of what am I
(19:15):
missing here? Like, can you giveme some insight like, Am I
seeing something from adifferent perspective? Like what
am I what am I missing? So maybetossing it out to a value
trusted friend or family memberor a mentor? Just to get it out
there and socialize it? And thensometimes you'll be able to come
(19:36):
up with some really creativeideas.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (19:38):
Is there a space where you go to socialize
it or is it a person that youit's my no throw at it? Yeah,
Joyel Crawford (19:43):
my husband's my biggest sounding board right
now. Yeah, he's been so integralin me launching this this
business and a see through, youknow, he's just like, I want you
to drive this thing into theground. And so he's my biggest
fan and my big His cheerleaderand so
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (20:02):
he must have been cheering you on a lot.
You've got some really greatstuff coming up. And how I met
you and how we got connected wasI know your audio recording? Is
it a book? Is it a series? Is itwhat what are you doing
professionally that we can'twait to hear about? Yes,
Joyel Crawford (20:19):
I just came out with my Ted, my TEDx talk. I did
it last year wonder just cameout. Excellent. It's why we
should go why? Wait, we shouldgo ball together is the title of
the TEDx talk. I have my bookshow your ask. However, when we
were last talking, I wasrecording the audiobook version.
Right?
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (20:38):
Yeah. So
Joyel Crawford (20:39):
that's coming out. It's an editing right now.
It's being produced andwonderful, super excited about
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (20:44):
it. So connected rcbc, our adjunct you
did it actually recorded at ouragile space. And he connected me
so rcbc is like this own littlenetwork of things. And what
else? What else is going on inthe horizon? What are some of
the future things we're lookingforward to to hearing from you?
Well, I
Joyel Crawford (21:01):
am very excited to announce that I do an annual
self care isn't selfish retreat.And because of popular demand,
it's um, it's in Cape May, we'veadded two weeks.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (21:13):
I love Kate Mae. Yeah, well, I want to come
we'll definitely send you aninvitation.
Joyel Crawford (21:18):
Yes, we have two weeks. One is in September, and
the other is in October. Andit's a wonderful opportunity for
women to come together and justget away from it all. We measure
your self care metrics to seewhere your self care, may be
(21:38):
needing some opportunity, somemore attention. And then we work
on a strategy to get a goal andwe work all year and keeping you
accountable and now reachingthat goal.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (21:49):
That is beautiful. I love it. So I have
these cards here that I alwayspull from and I'm going to pull
some of these questions here. Ihave no idea. These are like
wildcard Okay, so we'll see whatwe have. What's one thing that
can instantly make your daybetter? Hmm.
Joyel Crawford (22:11):
One thing that can instantly make my day
better.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (22:14):
I knew I was going to stump you on a very
hard one. Yeah.
Joyel Crawford (22:18):
You don't want sunshine? Yeah, yeah.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (22:20):
Fabulous. I love Daisy. Yeah, that's easy,
especially in these past fewdays. Yeah. It's been great.
Yeah. Excellent. All right,sunshine. Here we go. What is
the most life changing piece ofadvice you've ever had?
Joyel Crawford (22:36):
My dad used to say don't sweat the small stuff.
And sometimes I just get wrappedup into the Oh, yeah, mix of
everything. Yes. I have toremember not to sweat. Don't
sweat
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (22:49):
the small stuff. My mother used to say
take it one day at a time. Thatwas my kind of mantra. We got
one more here. Well, this is agood one. If you had the
attention of the world for just10 seconds. What would you say?
Joyel Crawford (23:10):
The attention of the world in just 10 seconds.
Whoosh. You are enough.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (23:17):
Beautiful. And I don't think a lot of
people really take that. And sobreathe that in audience. You
are enough. Yeah, it'sbeautiful. So I'm going to read
down some of the words that wespoke about today. And then what
I normally do is at the end, Iwant to know what your personal
(23:37):
hashtag is. So listeners if youhaven't listened to us before,
this is your first time at theend of every bareness podcast, I
go through all the powerfulmoving words themes that we've
talked about here today. And Iuse them as if I was posting
about you that these would beyour hashtags but then I want to
(23:59):
know what your personal hashtagis Okay, so here we go. We're
ready. Village Raise Me Upshowcase appreciate gifts
speaking chops OG big girl job.benefits were You were you call
asking how do I get there? pavethe way passion gold GPS,
(24:19):
personal board of directors,value proposition iron cloak
solutions. Walking when in doubttoss it out and self care. Wow,
you got some good ones there
Joyel Crawford (24:33):
are really good. Doesn't have to be one word. No,
go ahead.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (24:39):
Whatever comes to mind,
Joyel Crawford (24:40):
I want to say Be true to yourself. That's what's
ringing in my like a littleYeah, love it. Whatever the soul
is telling me. That's what'sthat's what's coming up for me.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (24:53):
Well, you have definitely raised your
voice today and raised ourvalues by listening to you and
everybody out there. Be true toyourself. I want to thank Joi L
for being with us today. Thishas been amazing. I'm so glad we
connected. And, you know, happy,effective communication month in
June. And I think it's soperfect for you. Because I'm
(25:15):
hoping the audience listens tothis. And now knows to
communicate, to ask to listen tobe themselves. You don't have to
have the answers to everything.Open up your mind, open up your
soul. Give yourself keep asking.Keep motivating yourself, have
that board of directors andthose people to raise you up. So
thank you so much for joining ustoday. It's been a pleasure to
(25:37):
have you on the Baron s podcast.
Joyel Crawford (25:38):
Thanks for having me Brooke
Jason Varga (25:40):
You've been listening to the rcbc bareness
podcast, which highlights womenin leadership while encouraging
listeners to build their skills,connect with the community and
visualize the opportunitiesavailable to women in various
professions. For moreinformation about this podcast
or other podcasts available onthe rcbc podcasts network, visit
rcbc.edu/podcast And be sure tosubscribe to the rcbc bareness
(26:00):
podcast available on allstreaming platforms.
Welcome to Rowan College at Burlington
County's Baroness podcast I'mDr. Brooke Mailhiot program
chair and assistant professor ofour entertainment technologies
department. I am a co chair ofthe Women's Advocacy Group a
subcommittee of the President'sAdvisory Council on diversity,
equity and inclusion. Thismonthly series highlights women
(00:21):
in leadership, while encouraginglisteners to build their skills,
connect with the community andvisualize the opportunities
available to women in variousprofessions. Tune in for a
female perspective on theBurlington County community. We
are here to listen to theseamazing women and if you want to
hear from women who lead andinspire this podcast is for you.
(00:45):
Welcome to our June podcast thismonth we are still honoring
women. That is what we do hereon the bareness podcast. June is
effective communications month.And I don't think we could have
a better guest joining us thanJoyel Crawford, a certified
professional career coach, theycall her fairy god mentor, a
(01:07):
podcaster herself with careerview mirror, and amazing Amazon
Best Selling Author. Show usyour ask using your voice to
advocate for yourself and yourcareer. I am so happy to have
you in the studio with us Joyelhow are you?
Joyel Crawford (01:22):
I'm doing well Brooke, thanks for having me
here.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (01:24):
I just want to say that I need a fairy god
mentor. I mean, I don't evenknow what that is. But I feel
like I need one. Tell me whatthat is.
Joyel Crawford (01:34):
All throughout my life. And you've probably had
very good mentors. It's justlike gave the title to W IW. A
Fairy God mentor you probablyalready very good mentoring. All
throughout my career and mylife. I've had men and women who
have flown in to help lift me upas I climb the ladder of
(01:56):
success. People who've taught melife lessons and career lessons.
And I've dubbed them fairy godmentors and I was actually
talking to a very good mentor ofmine. She goes, if you keep on
using that, I'm going toregister it. And so I was like,
Okay, I better I better registerthis. This is a this is a great
title and name. And so
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (02:16):
we need to we need to register it, we need
to put it in the dictionary andthere needs to be a picture of
you. That's what I'm deeming.You know, I love that you said
that there's all these peoplethat bring you up and support
you and on the barrenness, Ifeel like that theme has comes
up every month we talk to thesewomen. And I'm like, they have
this kind of this network ofthese ladies that support them,
(02:42):
and inspire them. You know, it'sthe person the first person you
want to call and like you'reyou're outside of your immediate
family like network, right? Whoare some of those people? And
how do they support you in in inyour life,
Joyel Crawford (02:57):
I would definitely say that my my core
are my mother's best friends.They were the village that
really helped raise me up, therewas a point in time where I was
teased about how I spoke. Ididn't speak black enough, and
people would tease me and so Istarted to retreat inside of
(03:20):
myself. And these women startedto see me withdraw. And they saw
the potential that I had to kindof share my talents out in the
world. So they thrust me intoopportunities that really
showcased my voice. And theywere like original oratory and,
(03:43):
and singing competitions andpiano competitions. And I was
singing in festivals and thingsof that nature. And I didn't
understand it at the time. Butwhat they were doing was getting
me to appreciate the gifts thatI had and share them with other
people. And I used to be reallyresentful about how pushy they
(04:03):
were. And my mom was one ofthose people to you know,
constantly, you know, having meread at dinner time. And, you
know, if I was mispronouncing aword, she would correct it. I
used to love reading books likeJudy Blume or anything that had
a curse word in it. So it waslike okay to say, like, yeah, at
the dinner table while she'scooking. But yes, she was
(04:25):
helping me pronounce thingscorrectly and helping me get my
original oratory and my speakingmy professional speaking chops
together. So I really think thatthat village, my mom and her
best friends, they they were theOGS they were the OG fairy god
mentors that really helped pushme into the things that I really
(04:48):
passionate about.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (04:49):
I love that you said your speaking chops
because I feel that you know, Iwant you to tell our audience
basically you Your story and Ithink it's really powerful. And
I think many women don't reallyrealize the power that we have
at any time in our life. And youkind of did a change up. And and
(05:12):
you re I think reevaluated yourspeaking chops at this point and
your whole way, your wholepersona in your whole career.
Can you share audience yourstory of your career life
lifeline? I can say Oh, yes.
Joyel Crawford (05:29):
And it's, you know, if it was like, if I was a
palmistry, it would be likealmost like a spiral.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (05:35):
Give it it was so powerful. When we when we
chatted before we're here today,I was just like, so inspired.
I'm like, Wow, so many peopledon't don't realize that at any
age, at any place in your life.You can you can make a change.
Yes. Yeah. Tell us how you madethat change.
Joyel Crawford (05:50):
So it all started back. When I got my
first big girl job. I had justgraduated from college. Yeah.
And I was a psychology major.And I thought, oh, you know, I'm
going to, I need to be apsychologist. And do you know,
I'll be a guidance counselor andhelp other people? Sure. So I
didn't even know it at the timethat I career coaching was kind
(06:12):
of in the in the space alreadyin the mix. Yeah. So I had no
idea. My mom was a therapist,that at the time, she's a 40
year, veteran therapist, andshe's like, there's no money in
therapy. You get out don't don'tdon't She's like,
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (06:25):
do not. She's like, I know, I'm your
support system. But this is notfor you. Run Run for
Joyel Crawford (06:31):
money. Yeah. And I was I wasn't about the money.
I was about the impact. Sure.But she was just like, nah, nah,
yeah. And so a cousin of mine,she's a sister cousin, I could
consider more like a sister wasworking at this
telecommunications company, BellAtlantic mobile. And she's like,
(06:51):
if you get here, you could getyour degree, you could get
tuition assistance to get yourMBA, because nowadays, you need
more than just a bachelor'sdegree to get anywhere. Sure.
And so I was like, Oh, okay.only issue is that you've got to
answer phones. And I was justlike, What are you talking
about? She's just like, you'vegot to answer the calls. Like if
(07:12):
people have problems,programming their voicemail, or
their pagers, this is how longago this was that
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (07:18):
a lot of the pagers and all the numeric
codes.
Joyel Crawford (07:22):
And they're the, you know, the car phones that
were installed in the side ofthe car,
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (07:27):
the bag cars are like a bit heavier than
abreco, they
Joyel Crawford (07:31):
were huge. So I took the job. And I immediately
knew the guy in front of theclassroom, was doing what I
wanted to do, he was standing infront of the classroom talking
about the benefits of theorganization, and where you
could go, and I was like, I wantto do that literally day one of
my first job. I was like, Idon't want to do what I was
(07:52):
hired to do. I want to speak infront of a large audience. I
want to do that what you wantedto find your voice again, wanted
to find my voice again. So Ijust kept asking, which is why I
wrote show your ask. I just keptasking people, how did how do
you get there? How do I getthere? What do I need to do? And
I kept creating opportunities toalmost mimic where he was so
(08:16):
that people knew I was seriousabout getting there. And then
finally about three years intoworking at Bell Atlantic mobile.
I got a phone call from somebodywho I said, Listen, I'll take
out the trash. Just just hire meinto HR. That's where I need to
go. Yes, he called. And he said,we have an open, we have an
opening, I need an admin, youknow how to answer phones,
(08:37):
because she did it for threeyears phones are the key ones
are the key and communicatingwith people so quickly. And he's
just like, he wanted, he wanteda good voice on the other end of
the phone. And then I moved intohuman resources. And it was a
trajectory of continuing to pavethat. That way of speaking for
(08:59):
myself, just raising my voice. Ilike to tell people, when you
raise your voice, you raise yourvalue. And so whenever I would
meet a new supervisor, I waslike, Don't get used to me being
here. Because this is where I'mgoing to be I'm going to be in
front of that classroom. I'mgoing to be welcoming employees
still had that dream, just wantthat dream. And so it was like a
heat seeking missile. And I keptvolunteering to train and be in
(09:21):
front of audiences and speak andcontinue to speak. And
executives were like, Hey, howdid you? How did you get from
call center to human resourceslike Gladsome? Like, impossible,
and I started just asked, Sothen they were sending people to
me and little did I know I waslike a bootleg coach. I was
career coach. Undercover. Yeah,you didn't even know it didn't
(09:41):
even know I wasn't getting paidfor it either. Right, right.
That's right. Yeah. So I kept ontrudging through and asking
various people, how do I get towhere that guy is? And I
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (09:52):
think a lot of people are scared to do that.
It is it's intimidating.
Joyel Crawford (09:56):
That is I think the the overwhelming passion of
where I wanted to go blind at mefrom embarrassment. Because in
my mind, it was just a goal thatI wanted to get to. And I just
needed some direction. And I seesupervisors and leaders and very
good mentors, as people like acareer GPS, and you tell them
(10:20):
the address of where you want toget to, and they help you
calculate the route. Yeah. Andlove it. And you know, some PS,
yeah, they're, they're insecure.Find somebody else that can help
you calculate that route. Maybego up a step, or look outside of
the organization that you're in,or my some of my family members
(10:41):
were helpful in being a careerGPS for me. Yeah.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (10:45):
And I think a lot of people get stuck like
you were you were at thiscorporate job, you were doing a
lot of other things. And a lotof us were there for X amount of
years, and we're just we'refrustrated. We're burnout. We're
not, you know, feelingsupported. We're not feeling
motivated. What did you do atthat point in time in your
(11:06):
career?
Joyel Crawford (11:06):
Well, there were a couple of times where I didn't
feel supported and motivated.But I sought out people who had
helped me in the past, I kept intouch with the people who were
like my network. Yes, my boardof
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (11:23):
directors, I know of our sporting
directors. Yeah. And I reachedout
Joyel Crawford (11:27):
to them, I think it's super important to keep in
touch. And you know, you don'twant to just dine and dash with
you're getting
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (11:32):
I love that dine and dash. It feels like
that should be a dating site.Because that's what happens.
Yes.
Joyel Crawford (11:39):
Yeah. Oh, just diamond, I think it's so
important to keep in touch withfolks. And so I would keep in
touch with these peoplequarterly and reach out to them
and say, Listen, I'm having thischallenge with a supervisor or
I'm not getting where I want togo. And I remember this one
woman who was a fairly gotmentor to me, she was executive
director of HR at the time. Andshe said, You know, it's great
(12:00):
that you're talking about allthese things that you've done in
your career, but what have youdone for the business? And that
was like a lightbulb moment,because
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (12:09):
I turned it on.
Joyel Crawford (12:10):
I did not I did not understand that when I'm
positioning or pitching to goanother step further or get
unstuck or move forward. I needto make sure I share the return
on investment. What's the valueproposition for the
organization? Almost seeing thebusiness like Janet Jackson
singing? What have you done forme lately?
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (12:30):
I'm finna. Alright, breaking into karaoke.
Joyel Crawford (12:37):
So yeah, I think it's so important to think about
the true the business that way.And then if you're able to
articulate what's in it forthem, then they're more
interested in saying, Okay, letme help you get there. Because
we're getting something out ofthis investment. This promotion
is going to help you be moreproductive and come up with more
innovative ideas. And
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (12:58):
so how did you move from HR person in the
front of the classroom? To share
Joyel Crawford (13:06):
ask 18 years of doing all the things for
everybody, except for myself?Yeah, that's right. And I
putting everyone first I burnedout, yeah, burned out. And my
doctors actually said, this jobis killing you. Yeah. And they
said, If you don't leave, you'regoing to really suffer some
(13:27):
serious, yeah, consequences ofyour health. And so my I was
experiencing stress relatedsymptoms and surgeries in the
last two years of my careerthere, and I needed to leave.
And so within the last year ofwhile I was working in
corporate, I be grudgingly Imean, like literally crying,
(13:48):
signing my LLC paperwork tocreate my consultancy. And my,
my boyfriend, who's now myhusband at the time was just
like, you can do this. You'vegot like, almost 20 years of
experience. Sure to do this.Just consult. You know, just
yeah, do the things that youused to do and just get other
people to pay the things youlove. Yeah. And he's like, and
(14:11):
you can even like, get out thereand be a public speaker like
you've wanted to do. And I wasjust like, Rand
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (14:16):
could still be at the front of the
classroom, but not undercorporate America. Exactly. On
my on your terms, my terms andyou are owning it. Yeah. And so
Joyel Crawford (14:25):
I moved up to Penn Philadelphia. I was in
South Carolina at the time.That's where we met. He's from
Philly, but we met in SouthCarolina, and he brought
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (14:34):
you back. Yeah, yeah. Oh, man. Yep.
Joyel Crawford (14:38):
And we just, I didn't I knew one person there
and literally just keptnetworking, shaking hands and
kissing babies and going intodifferent spaces. One fairy god
mentor who is a dear friend ofmine. I just I saw a sign
literal sign on the side of thewall of her business and said,
I'm going to be working with youone day and I saw her at a
(15:01):
professional organizationmeeting and followed her into
the bathroom, not into thestall, but followed her to the
bath. And I was like, I need towork with you. Yeah. And you're
my person. She was my firstclient. And I got in front of
class I was facilitating,helping raise leader, you know,
I love grown leaders for livingand just helping develop women
leaders. And that was how I gotin front of everybody. I asked,
(15:24):
I kept asking,
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (15:25):
that's amazing. So tips and tricks for
our listeners who want to be aleader, what what? What kind of
tips would you give them of whatto do?
Joyel Crawford (15:39):
I think the biggest thing is to understand
you will not know everything.You don't have to know
everything huge. You don't haveto know everything as a leader.
You just need to know where tofind the answers, and use your
resources. I think that's super,super important. Understanding
the skills and talents that yourteam has, and knowing how to
(16:00):
leverage them so that everyone'ssuccessful. I also think that a
big skill and tip as being agreat leader, is understanding
that not feedback is a gift.That it's it that it's nothing
personal. It's just information.Yes. And it's on you, it's
incumbent on you to provide thatgift to the people that report
(16:22):
to you as well as being able toreceive that information help
you grow and develop.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (16:27):
I think a lot of us as women are scared to
receive that critique andfeedback. What, what would you
say like your first time? Do youremember that first time people
were saying, hey, I need you todo this, this, this and this?
And you're like, what I thoughtI was doing? Right, right? Or
oh, what to change up? Or whatto
Joyel Crawford (16:47):
think there's a lot of shame. Yeah. And just
feeling like, You'reembarrassed. I can't believe I
didn't live up to thispotential. Yeah, I think stress
the biggest piece of that isowning some of it don't, you
know, like, obviously, it's itcan be like an iron cloak.
Sometimes when you get thatfeature and weigh you down.
However, I think it's alsoimportant to come up with some
(17:10):
solutions. And I think that'sanother leadership skill. That
is integral to being a greatleader is what solutions how can
we make it better? So if youfeel stuck, or you've gotten
feedback, that you're not doingthings correctly? Well, what can
we do to make it better? Whatsuggestions do you think you
have? I have a suggestion, whatdo you think it's more of the
(17:32):
going into the woods? You know,what do you think about this? Or
what do you think we could doabout X, Y and Z to improve x
y&z? Yeah,
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (17:41):
when you're stuck on finding a solution? Or
what to improve? Or what to moveforward with? Or really what to
do, right? Because you had justsaid, you don't have to have all
the answers, right? Or the allthe solutions? Where do you go?
What do you do to like, getaway, turn off, turn off, turn
off everything that's firing allat once your brain? And you have
(18:04):
those aha moments? Is there aplace that you go? Is there? Is
it a hobby that you like to do?Is it what is it for you? Where
can you escape to do that?
Joyel Crawford (18:14):
There's three places Okay, one is the shower.
Okay, I find out that the bestideas that I come up with are in
the shower, and there needs tobe some kind of I don't know if
anyone's listening, and theyneed to invent something where
there's like a dry erase boardor something that does Yeah,
wash off. Yeah, or I like itamazing ideas in the shower. The
(18:34):
second is walking. I find thatwhen I am walking, my brain is
just I don't know if it's justclears your head. And there's
been studies that like some ofour greatest thinkers, and
artists, artists, and scientiststake a daily walk just to kind
of clear their mind and theycome up with all these amazing
(18:55):
ideas. So walking, not only isgood for your health, but it's
also good for your, for your,for your creativity. And the
third part is just kind of whenin doubt, toss it out. So not
what do you think I should do?But like, more of what am I
(19:15):
missing here? Like, can you giveme some insight like, Am I
seeing something from adifferent perspective? Like what
am I what am I missing? So maybetossing it out to a value
trusted friend or family memberor a mentor? Just to get it out
there and socialize it? And thensometimes you'll be able to come
(19:36):
up with some really creativeideas.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (19:38):
Is there a space where you go to socialize
it or is it a person that youit's my no throw at it? Yeah,
Joyel Crawford (19:43):
my husband's my biggest sounding board right
now. Yeah, he's been so integralin me launching this this
business and a see through, youknow, he's just like, I want you
to drive this thing into theground. And so he's my biggest
fan and my big His cheerleaderand so
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (20:02):
he must have been cheering you on a lot.
You've got some really greatstuff coming up. And how I met
you and how we got connected wasI know your audio recording? Is
it a book? Is it a series? Is itwhat what are you doing
professionally that we can'twait to hear about? Yes,
Joyel Crawford (20:19):
I just came out with my Ted, my TEDx talk. I did
it last year wonder just cameout. Excellent. It's why we
should go why? Wait, we shouldgo ball together is the title of
the TEDx talk. I have my bookshow your ask. However, when we
were last talking, I wasrecording the audiobook version.
Right?
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (20:38):
Yeah. So
Joyel Crawford (20:39):
that's coming out. It's an editing right now.
It's being produced andwonderful, super excited about
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (20:44):
it. So connected rcbc, our adjunct you
did it actually recorded at ouragile space. And he connected me
so rcbc is like this own littlenetwork of things. And what
else? What else is going on inthe horizon? What are some of
the future things we're lookingforward to to hearing from you?
Well, I
Joyel Crawford (21:01):
am very excited to announce that I do an annual
self care isn't selfish retreat.And because of popular demand,
it's um, it's in Cape May, we'veadded two weeks.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (21:13):
I love Kate Mae. Yeah, well, I want to come
we'll definitely send you aninvitation.
Joyel Crawford (21:18):
Yes, we have two weeks. One is in September, and
the other is in October. Andit's a wonderful opportunity for
women to come together and justget away from it all. We measure
your self care metrics to seewhere your self care, may be
(21:38):
needing some opportunity, somemore attention. And then we work
on a strategy to get a goal andwe work all year and keeping you
accountable and now reachingthat goal.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (21:49):
That is beautiful. I love it. So I have
these cards here that I alwayspull from and I'm going to pull
some of these questions here. Ihave no idea. These are like
wildcard Okay, so we'll see whatwe have. What's one thing that
can instantly make your daybetter? Hmm.
Joyel Crawford (22:11):
One thing that can instantly make my day
better.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (22:14):
I knew I was going to stump you on a very
hard one. Yeah.
Joyel Crawford (22:18):
You don't want sunshine? Yeah, yeah.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (22:20):
Fabulous. I love Daisy. Yeah, that's easy,
especially in these past fewdays. Yeah. It's been great.
Yeah. Excellent. All right,sunshine. Here we go. What is
the most life changing piece ofadvice you've ever had?
Joyel Crawford (22:36):
My dad used to say don't sweat the small stuff.
And sometimes I just get wrappedup into the Oh, yeah, mix of
everything. Yes. I have toremember not to sweat. Don't
sweat
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (22:49):
the small stuff. My mother used to say
take it one day at a time. Thatwas my kind of mantra. We got
one more here. Well, this is agood one. If you had the
attention of the world for just10 seconds. What would you say?
Joyel Crawford (23:10):
The attention of the world in just 10 seconds.
Whoosh. You are enough.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (23:17):
Beautiful. And I don't think a lot of
people really take that. And sobreathe that in audience. You
are enough. Yeah, it'sbeautiful. So I'm going to read
down some of the words that wespoke about today. And then what
I normally do is at the end, Iwant to know what your personal
(23:37):
hashtag is. So listeners if youhaven't listened to us before,
this is your first time at theend of every bareness podcast, I
go through all the powerfulmoving words themes that we've
talked about here today. And Iuse them as if I was posting
about you that these would beyour hashtags but then I want to
(23:59):
know what your personal hashtagis Okay, so here we go. We're
ready. Village Raise Me Upshowcase appreciate gifts
speaking chops OG big girl job.benefits were You were you call
asking how do I get there? pavethe way passion gold GPS,
(24:19):
personal board of directors,value proposition iron cloak
solutions. Walking when in doubttoss it out and self care. Wow,
you got some good ones there
Joyel Crawford (24:33):
are really good. Doesn't have to be one word. No,
go ahead.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (24:39):
Whatever comes to mind,
Joyel Crawford (24:40):
I want to say Be true to yourself. That's what's
ringing in my like a littleYeah, love it. Whatever the soul
is telling me. That's what'sthat's what's coming up for me.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (24:53):
Well, you have definitely raised your
voice today and raised ourvalues by listening to you and
everybody out there. Be true toyourself. I want to thank Joi L
for being with us today. Thishas been amazing. I'm so glad we
connected. And, you know, happy,effective communication month in
June. And I think it's soperfect for you. Because I'm
(25:15):
hoping the audience listens tothis. And now knows to
communicate, to ask to listen tobe themselves. You don't have to
have the answers to everything.Open up your mind, open up your
soul. Give yourself keep asking.Keep motivating yourself, have
that board of directors andthose people to raise you up. So
thank you so much for joining ustoday. It's been a pleasure to
(25:37):
have you on the Baron s podcast.
Joyel Crawford (25:38):
Thanks for having me Brooke
Jason Varga (25:40):
You've been listening to the rcbc bareness
podcast, which highlights womenin leadership while encouraging
listeners to build their skills,connect with the community and
visualize the opportunitiesavailable to women in various
professions. For moreinformation about this podcast
or other podcasts available onthe rcbc podcasts network, visit
rcbc.edu/podcast And be sure tosubscribe to the rcbc bareness
(26:00):
podcast available on allstreaming platforms.
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