Connecting the Dots

Connecting the Dots...with a Leadership Cultivator (Crystal McKendrick)

• Adam Leishman • Season 1 • Episode 32

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Join us as Crystal shares her transition from Queensland Government to consulting, focusing on enhancing workplace strategies and leadership. Learn about her commitment to improving everyday work life and the pivotal experiences that shaped her career. Hashtags: #ProfessionalGrowth #EmployeeEngagement #BuzzsproutPodcasts

Speaker 4:

Week 32 since I turned 49. Week 8, I think of this. Anyhow, it's going next week. It's December, right? But week 32 since I turned 49 and decided I'm just going to chat to interesting people each week. And I did. I found another interesting person to chat to met her several years ago at the Brisbane Club through another interesting guy which we'll get him on here soon one time and reached out to her and said, can I, you do interesting things and I'd like to know more about them. So can you come and sit in front of a camera with me and we talk about the things you do that help other people. So she did. Let's go check it out.

Speaker:

This is Crystal. Where'd that name come from?

Speaker 2:

I was born in Cairns, only born there, never raised, I literally, mum just decided that she was born in Hobart and she wanted me to be born on the other side of Australia in her mind. But if anyone who's ever been to Cairns knows that there is a beautiful waterfall there called the Crystal Cascades.

Speaker:

There you go! So I'm

Speaker 2:

named after the Crystal Cascades.

Speaker:

Everybody's got a story with their name. That's awesome. Let's start, tell me about what, what you do in the world. What do you, what keeps you busy?

Speaker 2:

Oh gosh, a lot of things keeps me busy. What gives me what helps me pay for my living is my work as a consultant. So I work with businesses to help them rely on their strategy, leadership and culture. That's underpinned by a mission of mine. And that is that I want to help people make sure that they have a really great day. and it is able to reverberate through the rest of their life. Because if you've had a crap day at work because of not great leadership or not great culture, it impacts your personal life too. So I want to be able to be a part of the story that helps build positive workplace cultures, builds really great leaders, helps people feel like they can reach their potential at work, be more purposeful enjoy themselves, and then go into their personal life bringing that energy with them. You're at your day job every day for, I think it's like a third of your lifetime you spend at work. So I want to make sure, I want to be part of the story that helps make that a good workplace, good opportunity for everyone.

Speaker:

Yeah, awesome. I say to my team at work, I said, outside of sleeping, this is what we do the most. So we should make it fun and engaging and rewarding. Let's go back to the start. Where did you go to university?

Speaker 2:

So I went to university at QUT. And I joined, I started at QUT as a mature age student, means that I was over 21.

Speaker:

Right.

Speaker 2:

Yes.

Speaker:

And what did you do there?

Speaker 2:

So I studied a course called Human Services, which is similar to social work.

Speaker:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

It was not the intention.

Speaker:

Right. The

Speaker 2:

intention was psychology.

Speaker:

Mm hmm.

Speaker 2:

I always had a fascination around how did people operate? Why did they do the things they did? What made them act a certain way they did? What makes them tick? So I was interested in psychology. Life journey took me in different ways. So I ended up in human services instead. So, after the university, I was like, okay, well, I've got a degree that wasn't my ideal degree. What can I do with this? What can I make? What can I, what steps can I take next? Gets me closer to where I'd like to be next. I saw Queensland Government have a graduate program called the Policy Futures Graduate Program. I applied and I wasn't successful the first year. But I got back, I got into a different role within government and I applied again the second year and got in that time. So, got in and I was in Queensland Government for a few years. Realize that policy is very different to the kind of tasks that I wanted to be doing, which was more connecting and engaging with and helping people more directly. So I hopped out of that and hopped into the not for profit sector at the Smith family and then moved on towards other organizations as well. Worked in registered training organizations, group training organizations and community organizations doing employment, coaching, training, and skills. It's a journey.

Speaker:

And what do you love about, what's been your favourite role so far?

Speaker 2:

Favourite for different reasons. My last role was employability coaching and training. I was working with people who were unemployed and my role was to help them improve their mindset, understand how they could better themselves through employment and through education and how they could overcome their background. I worked with them on a coaching, individually coaching, but also doing professional development training, which I loved that, that, that helped me learn that I loved that. training, workshop, facilitation. I liked that environment where you get to help people develop. So I loved it for that reason and the impact and that particular role helped me fulfill a mission that had been driving me for a really long time. And that was that I got to become the person I wish I'd had access to as a teenager.

Speaker 3:

So

Speaker 2:

that was pretty powerful to get to a place where I achieved that mission. But then there was the question of, okay, what's next? That's what led me to realize that I've got more in my tank. And that I also wanted to be part of, as I said before, helping businesses and people have a really great day at their workplace because then I can achieve more in a greater scale. If people feel good about themselves, reaching their potential, have got good leadership, good culture at their workplace, which is the main place people spend most of their time. Then they can have a really great life for a long time.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, awesome.

Speaker 2:

So yeah, I wanted to have more in me, so I hopped into the consulting world.

Speaker:

We met years ago through another, wonderful Human being that was a member of the Brisbane Club, one day I'm sitting there and I introduced myself to a, an interesting fellow who turns out to be quite the author and I knew nothing about authors, so it was great to get to know him and chat to him and, and we met through that. and I believe you'd met Bryn through Toastmasters?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so we actually met through government. We actually did officially meet through Queensland government, but we became friends through Toastmasters. So that was a a shared interest of ours. Bryn had been part of the Toastmasters community for quite a while and he was more of an experienced Toastmaster, so I got to learn a little bit from him. And then yeah, I continued my Toastmasters journey for a little while longer and it was a great opportunity.

Speaker:

And while I haven't seen Bryn at the club for a while, you're certainly heavily involved there these days.

Speaker 2:

Now I am, yeah. It's been really great.

Speaker:

Tell me about some of your activities at the club.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so, what kind of drew me in was a particular person you always need at least a good one or two people who just drags you in. So it was Jono who pulled me in from the motoring group and he's the convener of that. Noticed that I had a bit of interest in cars and I enjoyed the drives and I stupidly asked if he would like some assistance one day and he's like you can organize the drives for me please and made me co convener of the motoring group.

Speaker 3:

Awesome.

Speaker 2:

So that's what got me really fully pulled in and built in a community pretty quickly and immediately. So that allowed me to know more people and feel more like the Brisbane Club is a second home, which it definitely feels like it is now. So the motoring club is the main one that I have engagement with. Through that I've also gotten to meet more people in the young members group as well and the snooker group. So that's probably my three key areas that I play in with at the Brisbane Club. And yeah, I've come along there and that's also where I have some business meetings and client meetings, but it's just a nice,

Speaker:

And there's been some quite amazing motoring group events that you guys have pulled off in the last year. One at a new hotel or a new refurbished hotel with some super sports cars.

Speaker 2:

Yes.

Speaker:

Tell us about that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that was earlier this year. So the Amora Hotel was having their. And we had our supercar event there as well. So it's had several beautiful supercars, but that actually wasn't my favorite event this year.

Speaker:

Tell me which, tell me what was.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. Favorite event this year was having to definitely be our Audi track day. So it was a really lovely Audi experience. Got to drive the RS3, RS5, RS6, and a couple of other cars that were just really awesome. So got to be having a bunch of us going around the track, doing different activities. It was just a really fun day. Got to go onto the skid pan as well, and. Chucked the RS6 into some skids, which was really fun. That was a, that was an awesome day.

Speaker:

And somewhere along the time I've known you, you, you pulled the plug on the world of corporate employment and went, I'm going overseas.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I did. Tell me about

Speaker:

that. Cause that's the, that's a, that's not something you see people do often or at all, really. So tell me about that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So that one was, the travels was gosh. A few things led up to that. So in my personal world I'm an only child and my parents used to live up near Bundaberg way. They lived on the same property for a while, but things were just not going okay. Dad's health was not great. And just a few things in the family shifted, which resulted in me buying a property and having my dad move in with me. And my mum moved in close by to another suburb nearby. And so I went from being a, a single, independent woman, living near the city, to moving to Kalanga, buying a house, paying the mortgage, and looking after my parents in different ways. So, for a year I had my dad living with me and I was helping him through his health challenges until I could get him moved into his own place and got him stabilised. And then my mum moved in with me and my mum and I had a bit of a different kind of relationship and she needed support but it was in a different kind of way. Mum had experienced trauma in her lifetime and she never really sought assistance for it and had some not so great behaviours and that took a bit of a toll on me. I was doing a service based job, working with people who were unemployed, who had their own challenges. And I was then coming home to my mum, who had her challenges too. And I realised that that wasn't the life I wanted to live any longer, and that I was living my life for other people. So that was the, the catalyst when I made that realisation that, I didn't want that future that I could see attached to the house and attached to having family and being the primary carer. I said, that's not for me. So it was a really tough conversation I had to have with my mum. And so I, I'm going to need you to find your own way and I can't keep propping you up because I need to make choices for me. And for me being the sole income earner, paying a mortgage by myself and feeling like I don't have a future, that is mine, is not for me. So had that conversation, mum moved out, I decided that I was going to sell the house. And a friend of mine knew that I was thinking about selling the house and quitting that particular job and moving into the city and going into consulting. That was the plan. And I'm so glad they asked me, what's the rush? They said, you're about to sell your house. And have some finances behind you, why not take the time to travel? Travel is something that I had wanted to do since I was a kid, but never felt was possible. And I always talked myself out of it for several reasons. I used to think that travel was a way of escaping life, so I used to push it off and then that conversation I had with my friend sparked the, oh, actually maybe, maybe I should take that opportunity. I'm gonna have that time, so I'll. I'll go travel. I remember the, the, the, those thoughts that came in my head of, oh, is that just you escaping again? But then I remember seeing this quote, it was perfectly timed. And it was said, We do not travel to escape life. We travel so life does not escape us.

Speaker:

Yeah, that's awesome.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So that just, that, that secured that decision for me. It was yes, I'm selling the house. Yeah. taking the time, going to do some travel. I'll have my eat, pray, love journey. Where

Speaker:

did you go?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so the first stop on my travels was Italy.

Speaker 3:

Excellent.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so I started in a little town called Bari. It was a beautiful place to begin, very to me, authentic. I got to walk around the old town, Vecchia, watching me nonnas making orecchiette pasta. which was just beautiful. And I got to live out my teenage dream of sitting down with an Italian family at the big dinner table with, with all of the food. Because I got to do a food stay adventure where I got to stay at this farm farmhouse and just learn how to make Italian food. And I got to spend that time with the family who were there. It was a beautiful opportunity to spend some time with this family. We were there at the time of the year where they make passata. So this family and I were making about a hundred and forty odd bottles of tomato passata.

Speaker:

Wow.

Speaker 2:

So that was really just, really lovely time.

Speaker:

You're making me hungry now. Did you go to any other wonderful places that have wonderful food?

Speaker 2:

Europe in general.

Speaker:

How long were you away for?

Speaker 2:

So I was away for three months with the length of the travels. Then it was so I spent about three weeks in Italy, about three weeks in France, across Paris and Bordeaux, and then I spent another three weeks in Barcelona. So, I say I went to Spain, but the reality is I went just to Barcelona. I got stuck there. I fell in love with the city and with the bachata dancing. So that was what I was doing most nights.

Speaker:

Was that the favorite part of your trip?

Speaker 2:

That was probably my favorite part of the trip for the fact that I got to meet some beautiful people, have, be part of the culture through the dancing and it was just the best weather as well at the time. It was the most like, our weather here so I just fell in love with the city, it was just beautiful. And then Portugal.

Speaker:

Awesome.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker:

So you're back and you're into the corporate world.

Speaker 2:

Yes, I am back. I'm in the corporate world. I've been here now. I've been back for about 12 months now. So it's been an interesting 12 months.

Speaker:

And you're, I mean, for me, this is my little passion project and you have one too.

Speaker 2:

I do. I do.

Speaker:

Lead self. Lead well. Lead well. Tell me about it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So a common theme that I've noticed throughout my whole life. I've grown up in an environment that was, more of a low socio economic background. I'd always dreamed of a bit of a bigger life. I'd wanted to always do more, be more, have more, and I realized from a really young age that no one was going to do that for me, but I was going to need to do that for myself. And that's what's propelled me to keep going through each of the trials and the tribulations and just keep going through each time. I've had a twist and a turn when things haven't worked out the way I'd like them to work out to And when I got a bit older, I was like, well, what is that? What is that thing that I have that that keeps me going? What is it? What can I lean on? A lot of people say it's resilience, and that was a part of it. But resilience wasn't what was motivating. I'd noticed at the end of the day, all of it can be tied to one kind of key concept. And that concept is self leadership. And the title, Lead Self, Lead Well, is in itself a message. You need to be able to first lead yourself well, before you can lead others well. You need to be able to have a good idea of who you are. Be able to regulate yourself, so you can have better conversations with yourself and with others. And to be able to have something you want to commit to, that pulls you forward. And that's the basis of my, of my Lead Self, Lead Well, self leadership framework.

Speaker:

Awesome.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker:

What's a catalyst do you think that's common for people to break, you know, to break out of that common mindset that most of us are in, and then, you know, start leading ourselves?

Speaker 2:

That's a really great question. I think there are some people who are really great at being internally motivated first, and they just seem to have this drive and desire. However, I think it's also, even for an internally driven person, I'd say I'd probably put myself in that category. I admit it's also because of the external things that I've experienced and saw growing up that I realized I didn't want that. I think some people will have one or two, one of two maybe ways that they would see it. They would see someone who's grown up on Centrelink and hasn't worked very much and they would say, Oh, well. That's the way life is. That's the way I, I don't have to work or I, um, it's just so hard out there. I won't keep trying, whatever. And there are other people who say, I don't want that life for myself. I want more. I want better. So I think the catalyst, I think for some people is their experiences. It's a mix of the experiences, what they've seen, heard and felt whilst growing up. Some people can choose to follow the similar footsteps to their parents. Others will say, I don't want that. I don't think there's ever a specific catalyst. I think it's just, um, I think it's influenced by who you are around growing up as to which kind of mindset you might be naturally drawn to or influence to think a different way. One of my favorite quotes, You are the sum of the average of the five people you spend your most time with.

Speaker 3:

So

Speaker 2:

I think that's a catalyst for how people will connect shift and change in their lifetime based upon the people they spend their time

Speaker:

with.

Speaker 2:

Lead

Speaker:

self, lead well. Who's it for? Who's, who's it going to help at what point in that journey?

Speaker 2:

That's a great question. Admittedly, lead self, lead well was for me to start off with. I've been wanting to to share my knowledge and my experiences. with the world for a while. I wanted to be part of the community that's inspiring others and I just didn't know how to do that. So Lead Softly, well, the idea about turning it into a newsletter, to have a practice that puts me in a public position that gives me that opportunity to have that accountability, originally it was for me. The hope was that it would touch and inspire people to see a different story and to have the tools and resources they might have a need to improve their life just that little bit. When I really think of my ideal person that I would reach it's the person who perhaps needs that tiny bit of a pick me up on a day to say, yeah, I can actually do this.

Speaker:

And if somebody's interested in knowing about this, where do they find it on the interwebs?

Speaker 2:

They can find it on Substack or my LinkedIn profile.

Speaker:

Okay. Fast forward five years from now, what are you going to be doing?

Speaker 2:

Community. Five years from now what I'm hoping that I have been able to build is a really straight. It's a really great, strong community. Lead Self, Lead Well is something that I would love to turn into a community of people who are there to support each other and encourage each other to achieve the goals that they're looking at to to do the passion projects, to do the side projects, to run the marathon, to building up their skills, whatever the goal is. I'm hoping that I can turn Lead Self Lead Well into that kind of community. That's a combination of accountability, encouragement, growth, learning, and support. So I'm hoping that I'm leading that community as well as hoping that I'm In my personal world, I hope that I've had a partner and a family by that stage, perhaps, and that I've got a really great group of friends around me. I think that's where the Brisbane Club comes into play a little bit. It's become a great community of people, wonderful people that I want to spend time with, and it's great to Connect at the Brisbane Club, but it's also great to connect outside of it and build that friendship community outside, too. Yeah, awesome.

Speaker:

Through your career, your passion project, the activities you do at the Brisbane Club, you, you, it's all centred around being of service to other human beings. What's driving, where'd that come from? What's driving that? Because everything you do is about being of service. So what do you think created that spark for you?

Speaker 2:

Thank you. I appreciate that. Growing up, I have, I have two parents and me, my family unit was, is tiny. And with my mom passing last year, it's even tinier. So it's just dad and I. What I think drives me for service is my desire to have community. Acknowledging that if you want something, you need to have skin in the game. You need to put yourself out there. I used to have this mindset when I was a kid. Oh, why don't people like me? Why don't people include me? Why don't I belong? Until someone said to me that only I can choose where I belong. Only I can choose the places that I'm at. And instead of trying to find my community. I've got the ability and I'm allowed to make my community. So I think I'm just driven by that. I'm driven by wanting to be part of a really amazing community.

Speaker:

Awesome. Yeah. Thank you very much for chatting with me today.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much for having me, Adam. It's been really great to be part of this project for you. It's amazing to see you actually doing your passion project.

Speaker:

Oh, thank you.

Speaker 2:

It's good to see it. So thank you for having me.

Speaker:

Three questions. Dream car?

Speaker 2:

Oh gosh, for looks alone and only for looks. It's probably the Corvette sting ring.

Speaker:

Dream Daily driver.

Speaker 2:

Mercedes. AMG GT. Nice. And I've got to admit that's a pretty sexy car.

Speaker:

Nice. And what is your current daily?

Speaker 2:

It's a beautiful yellow Velocita. Oh, awesome.

Speaker:

It's a fun car.

Speaker 2:

It's a, it's my fun car. Her name's Ellie.

Speaker:

Excellent.

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Adam Leishman

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