Erica Lipscomb Of Crescent Hotels & Resorts On How We Can Increase Women’s Engagement in Leadership and Management
An Interview With Vanessa Ogle
Address Biases — Training, training, training. It is an organization’s responsibility to recognize gender bias and ensure that intentional training is in place to change organizational culture.
Despite strides towards equality, women remain underrepresented in leadership and management roles across various sectors. In this series, we would like to discuss the barriers to female advancement in these areas and explore actionable strategies for change. We are talking with accomplished women leaders, executives, and pioneers who have navigated these challenges successfully, to hear their experiences, tactics, and advice to inspire and guide the next generation of women toward achieving their full potential in leadership and management roles. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Erica Lipscomb.
As the Senior Vice President of Revenue Strategy, Erica Lipscomb brings over 25 years of comprehensive experience in sales, revenue, and operations across diverse markets in the hospitality industry. As a seasoned executive, Erica focuses on implementing sales, marketing, public relations, revenue, and digital strategies at the property level to optimize revenue generation. She excels in providing solutions for critical issues and leveraging opportunities. Erica began her career with Marriott International, holding various operational, revenue, and sales roles, including Area Sales Leader for DC. She also gained valuable boutique hotel experience as the Area Director of Sales & Marketing for multiple Kimpton hotels in DC and VA. With her diverse background, Erica possesses the leadership and functional expertise necessary to drive business success.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
The hospitality industry found me — it all started with a teenage “Truth or Dare” game. I have no idea why I was dared to walk into the first hotel my friends and I drove past and ask for an application — Shoney’s Inn Broad Street, Richmond, VA back in 1989. And it was destiny after that. I attended James Madison University and a Shoney’s Inn was a few miles off campus; a perfect part-time job. I didn’t know Hospitality was a major until my junior year when I realized that International Finance was not my career calling and graduated with an internship with Stouffer’s Hotels and Resorts. I had the privilege of working with amazing leaders who cross-trained me, nurtured my skills, and challenged my leadership abilities early in my career.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
It’s the hotel industry! How do I pick just one? Shaking hands with Hilary Clinton and being invited to hear her read from her book, “It Takes a Village?” Shopping for riders for the Who’s Who in Politics and Entertainment? Learning to park a stretch limo in a DC garage because you never know when you may be valet parking will be busy? Watching the 4th of July Fireworks on the National Mall with colleagues and rushing back to the hotel bar to help with the after-event crowd? Or, seeing the smile on a child’s face when you find their missing teddy bear in the never-ending laundry shoot pile? The love of the hospitality industry is that there is truly an interesting story every day!
Can you share a pivotal moment in your career that significantly influenced your path to leadership?
Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to have mentors and colleagues who provided guidance, support, and valuable feedback. Their mentorship helped me develop confidence in my strengths and my leadership style. As I mentioned earlier, I had leaders support me early in my career. They pushed me into leadership roles, formal and informal allowing me to grow my skills, make strategic decisions, and motivate teams. As a young black female leader, I experienced setbacks, failures, and moments of adversity. But, they were just that — moments. Moments that taught me how to overcome challenges and made me more determined to be a strong leader for others.
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I believe success is a journey. Along my journey, I have been blessed to have had support and guidance from many individuals. It is challenging to single out one person as I have been impacted by many leaders, colleagues, and mentors throughout each phase of my career. I’ve come to understand the importance of staying open to learning from others and enhancing my skills by incorporating the best practices of the leaders around me. I am grateful for the collective support from my family, friends, colleagues, and mentors who have all played a role in helping me reach my career goals.
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
I remember reading “Death by Meeting” by Patrick Lencioni almost 20 years ago. The leadership book is a fable that cleverly identifies the challenges of meetings — excessive, ineffective, and repetitive. To quote Lencioni, “The most justifiable reason to loathe meetings is that they don’t contribute to the success of our organizations.” The quick read provides a framework for the intention and structure of meetings and managing individuals to ensure they are productive. I have pulled this book off the shelf over the years, mainly giving me the conviction to cancel or reduce the length of meetings and most recently utilizing it to create the framework for the evolution of commercial strategy meetings at Crescent Hotels and Resorts.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?
“Treat people how you want to be treated” is a simple principle I hold myself accountable to in all aspects of my life. We dedicate countless hours to our work, intertwining our personal and professional lives. Embracing the golden rule of treating others as we desire to be treated offers advantages for our well-being and the broader work environment. This approach nurtures positive relationships, improves communication, boosts productivity, nurtures a vibrant organizational culture, and promotes personal growth.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
Everyone has a responsibility to make the world a better place. I strive to make the world a better place by using my gift of hospitality to share a smile, offer a warm welcome, and ensure that everyone feels a true sense of belonging. You never know how a simple act of kindness can impact someone’s life.
According to this report, only about 31.7% of top executive positions across industries are held by women. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from leadership and management?
Unconscious biases in recruitment and promotion processes are real disadvantages for women, leading to disparities in opportunities for career advancement. Biased perceptions of women’s skill set, commitment, and leadership potential result in their exclusion from leadership opportunities. There are limited black female role models and leaders in senior positions specifically for black women. Without visible representation, black women may perceive leadership as unattainable or are challenged in identifying mentors.
This might be intuitive to you, but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become leaders and managers?
A gender-diverse leadership team fosters innovation, creativity, and a higher level of problem-solving. Women bring unique perspectives, experiences, and insights to leadership and management roles. An increased representation of women in leadership positions breaks down barriers and inspires others to pursue their leadership aspirations. I am proud to work for a company that understands the value of women leaders. 60% of managers at Crescent Hotels & Resorts are women.
Can you please share “5 Things We Need To Increase Women’s Engagement in Leadership and Management?”
- Address Biases — Training, training, training. It is an organization’s responsibility to recognize gender bias and ensure that intentional training is in place to change organizational culture.
- Eliminate Barriers — Identify barriers and create working groups to eliminate them. The most common is resume discrimination. Adopt the process of ‘blind hiring’ to eliminate any personal details from the candidate’s resume.
- Mentorship Programs — Establish mentor-mentee relationships. Allow designated work time for associates to get guidance and leaders to enhance their leadership skills.
- Equity — Address the gender pay gap, audit wage scales, and correct inequities.
- Advocate for Change — Let women know that they can impact change. Create change groups that focus on addressing biases, eliminating barriers, and supporting women.
In your opinion, what systemic changes are needed to facilitate more equitable access for women to leadership roles?
Implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion policies is the first step to systemic change to facilitate more equitable access for women to leadership roles. Organizations must set measurable goals, conduct consistent fundamental training, track progress, and hold leadership accountable for achieving gender diversity targets. Consistent fundamental training is critical to the success of systemic change as it creates a culture shift.
Cultivating a gender-equitable workplace culture requires cultural shifts at all levels of the organization, starting top down. The organization must be committed to investing in education and awareness initiatives to combat unconscious bias, stereotypes, and gender-based discrimination. Training programs, workshops, and awareness campaigns can help raise awareness of gender equity issues and foster a culture of inclusion.
What strategies have you found most effective in mentoring and supporting other women to pursue leadership positions?
Crescent has an established mentorship program. In mentoring and supporting other women to pursue leadership positions I focus on 3 areas — Feedback, Guidance, and Confidence. It is important to provide an honest assessment of their strengths, areas for development, and growth opportunities, and offer support. Women must be supported in order to build confidence and believe in their leadership capabilities.
How would you advise a woman leader about how to navigate the challenges of being a woman in a leadership role within a male-dominated industry?
Don’t focus on being in a male-dominated industry. Focus on being a change-maker in the hospitality industry. Trust your expertise and be confident as a leader. Use your voice to speak with conviction. As with all exceptional leaders, surround yourself with remarkable individuals who will uplift you, and in turn, be uplifted by you.
How do you balance the demand for authoritative leadership with the stereotypical expectations of female behavior in professional settings?
All leaders should be authentically themselves. The key to balancing authoritative leadership with stereotypical expectations of female behavior is to embrace your authority and be confident when making decisions while leveraging the strengths of your team.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be?
You never know the impact your idea may have. My initiative, “Children Are Our Future,” calls for every organization to allocate volunteering hours, proportionate to their size, to support a designated public primary school. Children are our next generation of innovators and leaders. As for the future of our society, there is a basic need of ‘time’ to ensure that as a community we are responsible for providing our children with a quality education and skills training to equip them with the tools needed to succeed. Our support for youth today creates a better tomorrow for our society.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
About The Interviewer: Vanessa Ogle is a mom, entrepreneur, inventor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Vanessa’s talent in building world-class leadership teams focused on diversity, a culture of service, and innovation through inclusion allowed her to be one of the most acclaimed Latina CEO’s in the last 30 years. She collaborated with the world’s leading technology and content companies such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Broadcom to bring innovative solutions to travelers and hotels around the world. Vanessa is the lead inventor on 120+ U.S. Patents. Accolades include: FAST 100, Entrepreneur 360 Best Companies, Inc. 500 and then another six times on the Inc. 5000. Vanessa was personally honored with Inc. 100 Female Founder’s Award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Enterprising Women of the Year among others. Vanessa now spends her time sharing stories to inspire and give hope through articles, speaking engagements and music. In her spare time she writes and plays music in the Amazon best selling new band HigherHill, teaches surfing clinics, trains dogs, and cheers on her children.
Please connect with Vanessa here on linkedin and subscribe to her newsletter Unplugged as well as follow her on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and X and of course on her website VanessaOgle.
Erica Lipscomb Of Crescent Hotels & Resorts On How We Can Increase Women’s Engagement in Leadership… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.