Alumna Spreads ‘Realistic Optimism’ to Clients
March 11, 2022
No matter if you meet her in person, talk to her on Zoom or even just see her photograph on her website, Lelia Gowland BA’08 projects a confidence and optimism that is infectious. That attribute of her personality is at the heart of Gowland’s personal and professional success. In fact, her optimism is the core of a highly successful business model that she’s honed since launching her coaching and writing venture nearly a decade ago.
“I’m a fifth generation New Orleanian, and there’s some real magic in growing up here and being from a place like New Orleans,” Gowland said. “That joie de vivre, the joy of life, is baked into the city’s ethos and is definitely part of my worldview.”
After graduating from UT Dallas in 2008 with a BA in sociology and the University of Michigan in 2011 with a master’s in public policy, Gowland founded a business in her hometown to help professional women achieve career success through speaking engagements, coaching and her writing. Gowland has published more than 150 articles for publications including Forbes, Harper’s Bazaar and NBCNews, and wrote a book to help women develop confidence and stronger negotiation skills.
For much of the early years of her business, Gowland focused entirely on improving the working lives of women, but the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 required Gowland’s business and her own work life to evolve to meet new challenges, a necessity that mirrored the lives of millions of American workers. Today, that evolution has meant her business emphasis has broadened to connect with all professionals, regardless of gender, and to offer insights gleaned from her navigation of pandemic hardships that are infused with humor and compassion.
“I think so much of the past two years has been about moving through the hardships and still seeking joy,” Gowland said. “That’s where my business has thrived – in that capacity to talk about really difficult things from a place of candor and hope.”
Through Gowland’s writing, she shares aspects of her own life and challenges, which resonate with readers who feel they’re in a conversation with her rather than facing the isolation that many have experienced during the pandemic. And she continues to immerse her writing and appearances with the humor and optimism that was instilled in her growing up in New Orleans, a city that has experienced more than its share of adversity.
“As a speaker and a writer, I focus on what a reader described as ‘realistic optimism.’ To me, that means having vulnerable, authentic conversations and bringing levity and hope to challenging topics,” she said. “At its heart, my work is about changing our inner voices from critical to compassionate. It’s about feeling less alone.”
Gowland also credits the education and experiences she had while attending UT Dallas, where she was a Eugene McDermott Scholar and an Archer Fellow, with informing her approach to business. She said she was deeply influenced by UT Dallas faculty like Dr. Erin Smith in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies and former UT Dallas sociology professor Dr. Andrea Laurent-Simpson. Those faculty introduced to her exciting ideas on sociology and public policy and topics like gender, class, race and sexual orientation.
“I was sitting in Erin Smith’s class, ‘Women, Work and Family,’ and I remember thinking, ‘This is so cool. This is what I want to do with my life, but how would that even work? I guess as an adult I could start a book club to have conversations like this.’ And now this is my entire business model,” Gowland said. “I’m endlessly grateful to my multifaceted degree from the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences and Dr. Smith, in particular, for paving the way.”
Gowland said the critical thinking and analytical skills she learned in the classroom at UT Dallas were enhanced by her experiences as an Archer Fellow that allowed her to work as an intern for NARAL Pro-Choice America in Washington, D.C.
“It gave me tools for work and navigating office dynamics and professional dynamics, and it also provided this amazing cohort experience that exposed me to people I wouldn’t have met otherwise,” she said.
Gowland continues to evolve her business model as Americans begin the process of ‘normalizing’ life post-pandemic. She has plans for a second book that will describe what she experienced over the last few years included both her and her mother contracting COVID-19 and living in a city facing the brunt of climate change with its recent history of devastating hurricanes.
“A title I considered for my next book was ‘Susie Sunshine Survives the Apocalypse,’” Gowland said. “I’m not sure that’s exactly where the book is headed, but that title does make me laugh.”
Learn more about Lelia Gowland, read some of her essays and see how she spreads realistic optimism at leliagowland.com.