Join us for an inspiring conversation with Valerie Cottrell, a dynamic leader whose journey unfolds like a storybook. Born and raised in France, Valerie shares her courageous leap to learn English in London as a teenager, which set her on a path of global exploration. She takes us through her professional journey with Disney, where she not only thrived but found love with her husband Dan, amidst pixie dust and exciting opportunities. As a leader and a mother, Valerie provides valuable insights into the principles of leadership and the importance of living true to one’s values. Through her story,
00:25:43 Advice for Listeners and Contact Information
CHRYSANDRA :
Welcome everyone to The Calling’s radio show to all the dreamers. I’m your radio host, Chrysandra Brunson, founder and CEO of The Calling. It is such an honor to be with all of you today. You know, at The Calling, we have realized that so many people are afraid to go after the dreams that God has put on side of each one of our hearts. And we know that that is just plain wrong because God has given us the dream. And if we’re not living it out, we are wasting it. We love to inspire, empower and equip people to live out their dream wholeheartedly and to do that through custom programs, giving people tools and confidence. to be able to live out their dream from seminars, workshops, global conferences, and especially this radio program to all the dreamers and having incredible guests like we do today, Valerie Cottrell. Welcome, Valerie.
VALERIE COCKERELL :
Hello, Chrysandra, and thank you for having me. I’m very excited and I really appreciate you taking the time to chat with me.
CHRYSANDRA :
Oh, well, I feel so honored and humbled to chat with you, Valerie, and you are just so beautiful inside and out. You just shine with just being such a world changer and amazing. I am just thrilled for everyone to get to know you better today. And I think just with your last name and who you are, they have heard of you. They’re like, oh, yes, I’ve heard of her. But to get to know you better, can you just share with everyone your title underneath your name?
VALERIE COCKERELL :
Well, if I had to put a title underneath my name, I would say I’m a woman, I’m a mother, and I’m a leader. And I think of myself that way. And there’s all kinds of reasons for it. But as I’m sure you can tell already, I was born and raised in France. And I learned English when I was 16. I moved to London, learned English over there. And that was the decisive moment in my life that brought me to the US eventually. And I worked for the Disney company for about 15 years, a little over 15 years, both in the US and in France. So professionally speaking, my background is essentially with the Disney organization, both in retail and also work for Disney Institute. So in a nutshell, that’s that’s my story. But but usually I would introduce myself by saying I’m a woman, I’m a mother and I’m a leader.
CHRYSANDRA :
Well, Barry, and each one of those is just so powerful and so unique. So you grew up in France and so that’s your home. What part of France?
VALERIE COCKERELL :
I was born and raised in Lyon, in the southeast of France. Lyon is considered to be the second or third biggest city in the country. And my family is still out there. I’m the only one of my entire family that expatriated herself. I go back pretty frequently a couple of times a year. My 90-year-old mother still lives out there. And it’s always a pleasure going back to see the family over there.
CHRYSANDRA :
How lovely. And then you learned English in London at 16?
VALERIE COCKERELL :
Yeah, I was super curious about the world. Always. As a child, if you had asked me when I was eight years old, what do you want to do when you grow up? I would have said, I want to be a flight attendant. Not that I had a passion for flying, but I knew that would get me to… visit the rest of the world. And I knew there was a lot more than my own little bubble and my own country. So, and I figured if I want to do this, I have to speak English. And I was lucky enough and fortunate enough to graduate early from high school. And I thought, you know, before I continue my undergrad studies, I need to learn English. And there’s no better way to do that than just go and immerse yourself in a different country, in a different culture. So I moved to London. I was an au pair for a family and I lived there 18 months. And of course, by the time I came back, my English was quite fluent, I should say. And that was really something that gave me, opened a whole lot of doors and opportunities for us later on in my life.
CHRYSANDRA :
Well, for you to have the courage and internal wisdom to know that if I want to get to this place in life, if I want to be able to see the world, I need to know English. And we all applaud you, Valerie, for taking that huge leap of courage to do that. So you ended up going back to France and being part of Disney Paris. Is that correct?
VALERIE COCKERELL :
Yes. So, you know, I just want to come back on what you just said. Maybe it took courage from me. I think it took a lot of courage from my parents also to recognize that, you know, she has a goal. She has a vision for her life and we’re going to let her explore and give her that opportunity because she, When you’re a 16-year-old teenager, it’s not very easy for your parents to let you go like this. And I have to give credit to my parents for saying, you know what, go ahead and do it. And I know being a mom now, I know how difficult it is because you want to shield your children from problems or failures or disappointments. So I think it was very bold for my parents at the time. And think about it. That was in the early 80s. There was no cell phone. There was no texting. There was no Internet. You know, so I remember my mother would call me in London every we had an agreement that every day, every Tuesday at 8 p.m., she would call. And the only thing my mom could say in English was, can I speak to Valerie? And that was it. And that’s how we communicated. And then we had to write snail mail, you know, the old fashioned way. So when you put all that in that context, I think it was very brave of my parents to say, all right, we’re gonna let you do this and go live with strangers over in London. But again, when I came back and finished my undergrad studies, and while I was studying, one of my English teacher, I was studying tourism. I have a business degree in tourism operation, not hospitality, but the business side of tourism too. My idea at the time was maybe to work for a tour operator. And speaking English fluently by then really gave me some great opportunities. And the English teacher said to me, you know, your English is very good. I know that Disney comes to Paris every year and they recruit people to go work in Florida for a year with a one-year visa. So that got my attention, of course. And I researched it, applied, interviewed with the Disney organization in Paris and got selected to be part of a program that does not exist anymore. It was called the Fellowship Program. And Disney would select five individuals from each of the 11 pavilions of World Showcase at Epcot. And you would get a one-year visa to go and represent your country and act as a kind of ambassador for your country at Epcot Center. So, you know, having this heart for travel and discovery and being curious about the world. And of course, you know, who wouldn’t want to go live in Florida for a year? It took me about three seconds to say, you know, when they offered the position, I said, absolutely, I’ll be right there. And I lived in Florida from September 87 to September 88. And that was an incredible experience. Not only did I discover American culture, I got to know Disney. And I made friends from all over the world. And to this day, it’s been 35 years and we’re still friends. And we have some incredible connections and an incredible network of people all around the world, which this is something I really cherish and I really enjoy. And later on, so after that, after that one year experience, in Florida. I lived in Mexico for a while with some friends from the fellowship program and learned Spanish in the process and then flew back to France and started a whole other career actually in banking world. But little did I know that one spring morning, I got a phone call from Disney saying, And they said, look, we in about a year and a half from now, we are going to open a park in Paris. We want to hire people like you. You speak English. You understand American culture. And obviously, you know, Disney, you understand theme parks, which keep in mind at the time that we’re talking, that was 1991. There was no such thing as a theme park in Europe. So having all that knowledge was, you know, invaluable. And Disney was keen to hire me again. And I said, sure. And that was it. And that’s when I met my Prince Charming and my husband, Dan, who’s American. And we both worked on the opening of Disney in Paris together.
CHRYSANDRA :
It really is like it unfolds like a storybook, just this journey of your early beginnings and being able to meet your Prince Charming and he met his beautiful princess. I did want to ask, how did you guys officially meet? What were the details?
VALERIE COCKERELL :
Obviously, our life sounds a lot like a fairy tale. And you would think we actually, on that second opportunity I got to work with Disney, they sent me training in Florida. And obviously, in Orlando Walt Disney World, there’s no shortage of pixie dust, right? Yes. And when I start telling people that story, they imagine this beautiful encounter and somewhere very magical, maybe the castle or the park or something like this. But that’s not at all the way it played out. Disney would actually put up the internationals or the people who were training there. There’s a residence area where we would all live. And I met Dan at the laundromat. and we were both doing our laundry and this is how we started chatting and we we met for the first time and uh and actually since since you asked this so we both trained at world disney world for six months met and dated in in florida and then we both relocated to paris for the opening of the park which opened in april 1992. And we both worked there for about five years. But a year after the opening of Disneyland Paris, Dan’s visa was expiring. And once again, at the time, we’re living in Paris, which is, again, another magical place. People from all over the world flock to Paris to propose or something like this. When I tell people that Dan proposed in Paris, everybody envisions this beautiful, romantic place. And we were actually having breakfast one morning. And I said, Dan, your visa will expire in about three months from now. What are we going to do? Are you staying in France? Are you? living? Am I going with you? You know, it was kind of one of these moments where we’re like, what’s in the future for us? And Dan looked at me and he said, I have an idea. And I said, what’s your idea? He said, why don’t we get married? And I said, yes. And that was the proposal. So, you know, as much as we were surrounded by romantic places or places full of pixie dust, we never, you know, none of that came into play. But, you know, we’ve been married almost 30 years and, you know, it all worked out. So there you go.
CHRYSANDRA :
You know, Valerie, I feel like you guys just know each other and you’re just you’re ready to go fly on a plane together wherever that might be an adventure together. So your guys’s hearts are just kindred that you’re like, yeah, that’s just how it’s gonna be. But you would envision maybe the Eiffel Tower or Yeah, the Disney castle, you know, think of something outside the box, but I’m sure along the way, there’s been some fun stories.
VALERIE COCKERELL :
We have, we have. And maybe I’ll tell you those stories on a different podcast.
CHRYSANDRA :
Well, Valerie, that is so inspirational of how you guys were able to meet. You gave credit to your parents that your parents did have to, they had to give you that wind underneath your wings to be able to fly and to be able to get that education and then to be able to go to America and And then when you guys came back from, so you guys were in Paris and then came to Florida. We want to know what happened, but Valerie, we do need to take a short break. And we thank everybody for tuning in to All the Dreamers radio show. We have Valerie Cottrell on with us today. We will be right back. Twist and shout with Lee & Co. They are the premier oldies band delivering the rock and roll vibes you’ve been missing. Great songs, great memories. Book them at LeeAndCo.com. Hi guys, this is Chrysandra Brunson, host of To All The Dreamers. I am so happy to introduce personal training, nutritional guidance, and behavioral change coaching. Healthy, happy, and heavenly for your wellness, spirit, soul, and body. Contact Mimi Kroger at healthyhappyandheavenly.com. Continue to grow in the calling God has for you through ORU Online. You can earn your degree without changing your busy schedule. 100% online and 100% on your time. Learn more today. ORU.edu slash calling. At Ignite Brilliance Coaching, you will get 34 years of science teaching, a decade of university-level instruction, and over 10 years of instructional coaching to empower educators with the tools, mindset, and confidence to thrive. Contact Ignite Brilliance Coaching on Facebook. We are back. Thank you for tuning in to all the Dreamers radio show. We have Valerie Cottrell from Disney Leadership and Cottrell Consulting. There’s so many ways to describe you, Valerie. Just a queen in humanity of just living the life of adventure that we would all long for. But we were just sharing about or hearing about your adventure of meeting Dan and then falling in love but also just your career and being able to pioneer the seemingly impossible and you were just able to take these Disney concepts and be able to apply them in your everyday details it seems like what happened in Paris to then come to Florida for you?
VALERIE COCKERELL :
Well, we worked in Paris for five years and my background with Disney originally, I worked in retail. So I managed multiple retail locations for Disney in Paris. And we decided at the time, our oldest son, we have three children and our oldest son was born in Paris. And I think for my husband in terms of career, it looked like there would be more opportunities for him. if we were relocating to Orlando. So we decided to relocate to Florida. And I initially stayed and worked for retail at Disney for another three or four years after this, then joined the Disney operation also. And he went on to have a 26-year career with the organization. I worked for three or four years. We had two more children. They were born in Orlando, Florida. And then I took some time off from work. I had to travel extensively. And we realized that we really wanted to prioritize our family. So I stopped working for about 10 years and I took care of the children while Dan continued his career. And eventually I went back to work for Disney. And this time I worked for Disney Institute, which for those of you that don’t know, it’s the external training arm of the Disney organization. So I was a contract facilitator for them. I facilitated program in Orlando, in California, also in Quebec, because they could do that in French and they didn’t have anybody at the time who could facilitate programs in French. So I worked for Disney Institute for about six years on and off on a contract basis. And then in 2018, Dan, our children had all left the house. We were empty nesters. And Dan decided to leave Disney. And the two of us started a consulting company. And now we work extensively everywhere around the US and in many other places of the world. We actually currently in Brazil, we’re doing quite a bit of work here. We’ve worked in Croatia. We’ve worked in France, in Spain. We’ve expanded in Canada also, and we’re getting ready to travel to Australia and do some work over there too. So we’ve got quite a network and outreach that allows us to now work at our own pace, I may say, and really meet people from all venues, all industries. We work with organizations everywhere. That are all kinds of different sizes also. So we’re really enjoying this. And as much as we love Disney and as much as we learn from Disney, that was an incredible experience. But the past four and a half years that we’ve been doing our own consulting work has been incredible. I feel, we always say that we feel we share as much as we learn. We actually learn so much because working in the theme park industry at Disney, Orlando has 75,000 Disney cast members, 75,000 employees. And much of the economy of Orlando evolves around the theme park and hospitality industry. So now having the opportunity to get out of this and discover a new world. You know, some of our clients are accounting firms or they are in the construction business or their car dealership or their shipping companies. World that we knew nothing about, much less, and not to mention, you know, Being here in Brazil or being in Croatia or working with people from places like Spain or Australia, this is fantastic. We enjoyed this thoroughly. And that was the reason we decided to leave the Disney career behind us and start something new.
CHRYSANDRA :
Well, and to do that as a couple, that just takes a lot of faith on your guys’ side to be able to say, we can do this and we can do it together. And I feel like this is just the beginning, too, for you guys. It’s going to be every continent.
VALERIE COCKERELL :
We’re hoping that’s the idea. And you know what’s interesting is… When you work with your spouse, you also discover a lot about yourself. First of all, you also discover a lot about your spouse you didn’t know about because being married to one another is one thing. Working together is a whole other thing. But one thing we’ve learned is that there’s moments where you need to really separate the two together. Because otherwise it can become all encompassing. You have to make sure you keep your professional life and you keep your couple’s life, your family life. So it requires a bit of discipline in that aspect of things. But it’s been a great experience. We’re loving it. We’re enjoying it.
CHRYSANDRA :
Well, I have to say, Valerie, for you to be a professor of the Disney leadership and to have that experience, you know, I think different universities have captured this. And at mine, there was a Disney way of leadership course. What courses did you teach on and what do you think are the most valuable principles?
VALERIE COCKERELL :
Well, I facilitated two programs. The first one was Disney’s approach to leadership excellence. And the second one was Disney’s approach to customer service. And both address different principles. I like the leadership one because I think this is something you can apply to your organization, but you can also apply to your life. Many of the principles that we were teaching then evolved around this. And you could translate it to your personal life. We have found in the work that we do now with Disney, we’ve grown beyond the whole Disney experience and we’ve added on to that. And the more we look at this and the more we realize that everything that works for leadership works in your life. In fact… When you and I met, I was telling you about the book I just finished and should be available early 2023. And the idea is this, is that, you know, much of what you do as a great leader is something you can do as a mom. That’s my own point of view. And I guess with having raised three children, I have learned a lot through the process. And I realized that what makes a great mom is what makes a great leader. And I’m not saying by any stretch of the imagination that I’m a perfect mom or I’m a perfect leader, but I realized there’s a lot in common here. And if you think about it, you realize that if you’re a stay-at-home mom, for instance, you actually learn, even though a lot of women I know when it’s time to go back to work afterwards, they kind of question themselves. They have doubts, self-doubts. And then it’s important to let these women know that they actually, if you can raise… Children, if you can deal with the temper tantrum of a toddler, if you can manage a teenager through the teenage years, you know a lot and you’re ready to be a great leader in the workforce. And I want women to understand that. Hence the book.
CHRYSANDRA :
We can’t wait to read it, Valerie. And we want to promote it as much as possible. And I can’t wait to get it. You know, it applies to, I think even dads too, to be able to get it for the mom, but also to read it and to apply it because you are so right. Those principles do correlate so powerfully. And in your Disney Way of Excellence class, Valerie, what were the main principles for being an excellent leader? Or what was the main one?
VALERIE COCKERELL :
Well, I think for me in general, and this is not typically Disney, a lot of organizations approach it this way, but it comes down to having values, understanding your own values, and finding an environment where you can express those values through your behaviors. And if you can find an environment, it doesn’t matter if it’s Disney or whatever organization, even if it’s just within your family. But when you can be in an environment, when you can express your values freely and you can do this naturally, you are going to be loved. thriving, you’re going to be enjoying what you do and you are going to be successful. And I think a lot of people, when I, when I was 25 years old, I never thought of that so clearly. And it becomes so obvious to me today. And if I’ve learned anything through my career is that it is, if you put yourself in an environment that goes against your values and you can still operate there, but it’s not gonna be comfortable. It’s not gonna come easy. It’s gonna be against your nature and it’s not a good environment for you to be in. So it’s like swimming against the stream, right? It’s swimming against upstream. You can still do it, but it’s tiring and it takes a toll on you mentally and physically. However, if you reverse the situation and you are in an environment where it comes naturally to you. It’s like swimming downstream. It’s easy. It’s great. It’s enjoyable. And then because you enjoy it, you apply yourself and you’re more dedicated, you’re more passionate about what you do. And that’s when you get successful. I wish, you know, again, when I was in my early 20s, somebody had explained that to me. In my work today and in my work when I was at Disney, every so often I would meet somebody who has been in an organization or in a job for 20 some years and not, you know, wondering why I’m not improving, why I’m not getting better at this, why am I not more successful and And it all boils down to that these people are working in an environment when they are not comfortable and they are swimming upstream. And it’s tough to realize that 15, 20 years into a career. And fortunately, I think the pandemic… recently has given people the opportunity a little bit to take a step back and reflect upon what it is they do in their life and realize that sometimes they’re going down the wrong path or a path that is not their own. And there’s nothing wrong with this, but it’s just, you know, realize that and then change course and find something where that comes naturally to you and where you’re having fun. And, you know, you hear most of the successful people will tell you, if you really love what you do and you’re passionate about it, it doesn’t feel like going to work. It’s just something you enjoy doing.
CHRYSANDRA :
That is just so powerful. And to give everyone tuning in the courage to know that you can course correct right now. This moment today can be the day. And Valerie, we’re coming up to the end of our show, but would love for you to be back on. And we just we want to hear what would be your one tip that you would give our listeners if they feel stuck in their calling? What would you tell them?
VALERIE COCKERELL :
The only thing I can think of, I mean, the first thing that comes to mind is for me, curiosity. It has served me well. From day one, when I knew I had to, I want to visit the world and I learned English and then went to Florida to work for Disney and always being curious and trying to find out, well, let’s see what happens. And when you do, sometimes good things happen or, you know, the stars align for you and something great that totally unexpected happens. So that’s the first thing that comes to mind.
CHRYSANDRA :
Yes. Curiosity and wonder. And Valerie, how can everyone stay in touch with you?
VALERIE COCKERELL :
Well, we are our organization is called Consulting Cockrell Consulting dot com. So you can look us up. We also are on LinkedIn, both of us. So Valerie at Cockrell Consulting. And that’s my email. And we’re readily available. We pride ourselves in being approachable and accessible. So any questions, just let me know and reach out and I’ll be in touch.
CHRYSANDRA :
Valerie, it’s such an honor to just be able to have you on today and for you to touch all of our lives and our hearts and just to be able to go in life with wonder and awe in every single detail. We just appreciate you so much. And look forward to hopefully having you back on very soon and for your book to be coming out. But we just thank everybody for tuning in to today’s show, to all the Dreamers radio show. We welcome everyone to go to the callingnonprofit.org to stay in touch with Valerie and our other guests to be encouraged to live out God’s dream on your life. And we know that you can answer the question, what would you do if you knew you could not fail? Till next time, dreamer. Keep dreaming big.
