The latest episode of Zonda’s Inspirational Leadership with the Best in Home Building podcast features an exciting interview with Liesel Cooper, national president of Century Communities.

Cooper has a 30-year track record of success in the home building industry, having served in prominent positions for home builders over the last three decades. In previous roles, she directly oversaw land acquisition, development, entitlement, construction, purchasing, product development, sales, marketing, customer service, and finance—just to name a few.

Join host Mollie Carmichael as she sits down with Cooper to hear the ins and outs of her career, how she got her start, and how her legacy will continue in the future leaders she inspires today.

Here are some highlights from the episode:

On work ethic
“You always have to constantly show your value. You can't just do a really great job at one thing and then think you can skate, you constantly have to show your value. Remember, people were losing their jobs around me. It was a rough time. And so that really was a turning point. For me, it was like I always have to show my value and have a little bit of paranoia.”

On Century Homes’ core values
“Customers are No. 1. We always have to take care of the customer. That's really important for us. But I think the other thing is that the team members are important also, and they're all striving for the same goal. And [co-CEOs] Dale and Rob [Francescon] have done some things in the past that have really proven that they care about the team, and what we want to do and how we want to get there. But I think the thing that I love the most is opportunity.”

On her early career
“I never thought I deserved anything. I mean, not graduating college is probably one of the biggest things that chased me. When I started this position at the mortgage company at KB, the woman who had the same job as me was a graduate of UCLA. And so it was just like I knew I had to be that much of a harder worker.”

On the qualities she looks for in future leaders
“I think I love people who are competitive. You have to be competitive when you want to win all the time. That, to me, is just a really great quality. You have to be a great communicator in this business. And it's not about covering yourself with emails, it's all about communication, and really communicating with your team and everyone understanding.”