To those who love online trading or flock to the latest cryptocurrency, Edward Jones may appear old-fashioned. The company has been offering clients financial advice for 100 years and it remains focused on face-to-face interactions. And, CEO Penny Pennington says while cryptocurrency may be a fit for some portfolios, "we do not believe that speculation is a part of serious long-term financial planning. And there is part of the crypto market right now that is pure speculation."

This approach is clearly working out well for Edward Jones, a Fortune 500 company that's spent the pandemic growing its customer base. In today's Leadership Next, Pennington tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt how she's working to diversify the company's pool of financial advisors, why she strives to infuse empathy into all aspects of the company, and what she sees as the key tenets of good leadership. Also in today's conversation: Pennington's approach to investing in crypto and her take on the threat of an impending recession.