Dethra Giles

Executive Leadership & HR Strategist, Modern Workplace Influencer, Career Consultant
Dethra Giles smiling at the camera in a white cutoff shirt and large round brown and block glasses with her hands caressing her face
  • Influential workplace strategist and career optimizer who advises companies, including the CDC, NBA, and Salvation Army, on elevating culture and results
  • Named a “Top 100 HR Influencer” (Engagedly) and one of the “Top 22 Most Influential Figures in HR” (HR Gazette)
  • Shares unique insights that get groups thinking about leadership and DEI in new ways
  • Provides proven frameworks for recruiting and retention, creating employee-centric workplaces, and how “employee-preneurs” can navigate the direction of their careers

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Regarded as the “CEO-Maker,” “DEI Professor,” and the “Cubicle to Corner Office Empress,” Dethra Giles is a workplace and career optimizer who advises organizations and individuals on how to chart their unique paths to success. She is a four-time TEDx speaker who has been named a “Top 100 HR Influencer” by Engagedly, and was selected by HR Gazette’s “HRchat” podcast as one of the “Top 22 Most Influential Figures in HR.” With clients including Kaiser Permanente, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), The Army Corp of Engineers, Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the Salvation Army, Giles shares a unique blend of advanced education and industry experience that has been described as “university-tested and industry-approved,” and can be implemented by organizations of any size, and across industries.

Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Giles shares the principles she has created to help organizations and individuals identify their goals, visualize their potential and set out to achieve above and beyond what they deem possible. She lovingly holds no punches and gets the audience immersed and inspired as she provides her proven framework for how to turn motivation into impact, and how turn impact into action – whether collectively as an organization, or on an individual level as a leader, entrepreneur, or “employee-preneur.” As she explains, this action is what changes lives and changed lives change companies. Touching on topics such as how to attract top talent, own your identity, and rethink what’s possible for your business or career, Giles takes groups from dreaming to living the dream by teaching the steps necessary to become what they aspire to be.

Since 2007, Giles has served as the CEO at ExecuPrep, an international performance optimization firm that works with groups and individuals all over the world to improve performance, productivity, and profit. In her role, she leads a team of, in her words, “dope professionals” who are on a mission to make businesses better from the top down and bottom up. At the same time, Giles is the host of the “Happily Ever Employed” podcast and appears every week on the nationally syndicated radio program “The Willie Moore Jr. Show,” where she shares her insights on how to navigate professional and personal success. Previously, she has served as adjunct faculty at the Federal Executive Institute, Georgia State University, Mercer University, and as a faculty member for Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses and the Tory Burch Foundation.

From coaching multibillion dollar organizations to speaking at some of the largest global conferences, Giles strategies for success have had a lasting impact on people and audiences all over the world. The wisdom she shares sparks a change in behavior that ultimately leads to change in all aspects of work and life.

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Speaker Video

Dethra Giles: Effective Communication and Resolving Conflicts

Own the Room with Your Voice: Lessons on Speaking Less while Saying More

Dethra Giles on Effective Communication

From Cubicle to Corner Office: Reimagining Your Journey to Success

The New Essential Inclusion | TEDxTaraBlvd

Seek What Has Been Erased | Erasure of Black Women | TEDxAlpharettaWomen

Deeper Conversations About Taboo Topics at Work | TEDxSpringHillCollege

Stuck vs Waiting: Which are you in your career

Leading Through Uncertain Times: How AI, a Post-Pandemic World, and Other Uncertainties Fuel FatigueWhen Dethra Giles guides professionals about leading through exhaustion, she isn’t referring to a mere physical fatigue. Instead, she examines the profound challenges leaders face as they navigate a world reshaped by AI, the pandemic, and ongoing political shifts that impact us. Dethra highlights how recent years have left leaders and their teams grappling with unprecedented stress—ranging from budget crises and job insecurity to the looming uncertainty surrounding AI. 

Using real-world data, Dethra illustrates how stress levels have changed over time, emphasizing a pressing issue: employees are increasingly tired and disillusioned by the lack of stability in their career. Professionals are now tasked with not only navigating their own exhaustion but also motivating their teams through these pressures. 

Working and leading in an era of exhaustion is often an invisible issue. Dethra defines the problem, shares relatable examples, engages the audiences with their own experiences, and offers actionable solutions. She equips attendees with tools to: 

  • Lead effectively through exhaustion by addressing both personal and team-wide fatigue 
  • Leverage AI as a tool rather than fearing it as a threat 
  • Strategically manage uncertainty to strengthen morale and resilience

This session is ideal for leaders ready to embrace the future while navigating the emotional and logistical demands of today’s workplace. 

How to Win More Fights: Tools for Navigating High-Stakes Conversations. Dethra Giles immediately hooks the audience with a single question: “How many of you want to win more fights at work?” This question resonates deeply because effective communication lies at the heart of successful leadership—and avoiding tough conversations comes at a high price. Leaders who hesitate to address poor performance can drain organizational resources, while teams that fail to speak up against flawed ideas risk costly project failures. 

To combat these challenges, Dethra introduces her proven D.A.R.E. model—Describe, Acknowledge, Review, and Engage—a practical framework designed to build conversational competence. This approach equips participants with the tools to tackle difficult discussions head-on, driving resolutions that benefit everyone involved. By mastering these skills, attendees not only save their organizations significant time and money but also unlock opportunities for personal and professional growth.  

Owning the Room: A Proven Strategy to Amplify Your Voice for Impact. This discussion focuses on empowering professionals to harness the power of their voice. Dethra introduces a proven formula that enables leaders to discover their unique voice, refine it, and transform it into a tool that is both powerful and persuasive. Participants learn how to speak less but say more, assert their presence, and create a lasting impact in any room. Tailored for underrepresented groups and leaders of all levels, the session equips attendees with the confidence and skills to effectively guide teams. 

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