Retaining Your Rockstars: Surviving and Thriving in a Tight Talent Market. Having dedicated her career to creating mutually beneficial outcomes in the workplace for employers and employees, and helping people optimize their workplace experience, Dethra Giles is expertly positioned to discuss the ins and outs of one of the most pressing issues in business today: recruiting and retaining top talent. Today’s job market is highly competitive and talented employees have more options than ever before, making it challenging for organizations to hold on to their people and maintain continuity within their teams.

In this talk, Giles, an expert in talent management, shares practical strategies and best practices that leaders can implement to recruit, retain, and elevate top talent and build a highly engaged workforce. Pointing to real-life examples that illustrate the ways in which the wants and needs of the workforce are continuing to evolve, she offers audiences a deeper understanding of the challenges companies face when it comes to keeping their best people and the key factors that influence employee loyalty and retention. Additionally, she outlines elements of successful employee retention programs that address the needs of the people who keep the organization going (and growing) and align with company goals and values.

DARE to Communicate More Effectively. As Dethra Giles shares, there’s one often overlooked step that is the key to communicating more effectively and creating better outcomes in our interactions with others. Before she reveals her approach, Giles explores what conversations look like when they end on the best-possible note. A better-ending conversation looks like people doing exactly what you asked, debates ending productively, and disagreements ending amicably.

Since her second TEDx Talk, Giles has taught groups all over the world how to improve conversational competence to communicate more effectively. As she introduces audiences to her proprietary DARE model, she shares the formula for effective communications. “Describe, Acknowledge, Review, and Engage” is the formula you didn’t know you needed but will positively change how you communicate forever. The impact is better leadership, higher performing teams, increased dialogue, and more efficient meetings. DARE to improve conversational competence and communicate more effectively.

Own the Room with Your Voice: Lessons on Speaking Less while Saying More. The most valuable real estate in any room is the front. The front of the room, the head of the take, the lectern in the room, the stage in front of an audience — the most desired and attention-getting position is at the front. But there is a price for that prime real estate and the price is your voice. In this talk Dethra Giles shares tools to help audience members develop their voices to be better leaders, stronger collaborators, and effective problem solvers. 

From Conflict to Collaboration: Strategies for Productive Conflict Management. Interpersonal and organizational conflict are almost always rooted in what four-time TEDx speaker and conflict management expert Dethra Giles refers to as a “conversational competence problem.” At times, people are unsure of how to bring a productive end to a conversation that involves a disagreement. But as Giles shares, there is a solution for how leaders and their people can work together to create more conversationally competent organizations: the DARE model. “Describe, Acknowledge, Review, and Engage” is a proven strategy Giles implements with great success within her own teams, and helps others introduce within their own organizations in order to change how they handle conflict and make every disagreement a productive one.

From Cubicle to Corner Office: Reimagining Your Journey to Success. In an interactive session that will uplift audience members and inspire them to look within to create their own pathways to success, Dethra Giles spurs individuals to take ownership of their careers and take the next steps toward getting to where they want to be. Known in professional circles as the “CEO-Maker” and “Cubicle to Corner Office Empress,” Giles is a career development strategist who shares tools and techniques that help professionals — “employee-preneurs,” as she calls them — approach their careers as a business, evaluate what’s working, identify opportunities for adapting and improving, and map their way forward beginning today. This talk sparks a complete mindset shift that motivates individuals to overcome self-limiting beliefs, become more resilient, and help them see the person they envision in their head in the mirror.  

Tackling the Tough Stuff: Tips for Addressing Sensitive Topics with Confidence and Empathy. A necessary part of leadership is facing difficult situations that require us to address sensitive, sometimes uncomfortable, topics with team members and colleagues. Whether it’s addressing performance, giving feedback, or navigating conflict, tough conversations help to rip off proverbial band-aids and kickstart constructive action for adapting and improving. Known for her authenticity, in the workplace and in her talks, leadership and HR expert Dethra Giles prepares audience members for how to approach and initiate difficult conversations that will elevate their organizations and the people within them. She emphasizes the importance of confidence and compassion, as well as how to communicate clearly and effectively, manage emotions and reactions, and build trust and rapport while tackling topics that people typically stray away from (to the detriment of their organizations). In doing so, she shows leaders how to create cultures of open communication and use tough conversations as the foundation for individual and collective growth and development.

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