Meet Dethra U. Giles: CEO and International Speaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dethra U. Giles and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dethra U., have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Work/life balance is a term we use to make ourselves feel comfortable with living our lives out of alignment. I get to coach high-level executives around the world and I am always asked about how to balance work and life. My response is the same “Don’t don’t even try.” I teach my clients to live the GUD Life (Getting Up Daily) and the GUD life is about making sure your work and life are in alignment. This means going back to basics and accessing what it is you value and making sure everything, both work, and life aligns with those values. For example, I value service to the community, I am not going to work with or at a company that does not allow me the leisure or time to do community service. Prior to starting ExecuPrep, my own company, every position I held allowed for paid time off to do community service. I value my faith and will not work at a company that does not allow me to express my Christianity. It does not mean it has to be a Christian company it just means I have to be able to bring my faith to work without fear. Our lives do not stop at the entrance of the office, work does not end at the exit of the building and we are not scales equipped to do such a balancing act. Work and life must be aligned not balanced.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My clients call me University tested and Industry approved. What sets us apart from everyone else that I am so proud of is that we KNOW our stuff from both sides of the equation. We are theorists in that we have a formal education but we are also practitioners in that we have done this stuff in industry and corporate environments. We do practical things founded in theory that change our client’s lives and transform their companies. But, was it hard. You have no clue. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line unless that straight line is riddled with boulder, pothole, and constructed obstacles. Getting here has not been easy. I did it blindly, I did something I had never seen before. I didn’t even know consulting firms existed let alone thought I would start and build one. I had no one to ask, to call, to lean on, to get direction from, I had to read what I could and find my way. Along the way, I picked up a few guides but the beginning was rough. What got me through was a belief that I was unstoppable. Despite all of the things, life threw at me my mom made me believe that I could do anything. I really believed that. So, when things appeared to be falling apart I convinced myself that they were falling into place, and sometimes all it takes is a belief. I never gave up and despite the many failures and here I am today on the pages of Voyage Atl.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am going to disclose a secret…I am a shop-a-holic. It is horrible. My ideal trip would be a consignment store tour. I mean I would be all over the city hopping from consignment store to thrift store to discount chain. I would have a shopping extravaganza. Some of my favorites are Alexis Suitcase (all three locations), Goodwill (the one by Perimeter mall is the best one), Labels in Buckhead (just park and walk to all the stores). Then, we would head to downtown College Park to eat. They would have to eat at The Real Milk & Honey then back up to Buckhead for sushi at Umi. We would eat and shop for a week.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I must do the right thing and shout out my Momma. Not just because she raised me but for what she taught me about responsibility and life. She was a single parent and like most children raised by a single parent I would ask that hard-hitting question, “Why isn’t my father here?” My mother, to this day, has never said a single bad thing about my father. Her response to my pressing question has always stayed with me, she would say “I can’t speak for your father. All I can do is tell you about how my actions got us here.” WHAT? She could have easily blamed him for everything and I would have believed her. Instead, she showed me what responsibility looked like and what it looked like to take lemons and make lemon drops. Who I am is in direct reflection of those types of lessons that she taught me.

Website: www.DethraGiles.com
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Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dethragiles
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dugiles?lang=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DethraGilesCEO/
Youtube: Dethra Giles