March 22, 2024 • 31 mins
The story of DeShaun Wise Porter, VP and Global Head of Diversity, Inclusion, and Engagement at Hilton, always reminds all of us about the profound impact one's heritage can have on their aspirations and achievements. DeShaun's journey from the finance world to the pinnacle of HR leadership is both fascinating and inspiring, embodying the tenacity and dedication required to build inclusive and thriving workplaces. She shares invaluable insights on the transcendent nature of people-centric skills and how, through authenticity and mentorship, one can lift others while achieving personal success.
The resilience encoded in DeShaun's DNA, inherited from ancestors like her Tuskegee Airman grandfather, is a testament to the indomitable human spirit. Our conversation unveils how this legacy has not only shaped her approach to life and work but also reinforced her belief in the symbiotic relationship between economic growth and ethical action. The narrative of her family's enduring strength serves as a beacon, illuminating the path to prosperity through the power of diversity and unwavering support for each other's potential.
Closing the episode with DeShaun, we explore the tangible strategies that can effect change within organizations, especially in the hospitality industry where diversity at senior levels is still burgeoning. She offers sage advice on building emotional resilience and maintaining momentum in the journey towards a more inclusive corporate landscape. It's a discussion brimming with practical wisdom for anyone looking to foster a supportive environment where every individual has the opportunity to shine. Her philosophy—rooted in authenticity, mentorship, and early relationship nurturing—provides a playbook for those aspiring to lead with impact and intent.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hello and welcome to Diverse and Inclusive Leaders.
This is the show where I speakwith the most inspirational and
thought-provoking leaders oftoday and unearth their unique
stories of diversity andinclusion to help inspire,
educate and motivate others tomake the world a better place.
Today, I am delighted to bejoined by Deshaun Wise Porter.
(00:33):
She is a rock star strategic HRprofessional with global
experience and proven success intransforming organizations and
brands through aligningenterprise priorities, diversity
and inclusion initiatives, andhow we weave in modern day HR to
really drive engagement.
(00:54):
Deshaun is currently VP andGlobal Head of Diversity,
Inclusion and Engagement atHilton, a brand that we all know
.
Additionally, she's boardmember for Alliance for
Hospitality Equity and Diversityand she's advisory board member
for Women Leading Travel andHospitality.
Deshaun, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Thank you so much for having me.
What a welcoming opening, thankyou.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
I tried to do it in a couple of breaths, but frankly,
you've done that much.
I feel that it could just be metalking about you for the show,
and actually everyone wants tohear from you, so I'm going to
hand it to you to tell everyonea little bit about how you came
to be where you are today,personally and professionally,
because it has been oneincredible career littered with
(01:45):
many different interestingnuances.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Oh my goodness.
Well, listen, I can't actuallytake all the credit.
I think it really started withan amazing foundation, with my
grandparents and my parentsalways teaching me to show up as
myself, lean in, be willing tolearn and always, always, always
be willing to try to helppeople.
(02:10):
So, as I think I saw that playout through my entire life, I've
always been one who's active inmy community, taking on
different leadership roles, evenwhen I was, you know, young and
a school girl a young schoolgirl and running for different
positions, and you know whetherit was vice president or
president of my differentclasses that ended up
(02:33):
matriculating and appearing eventhrough.
When I went to college, Icontinued a lot of my
philanthropic work, joinedorganizations that continue to
feed that particular part of me,and I studied finance and
multinational business.
Now, that's a question markstill for me, because I'm I
don't.
I've never seen myself as afinance person.
(02:55):
I think I wanted to understandbusiness.
I always felt like it wasreally important to understand
how businesses worked.
So I also measured inmultinational business and
finance with a minor ineconomics, but I didn't have a
desire to be like a financialadvisor or a wealth banker or
anything.
I wanted to understand thelogistics of it and then be able
to utilize that to help peoplebe their best selves, and so,
(03:19):
shortly after college, I took amanagement leadership role loved
it was the youngest one of theyoungest branch managers in the
central Florida area, which wasvery interesting taught me a lot
about how to lead and how toinspire people, even if they
have years more experiencedecades more experience than you
(03:42):
, and we ended up making aphenomenal team.
But I realized that my passionwas to be able to shine a light
on others and and stand in thegap to where they might have
opportunities and helping themto figure out and navigate that
particular space for themselves.
And so I found my home in HRand have been here literally
(04:05):
ever since.
I have worked in banking,manufacturing, education and now
in hospitality, and I think oneof the most amazing things
about being in HR is that listen, people are everywhere and so
it doesn't matter the industry Icould, I can still lean in and
provide value, and that's what Ilove.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Wow, that is some whistle stop tour and, as you
were talking, I was kind ofimagining the young, dishon
youngest in Florida, powerfulvoice, powerful black voice as
well to boot, in an environmentthat has got older individuals
and that in itself has its ownchallenges.
(04:50):
We have these five generationsin the workplace now, and so
having those really you know,those people centric skills,
being able to communicate alldifferent levels of the
hierarchy, levels of expertiseacross the generations, is
something that I think isabsolutely critical to business
leaders who are going to trulyinspire and bring people along
(05:11):
that journey with them.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Yes, absolutely, I'm hoping that I have.
I have done that because I knowthat there's so many people
that have done it for me, and somy whole goal is to pay it
forward.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
It's interesting when you say it, but pay it forward.
It seems like that is almostthe ethos behind you and, I
guess, the brand that is you.
We've been talking a lotrecently as we've seen trends
for employee engagement stemmingfrom senior executives who have
really sent that lift back down.
It's one thing saying it butactually doing it and imparting
(05:48):
that knowledge and wisdom and,as you have done, recognize
people that have helped youalong that journey.
Absolutely, absolutely key, andespecially in industries to
your point, around banking,manufacturing, all of these
often male dominated industries,having the people centric
(06:08):
skills.
They're entirely transferablefrom sector to sector,
absolutely.
So let's go back in time, if Imay, before we kind of dive deep
into some of the subjectsaround DNI that you're
passionate about.
But let's go back in time andtalk about the family, because
you mentioned, or you alluded toto start with, that perhaps the
family environment has had abig part to play and help
(06:32):
spearheading the career forward.
Talk to us about those earlydays, because clearly you'd gone
in into the world of work,you'd been what sounds like a
very high achiever at school andkind of gone for a lot of these
presidentships.
Or I read in your profile thepresident of Alpha Kappa
(06:53):
Sorority.
I'm very British but I'mAmerican and he talks a lot
about kind of the sororitiesthere and things like this.
So let's unpick a bit of thosekind of early days and the
family and why you've been sodriven.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Yeah, so I think I have some strong roots.
My grandparents were absolutelyamazing and I think that they
gave me their very best and it'spart of my life's mission to
continue to make them proud,even though they're no longer
with me.
My grandfather was a younggentleman from Sheraton,
(07:30):
virginia.
He went on to become a TuskegeeAirman and fought in World War
II.
He was a prisoner of war forseveral months, made it out of
that, came out of thatparticular situation still
strong, not broken right, hadbloody but unbowed, and went on
to med school at HowardUniversity in Washington DC and
(07:54):
became a physician For 14 years.
He was the onlyAfrican-American physician in
Prince George's County Hospitalwhere he gave it his life's work
in which to make sure thatpeople were healthy and okay,
regardless of what walk of lifethey came from.
But he was highly mistreatedright, you think about you're
(08:15):
talking about in the 50s and theearly 60s, a black physician in
a hospital and some peopledeciding that they don't want to
necessarily be seen.
And through all of that helearned grit.
I think he learneddetermination.
He learned that you can stilldo what's right and stick to
(08:35):
your values in the face ofconstant adversity, and my
grandmother had that.
She came from that same cloth.
She was an educator and aphilanthropist.
My mom is an educator andphilanthropist.
My dad was in the corporatesector and always in leadership
roles I think all of them and soI got to see that modeled for
(08:58):
me.
I got to see that things are notalways gonna go your way and it
might not always be easy, butthat you can definitely press
forward.
But the real what's at the realcore of that is learning to stay
true to yourself, right, tryingto find situations that you can
be your own motivator, that youcan be your own champion and
(09:20):
your own cheerleader, but stillmake sure that you're constantly
showing up for others.
And so how that has now playedin when I look back, listen,
it's been a challenging year.
2023 across the world has beenchallenging in so many different
ways, whether it's thedifferent wars or the crisis
(09:40):
that we're just coming out of,or you've got legislation that
is making it to making it wherepeople are not able to show up
as their selves or makedecisions that govern their own
bodies, and all of that is hard,right, but I true back to what
has been instilled in me andthat's to say, no, I'm not
(10:04):
seeing the progress that I mightalways wanna see out here in
the world, but if I can make myown little microcosm, if you
will and be able to influencethat and daily find ways to make
people feel good, recognizetheir particular efforts, show
authentic appreciation not justfor their contributions but for
(10:25):
their ongoing existence, right,we are all here to serve a
purpose and enabling people tofeel safe enough to where they
can literally dip into whattheir purpose is and unleash
that.
I think that is where I findinspiration and motivation, but
again, it's really based on thefoundation of those that poured
(10:48):
into me and allowed me to be whoI am.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
You've articulated that so well and I can see, with
the reference to yourgrandparents and your family,
that you've almost absorbed likea sponge both of those two
sides of the corporate elements.
How do you do well by doinggood?
(11:14):
I know from previousconversations you and I are both
aligned on the fact that thetwo don't need to be separate.
You can do well by doing goodand you can use diversity as
that lever for economic growthand prosperity.
Yet at the same time we've alsoabsorbed the philanthropic
nature of humanity and theimportance to do the right thing
(11:39):
from an ethical and a moralstandpoint.
What's super interesting andI'd love us to dive deeper into
this is almost that evolutionover the years.
I can see how it's happenedwith yourself.
You've almost brought those twoworlds together where
historically they might havebeen seen as very.
You're either charitable oryour business.
But how the world has evolvedthrough to your point these
(12:02):
geopolitical crises, changes inthe world with the pandemic and
the ways of working.
Ultimately, never has therebeen a more important time as
there is right now fororganisations to step up.
It's not always easy to do thatin the world of diversity and
the people world.
(12:23):
Yes, I'm biased, but I've saidmany, many times that the role
of diversity and the peoplefunction within organisations.
It's the toughest one in theC-suite because you're
influencing mile wide and you'reinfluencing mile deep and
you're having to communicatewith so many different people,
all against the backdrop of many, many geopolitical, macro,
(12:46):
micro changes and the like.
So you know, let's talk throughsome of that evolution, because
you've kept strong to yourself,you've kept that tenacity to
keep going, because it can beemotionally exhausting.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Absolutely listen.
I'm going to be the last one totell you I don't have those
days.
I absolutely have those days.
You know, heavy is the headthat wears the crown, but I
continue to find things thatmotivate me and I believe that
(13:19):
my ability in which to be ableto adapt and connect I might not
always be, you know, I try tobe swift with the adaption
because you have to right, theworld is moving and so you have
to stay on that axle or youwon't get left, to be honest.
But as I'm working through andtalking to different people and
(13:39):
being able to inspire andencourage them, I then pick
myself back up as well, right,in which to say again, I'm not
always seeing some of theprogress that I'm wanting to see
out here in the world, or maybeon something that I've been
working on, but it's a matter ofyou keep it moving forward.
Or maybe you have to repositionhow you're looking at it or how
(14:02):
you're defining success, andsometimes I literally have to go
back to that day, like Dashaun.
If you can make one person feelappreciated today, if you can
make one person smile today,genuinely smile, because you
have no idea what people aregoing through on a daily basis,
right, and so it's granting thatgrace and that understanding,
(14:23):
and you just never know theimpact that you're going to have
.
And so I just have to believe.
If I, just if I focus on justone, just one, and they focus on
just one, and everyone focuseson just one per day, I think we
can make this entire world abetter place.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
I love that.
It's almost these inclusionnudges.
When you were talking, I wasseeing dominos in my mind or
pushing one over, and it's justthis Me too, me too.
It's lovely, isn't it?
You put in all of that work toget all the dominos into place
and then you push one andactually the profound impact
that you can have is K,absolutely K and I think that's
(15:01):
really brilliant advice as wellfor others who are listening is
we all do have those good andbad days, ultimately, as you say
, but digging deep is whatyou've clearly done.
Digging deep to just make oneor two or three people smile and
feel that they belong, allowthem to bring their true selves
out.
It really creates this almostknock on effect of energy,
(15:26):
absolutely.
So let's talk about some of thesector nuances, then, because
not only do you have the fulltime job I don't know how you do
it actually you have a fulltime job and then you also sit
as a board member and anadvisory board member for the
Alliance for Hospitality andEquity, and then Women Leading
(15:47):
on Travel and Hospitality.
Clearly, the role that you dois something that is
transferable across allindustries, but when you layer
on top of that in hospitality,often at senior levels.
There is less diversity.
Now, how have you come?
You know, what is it?
Some of your top strategies, Iguess, for influencing change in
(16:10):
the industry, because theseorganisations have clearly asked
for the sector expertise, aswell as the experience that you
have in engagement, to pushthings on.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Yeah, so I don't know that I have the perfect answer
to this.
I think I tackled it a few ways.
Listen, everybody is unique,but yet everybody has something
that they truly care about.
So when you're talking aboutinclusion and you're talking
about creating equitableprocesses, sometimes you really
have to just take a step backand figure out what is most
(16:47):
important to that person thatyou're talking to.
And then how do you tie this inand make them see the value and
how important an inclusiveenvironment, how important an
engaged team is If they arebusiness results oriented, that
drives business results.
There's a direct correlation.
So it's making sure that youcan tie those two together and
(17:07):
essentially tell the story.
I also think it's aboutunderstanding the business and
understanding that person, butthen also having a team, knowing
who my allies and my advocatesare.
Right, because understanding Iam a person and I think I have
(17:28):
influence, but I think we allhave influence, and so it's
expanding that team, because itwould be impossible for me to do
it all the work and I have aphenomenal team and my team is
much broader than those thatmight just have a direct
reporting relationship to me,and so you have to foster that
village, if you will, right,when you are trying to move a
(17:52):
bolder uphill, there's a lot ofpeople that have to get behind
that in which to make the changeand see that movement.
And so it's the cultivating ofthat broader group, allowing us
to all focus on what the greatergood is in driving that
direction forward, and then justcontinuing to show up right and
(18:16):
have those honest andtransparent moments, right.
I like to tell my team allright, guys, we've got, you've
got 30 seconds.
Lay it all out there, what'swrong, right.
And then we got to pickourselves up and we have to
laugh about some of these thingsbecause life is short, life is
short and you can really getstuck on some of the things that
(18:37):
absolutely don't matter, and soit's like, ok, that hurt a
little bit.
That's not the outcome I washoping for.
All right now, how can weregroup and essentially try this
again?
And also sometimes determiningthe when, right.
Everything might not be right,good for right now, in this
moment, and so learning to kindof cascade and be agile and
(19:01):
flexible with how you are goingto particularly solve a problem
or present a different solutionso you can get to the outcome
that you so desire.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Oh, my goodness, I feel like I'm having a business.
I said this is brilliant, so itis.
I mean just playing some ofthat back.
So I was like, literally, I wasactually making a couple of
notes there.
I was like the sense of humoras the wrap around saying look,
okay, what are these problems?
A 30 second summary of what iswrong being fine to talk about
those problems, but it soundslike then you've gone into this
(19:34):
pivoting of being very solutionsfocused, because it does take
all of those people to push theboulder up the hill and
fostering the kind of almost avillage mentality, whilst
knowing who those key influencesare in the broader stakeholder
pool, it's going to be key toget that decision to where it
needs to be.
(19:55):
And, talking of 30 seconds, I'dlove us to go into a bit of a
lightning round, if I may.
Whilst I could literally talkto you all day, I'm conscious of
timings, I'd love us to go intoa lightning round and I'm going
to give you about 30 seconds toanswer each of the next
questions.
I'm going to start with success, perhaps the hardest one, but
(20:19):
you mentioned it right there, soa perfect segue.
What does success mean to you,and has that changed over the
years?
Speaker 2 (20:28):
Oh, it's absolutely changed, I think.
Today I've got two young sonsand I need to be present for
them, and what I can't do isshow up for them and be
emotionally exhausted becauseI've given everything out.
So, for me, success is doingwhat I love and finding my
passion and my joy in everythingthat I'm doing and touching.
(20:49):
And so, at work, it'sunderstanding what are the
things that's making thegreatest impact to me, which
might sometimes be somewhatdifferent than what's making the
biggest impact to other people,but so creating that balance
and then at home is beingpresent to take in the moment.
Everybody has told me that itall goes so fast when you are
(21:10):
raising kids, and I want to makesure that I'm not missing some
of those precious moments.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
My goodness, everyone says that Don't know how fast
it goes.
Well, so fast, so fast.
I have a son as well.
He's 18 months old and I swearhe was literally just being born
in the hospital the other day.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
I know I picked up my son last night and I was like,
oh my gosh, how did you get sobig?
What's happening?
You used to fit like, literallyin my stomach.
Now you're so huge.
But it's a moment.
It's a moment and we want themto grow, right.
That's.
That's the thing, that's thethe, the tug and pull of your
heart.
You want to see that growth andyou want to see it always.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
So I'm taking complete segue here because I'm
so interested to ask how old areyour sons and do they know what
they want to be when they'reolder?
Because it sounds like thefamily really does look at each
other in the poor to world ofthe future.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
And that's an excellent question.
So my sons are two and a halfand my my youngest is 14 months,
so they may very well know whatthey want to be in life.
It just hasn't been clearlyarticulated as of yet.
So we shall see.
There's a lot that they'reinterested in.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
You have a two and a half year old as well.
Oh my goodness.
And for those who are listeningon the audio and not looking at
perhaps a snippet of thispodcast, the show on looks
fantastic.
I put extra concealer on undermy eyes because my 18 month old
he is running around noweverywhere and I'm just like, oh
(22:53):
my goodness, the juggle is real.
How would the whole thing?
It melts together in onebeautiful smorgasbord.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
I, I respect you, I salute you, I honor you in this
moment.
I understand what that is like,and it is, it is.
It is no small feat, but thisgoes back to you know, giving
grace, and this is why I alwaysencourage people to give grace.
Who would have known that?
You got no sleep last night?
Because you look flawless, youlook amazing.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Right back at you and yeah, I mean it just goes to
share how important not only thereal models are, but role
models as well.
You know we look at role models.
People talk a lot about rolemodels at dial.
We like to say real modelsbecause literally you've said a
number of times in the podcastis about showing up that
consistency of being in acertain place, being there for
(23:45):
your team even though you maynot feel your best.
That is so, so important.
That is the real world that welive in.
It's not perfect, but it isbeautiful at the same time.
I'm breaking my rules here withthe 30 second answers.
I'm going to ask you two moreReal models and role models.
You talked about yourgrandparents, but who else do
(24:06):
you admire?
I'm sure there's many that havethere been pivotal role models
in your life that have changedyour past?
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Absolutely.
I have a list of those who Iknow and those who I don't know,
right, I've got mentors inseveral different industries and
in sectors that are actuallyaround the world.
One of my former colleaguesthat I used to work with I still
consider him a mentor to thisday, and he lives in the UK, and
(24:37):
so when I'm wanting tounderstand what is the dynamics
there, how are certain thingsworking, I can reach out to him
and we have this reversementoring type relationship.
So I try inspiration andencourage from a lot of
different places, but I'm awareof who are my mentors, who are
(25:01):
my sponsors and advocates, rightAcross the company as well as
across the greater world, and Ithink that's key.
And then, if you think you knowbroader, some of the other
people that inspire me togreatness Michelle Obama, right,
a huge one for me, and I can goback Maya Angelou and her words
(25:22):
and drawing inspiration fromthere, and there's just, there's
so many, there's so many.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
And finally, if you could go back in time and speak
to the young Deshaun, is thereanything that you would say to
yourself back in those collegedays when you were going for
president or anything like that?
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Wow, I actually love this question, but it's always
so hard.
There's a few things I wouldsay is don't be afraid to be
yourself and to make mistakeslike life is a lesson right, and
some of your greatest and mostimpivotable lessons are going to
come from where you might havea missed up, but I would
(26:09):
probably tell myself a milliontimes over that a missed up is
not the end of the world, andsometimes that particular missed
up can lead you on an evenbetter path than where you were
before.
So embrace that and don't beembarrassed.
I am there easily.
So don't be embarrassed andlean into that lesson.
(26:29):
Find mentors and nurture therelationships.
I think I did that, but I feellike I started doing that more
in college and I think I couldhave done that before.
I would reaffirm because I didthis, but take opportunities,
and so I share that with people.
Take the opportunities,especially those that are
outside of your comfort zone,because one of the best projects
(26:52):
that I've been on to date wasthe one that I was just like no,
absolutely, that is not for me.
I do not want to do that.
That does not sound like italigns to stuff that I enjoy or
anything that I want to do andit's been amazing, it's still
one of my greatest achievementsfrom a work perspective today
and then explore the world.
(27:13):
There is so much to learn frombeing able to be open with
people, to embrace others'experiences and cultures and who
they are and where they comefrom, and without judgment, and
so that is always the key.
(27:34):
We are literally anamalgamation of our own
experiences, and so until we'reable to remove that veil and
that weight, that our way is theright way or whatever we were
raised with is the only way Onceyou remove that, you will
realize just how amazinglybeautiful this world is, and
(27:56):
this world is so beautifulbecause of the amazing people in
it.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Mic drop moment Absolutely remarkable, deshawn,
thank you so much.
I personally have learned sucha lot.
I feel a lot of energy justspeaking with you today.
I'm going to do my best tosummarize some of the learning
points from our podcast and I'msure everyone else has enjoyed
(28:25):
it tremendously.
But I love to start with howthe worlds of philanthropic and
doing business well have reallycome together the capability and
the conviction to break throughbarriers and to dig deep when
times are tough, to keep ongoing, because showing up to
(28:48):
many of your earlier points ismore important than anything,
despite the way we're feeling,having a fantastic sense of
humor, especially given all ofthe crazy changes in the world
that we're seeing and the factthat the world of work these
days it has five generations andit's super fast paced.
You said pushing for progressand that really stuck with me.
(29:10):
How you make your own microcosmof energy to keep diving deep
into the purpose, the reason forexistence, the why you do what
you do, being the domino thatpushes all of the others.
And then also I love how youtalk very fluidly about
mentorship, allyship, reversementoring, inspirations, sending
(29:35):
the lift back down.
I think that speaks sobeautifully to the fact that the
world that we live in,especially in diverse and
inclusion in the people business, it is very much an evolution.
You talked about agility andhow important it is to
re-strategize, to change tact,to be tactical sometimes, to be
(29:56):
strategic other times, butactually taking from those
different places, wherever theymay be, wherever they may be
around the world, actually tolearn, to keep absorbing the
different dynamics that arehappening to ultimately bring us
success.
And so hopefully thatsummarizes just a couple of the
(30:18):
areas.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
You are amazing.
Oh my gosh, wow, did I reallysay all that?
I appreciate you.
You made it sound so beautiful.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
I took from your advice to start with.
Like a sponge does, it absorbsthat water and it takes in all
the learnings.
You talked about lifelonglearnings and you talked about
Maya Angelou, one of myfavorites.
But doing the best you canuntil you know better, but
(30:50):
continuing to learn, that isultimately what this feels it
has all been about.
So, deshaun, thank you.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Thank you.
Thank you so much for having me.
You are a joy and you are aninspiration in yourself, so I
appreciate the work that you doand how you show it for others.
Thank, you.
Deshaun.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
My name is Leila McKenzie-Dellas.
You've been listening to theDiverse Inclusive Leaders
podcast.
We would love you to leave areview and hit subscribe.
We've actually had over 60,000downloads now, so Domino's has
been a theme today.
Please pass on and share.
I know that many people canlearn from DeShaun's wise words.
(31:30):
Today.
You can visit us on ApplePodcast or Spotify, download
your favorite podcast channel orhead straight to the website
wwwdarkglobalorg.
Forward slash podcast.
Take care and we look forwardto seeing you again very soon.
Hello and welcome to Diverse and Inclusive Leaders.
This is the show where I speakwith the most inspirational and
thought-provoking leaders oftoday and unearth their unique
stories of diversity andinclusion to help inspire,
educate and motivate others tomake the world a better place.
Today, I am delighted to bejoined by Deshaun Wise Porter.
(00:33):
She is a rock star strategic HRprofessional with global
experience and proven success intransforming organizations and
brands through aligningenterprise priorities, diversity
and inclusion initiatives, andhow we weave in modern day HR to
really drive engagement.
(00:54):
Deshaun is currently VP andGlobal Head of Diversity,
Inclusion and Engagement atHilton, a brand that we all know
.
Additionally, she's boardmember for Alliance for
Hospitality Equity and Diversityand she's advisory board member
for Women Leading Travel andHospitality.
Deshaun, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Thank you so much for having me.
What a welcoming opening, thankyou.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
I tried to do it in a couple of breaths, but frankly,
you've done that much.
I feel that it could just be metalking about you for the show,
and actually everyone wants tohear from you, so I'm going to
hand it to you to tell everyonea little bit about how you came
to be where you are today,personally and professionally,
because it has been oneincredible career littered with
(01:45):
many different interestingnuances.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Oh my goodness.
Well, listen, I can't actuallytake all the credit.
I think it really started withan amazing foundation, with my
grandparents and my parentsalways teaching me to show up as
myself, lean in, be willing tolearn and always, always, always
be willing to try to helppeople.
(02:10):
So, as I think I saw that playout through my entire life, I've
always been one who's active inmy community, taking on
different leadership roles, evenwhen I was, you know, young and
a school girl a young schoolgirl and running for different
positions, and you know whetherit was vice president or
president of my differentclasses that ended up
(02:33):
matriculating and appearing eventhrough.
When I went to college, Icontinued a lot of my
philanthropic work, joinedorganizations that continue to
feed that particular part of me,and I studied finance and
multinational business.
Now, that's a question markstill for me, because I'm I
don't.
I've never seen myself as afinance person.
(02:55):
I think I wanted to understandbusiness.
I always felt like it wasreally important to understand
how businesses worked.
So I also measured inmultinational business and
finance with a minor ineconomics, but I didn't have a
desire to be like a financialadvisor or a wealth banker or
anything.
I wanted to understand thelogistics of it and then be able
to utilize that to help peoplebe their best selves, and so,
(03:19):
shortly after college, I took amanagement leadership role loved
it was the youngest one of theyoungest branch managers in the
central Florida area, which wasvery interesting taught me a lot
about how to lead and how toinspire people, even if they
have years more experiencedecades more experience than you
(03:42):
, and we ended up making aphenomenal team.
But I realized that my passionwas to be able to shine a light
on others and and stand in thegap to where they might have
opportunities and helping themto figure out and navigate that
particular space for themselves.
And so I found my home in HRand have been here literally
(04:05):
ever since.
I have worked in banking,manufacturing, education and now
in hospitality, and I think oneof the most amazing things
about being in HR is that listen, people are everywhere and so
it doesn't matter the industry Icould, I can still lean in and
provide value, and that's what Ilove.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Wow, that is some whistle stop tour and, as you
were talking, I was kind ofimagining the young, dishon
youngest in Florida, powerfulvoice, powerful black voice as
well to boot, in an environmentthat has got older individuals
and that in itself has its ownchallenges.
(04:50):
We have these five generationsin the workplace now, and so
having those really you know,those people centric skills,
being able to communicate alldifferent levels of the
hierarchy, levels of expertiseacross the generations, is
something that I think isabsolutely critical to business
leaders who are going to trulyinspire and bring people along
(05:11):
that journey with them.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Yes, absolutely, I'm hoping that I have.
I have done that because I knowthat there's so many people
that have done it for me, and somy whole goal is to pay it
forward.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
It's interesting when you say it, but pay it forward.
It seems like that is almostthe ethos behind you and, I
guess, the brand that is you.
We've been talking a lotrecently as we've seen trends
for employee engagement stemmingfrom senior executives who have
really sent that lift back down.
It's one thing saying it butactually doing it and imparting
(05:48):
that knowledge and wisdom and,as you have done, recognize
people that have helped youalong that journey.
Absolutely, absolutely key, andespecially in industries to
your point, around banking,manufacturing, all of these
often male dominated industries,having the people centric
(06:08):
skills.
They're entirely transferablefrom sector to sector,
absolutely.
So let's go back in time, if Imay, before we kind of dive deep
into some of the subjectsaround DNI that you're
passionate about.
But let's go back in time andtalk about the family, because
you mentioned, or you alluded toto start with, that perhaps the
family environment has had abig part to play and help
(06:32):
spearheading the career forward.
Talk to us about those earlydays, because clearly you'd gone
in into the world of work,you'd been what sounds like a
very high achiever at school andkind of gone for a lot of these
presidentships.
Or I read in your profile thepresident of Alpha Kappa
(06:53):
Sorority.
I'm very British but I'mAmerican and he talks a lot
about kind of the sororitiesthere and things like this.
So let's unpick a bit of thosekind of early days and the
family and why you've been sodriven.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Yeah, so I think I have some strong roots.
My grandparents were absolutelyamazing and I think that they
gave me their very best and it'spart of my life's mission to
continue to make them proud,even though they're no longer
with me.
My grandfather was a younggentleman from Sheraton,
(07:30):
virginia.
He went on to become a TuskegeeAirman and fought in World War
II.
He was a prisoner of war forseveral months, made it out of
that, came out of thatparticular situation still
strong, not broken right, hadbloody but unbowed, and went on
to med school at HowardUniversity in Washington DC and
(07:54):
became a physician For 14 years.
He was the onlyAfrican-American physician in
Prince George's County Hospitalwhere he gave it his life's work
in which to make sure thatpeople were healthy and okay,
regardless of what walk of lifethey came from.
But he was highly mistreatedright, you think about you're
(08:15):
talking about in the 50s and theearly 60s, a black physician in
a hospital and some peopledeciding that they don't want to
necessarily be seen.
And through all of that helearned grit.
I think he learneddetermination.
He learned that you can stilldo what's right and stick to
(08:35):
your values in the face ofconstant adversity, and my
grandmother had that.
She came from that same cloth.
She was an educator and aphilanthropist.
My mom is an educator andphilanthropist.
My dad was in the corporatesector and always in leadership
roles I think all of them and soI got to see that modeled for
(08:58):
me.
I got to see that things are notalways gonna go your way and it
might not always be easy, butthat you can definitely press
forward.
But the real what's at the realcore of that is learning to stay
true to yourself, right, tryingto find situations that you can
be your own motivator, that youcan be your own champion and
(09:20):
your own cheerleader, but stillmake sure that you're constantly
showing up for others.
And so how that has now playedin when I look back, listen,
it's been a challenging year.
2023 across the world has beenchallenging in so many different
ways, whether it's thedifferent wars or the crisis
(09:40):
that we're just coming out of,or you've got legislation that
is making it to making it wherepeople are not able to show up
as their selves or makedecisions that govern their own
bodies, and all of that is hard,right, but I true back to what
has been instilled in me andthat's to say, no, I'm not
(10:04):
seeing the progress that I mightalways wanna see out here in
the world, but if I can make myown little microcosm, if you
will and be able to influencethat and daily find ways to make
people feel good, recognizetheir particular efforts, show
authentic appreciation not justfor their contributions but for
(10:25):
their ongoing existence, right,we are all here to serve a
purpose and enabling people tofeel safe enough to where they
can literally dip into whattheir purpose is and unleash
that.
I think that is where I findinspiration and motivation, but
again, it's really based on thefoundation of those that poured
(10:48):
into me and allowed me to be whoI am.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
You've articulated that so well and I can see, with
the reference to yourgrandparents and your family,
that you've almost absorbed likea sponge both of those two
sides of the corporate elements.
How do you do well by doinggood?
(11:14):
I know from previousconversations you and I are both
aligned on the fact that thetwo don't need to be separate.
You can do well by doing goodand you can use diversity as
that lever for economic growthand prosperity.
Yet at the same time we've alsoabsorbed the philanthropic
nature of humanity and theimportance to do the right thing
(11:39):
from an ethical and a moralstandpoint.
What's super interesting andI'd love us to dive deeper into
this is almost that evolutionover the years.
I can see how it's happenedwith yourself.
You've almost brought those twoworlds together where
historically they might havebeen seen as very.
You're either charitable oryour business.
But how the world has evolvedthrough to your point these
(12:02):
geopolitical crises, changes inthe world with the pandemic and
the ways of working.
Ultimately, never has therebeen a more important time as
there is right now fororganisations to step up.
It's not always easy to do thatin the world of diversity and
the people world.
(12:23):
Yes, I'm biased, but I've saidmany, many times that the role
of diversity and the peoplefunction within organisations.
It's the toughest one in theC-suite because you're
influencing mile wide and you'reinfluencing mile deep and
you're having to communicatewith so many different people,
all against the backdrop of many, many geopolitical, macro,
(12:46):
micro changes and the like.
So you know, let's talk throughsome of that evolution, because
you've kept strong to yourself,you've kept that tenacity to
keep going, because it can beemotionally exhausting.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Absolutely listen.
I'm going to be the last one totell you I don't have those
days.
I absolutely have those days.
You know, heavy is the headthat wears the crown, but I
continue to find things thatmotivate me and I believe that
(13:19):
my ability in which to be ableto adapt and connect I might not
always be, you know, I try tobe swift with the adaption
because you have to right, theworld is moving and so you have
to stay on that axle or youwon't get left, to be honest.
But as I'm working through andtalking to different people and
(13:39):
being able to inspire andencourage them, I then pick
myself back up as well, right,in which to say again, I'm not
always seeing some of theprogress that I'm wanting to see
out here in the world, or maybeon something that I've been
working on, but it's a matter ofyou keep it moving forward.
Or maybe you have to repositionhow you're looking at it or how
(14:02):
you're defining success, andsometimes I literally have to go
back to that day, like Dashaun.
If you can make one person feelappreciated today, if you can
make one person smile today,genuinely smile, because you
have no idea what people aregoing through on a daily basis,
right, and so it's granting thatgrace and that understanding,
(14:23):
and you just never know theimpact that you're going to have
.
And so I just have to believe.
If I, just if I focus on justone, just one, and they focus on
just one, and everyone focuseson just one per day, I think we
can make this entire world abetter place.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
I love that.
It's almost these inclusionnudges.
When you were talking, I wasseeing dominos in my mind or
pushing one over, and it's justthis Me too, me too.
It's lovely, isn't it?
You put in all of that work toget all the dominos into place
and then you push one andactually the profound impact
that you can have is K,absolutely K and I think that's
(15:01):
really brilliant advice as wellfor others who are listening is
we all do have those good andbad days, ultimately, as you say
, but digging deep is whatyou've clearly done.
Digging deep to just make oneor two or three people smile and
feel that they belong, allowthem to bring their true selves
out.
It really creates this almostknock on effect of energy,
(15:26):
absolutely.
So let's talk about some of thesector nuances, then, because
not only do you have the fulltime job I don't know how you do
it actually you have a fulltime job and then you also sit
as a board member and anadvisory board member for the
Alliance for Hospitality andEquity, and then Women Leading
(15:47):
on Travel and Hospitality.
Clearly, the role that you dois something that is
transferable across allindustries, but when you layer
on top of that in hospitality,often at senior levels.
There is less diversity.
Now, how have you come?
You know, what is it?
Some of your top strategies, Iguess, for influencing change in
(16:10):
the industry, because theseorganisations have clearly asked
for the sector expertise, aswell as the experience that you
have in engagement, to pushthings on.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Yeah, so I don't know that I have the perfect answer
to this.
I think I tackled it a few ways.
Listen, everybody is unique,but yet everybody has something
that they truly care about.
So when you're talking aboutinclusion and you're talking
about creating equitableprocesses, sometimes you really
have to just take a step backand figure out what is most
(16:47):
important to that person thatyou're talking to.
And then how do you tie this inand make them see the value and
how important an inclusiveenvironment, how important an
engaged team is If they arebusiness results oriented, that
drives business results.
There's a direct correlation.
So it's making sure that youcan tie those two together and
(17:07):
essentially tell the story.
I also think it's aboutunderstanding the business and
understanding that person, butthen also having a team, knowing
who my allies and my advocatesare.
Right, because understanding Iam a person and I think I have
(17:28):
influence, but I think we allhave influence, and so it's
expanding that team, because itwould be impossible for me to do
it all the work and I have aphenomenal team and my team is
much broader than those thatmight just have a direct
reporting relationship to me,and so you have to foster that
village, if you will, right,when you are trying to move a
(17:52):
bolder uphill, there's a lot ofpeople that have to get behind
that in which to make the changeand see that movement.
And so it's the cultivating ofthat broader group, allowing us
to all focus on what the greatergood is in driving that
direction forward, and then justcontinuing to show up right and
(18:16):
have those honest andtransparent moments, right.
I like to tell my team allright, guys, we've got, you've
got 30 seconds.
Lay it all out there, what'swrong, right.
And then we got to pickourselves up and we have to
laugh about some of these thingsbecause life is short, life is
short and you can really getstuck on some of the things that
(18:37):
absolutely don't matter, and soit's like, ok, that hurt a
little bit.
That's not the outcome I washoping for.
All right now, how can weregroup and essentially try this
again?
And also sometimes determiningthe when, right.
Everything might not be right,good for right now, in this
moment, and so learning to kindof cascade and be agile and
(19:01):
flexible with how you are goingto particularly solve a problem
or present a different solutionso you can get to the outcome
that you so desire.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Oh, my goodness, I feel like I'm having a business.
I said this is brilliant, so itis.
I mean just playing some ofthat back.
So I was like, literally, I wasactually making a couple of
notes there.
I was like the sense of humoras the wrap around saying look,
okay, what are these problems?
A 30 second summary of what iswrong being fine to talk about
those problems, but it soundslike then you've gone into this
(19:34):
pivoting of being very solutionsfocused, because it does take
all of those people to push theboulder up the hill and
fostering the kind of almost avillage mentality, whilst
knowing who those key influencesare in the broader stakeholder
pool, it's going to be key toget that decision to where it
needs to be.
(19:55):
And, talking of 30 seconds, I'dlove us to go into a bit of a
lightning round, if I may.
Whilst I could literally talkto you all day, I'm conscious of
timings, I'd love us to go intoa lightning round and I'm going
to give you about 30 seconds toanswer each of the next
questions.
I'm going to start with success, perhaps the hardest one, but
(20:19):
you mentioned it right there, soa perfect segue.
What does success mean to you,and has that changed over the
years?
Speaker 2 (20:28):
Oh, it's absolutely changed, I think.
Today I've got two young sonsand I need to be present for
them, and what I can't do isshow up for them and be
emotionally exhausted becauseI've given everything out.
So, for me, success is doingwhat I love and finding my
passion and my joy in everythingthat I'm doing and touching.
(20:49):
And so, at work, it'sunderstanding what are the
things that's making thegreatest impact to me, which
might sometimes be somewhatdifferent than what's making the
biggest impact to other people,but so creating that balance
and then at home is beingpresent to take in the moment.
Everybody has told me that itall goes so fast when you are
(21:10):
raising kids, and I want to makesure that I'm not missing some
of those precious moments.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
My goodness, everyone says that Don't know how fast
it goes.
Well, so fast, so fast.
I have a son as well.
He's 18 months old and I swearhe was literally just being born
in the hospital the other day.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
I know I picked up my son last night and I was like,
oh my gosh, how did you get sobig?
What's happening?
You used to fit like, literallyin my stomach.
Now you're so huge.
But it's a moment.
It's a moment and we want themto grow, right.
That's.
That's the thing, that's thethe, the tug and pull of your
heart.
You want to see that growth andyou want to see it always.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
So I'm taking complete segue here because I'm
so interested to ask how old areyour sons and do they know what
they want to be when they'reolder?
Because it sounds like thefamily really does look at each
other in the poor to world ofthe future.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
And that's an excellent question.
So my sons are two and a halfand my my youngest is 14 months,
so they may very well know whatthey want to be in life.
It just hasn't been clearlyarticulated as of yet.
So we shall see.
There's a lot that they'reinterested in.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
You have a two and a half year old as well.
Oh my goodness.
And for those who are listeningon the audio and not looking at
perhaps a snippet of thispodcast, the show on looks
fantastic.
I put extra concealer on undermy eyes because my 18 month old
he is running around noweverywhere and I'm just like, oh
(22:53):
my goodness, the juggle is real.
How would the whole thing?
It melts together in onebeautiful smorgasbord.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
I, I respect you, I salute you, I honor you in this
moment.
I understand what that is like,and it is, it is.
It is no small feat, but thisgoes back to you know, giving
grace, and this is why I alwaysencourage people to give grace.
Who would have known that?
You got no sleep last night?
Because you look flawless, youlook amazing.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Right back at you and yeah, I mean it just goes to
share how important not only thereal models are, but role
models as well.
You know we look at role models.
People talk a lot about rolemodels at dial.
We like to say real modelsbecause literally you've said a
number of times in the podcastis about showing up that
consistency of being in acertain place, being there for
(23:45):
your team even though you maynot feel your best.
That is so, so important.
That is the real world that welive in.
It's not perfect, but it isbeautiful at the same time.
I'm breaking my rules here withthe 30 second answers.
I'm going to ask you two moreReal models and role models.
You talked about yourgrandparents, but who else do
(24:06):
you admire?
I'm sure there's many that havethere been pivotal role models
in your life that have changedyour past?
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Absolutely.
I have a list of those who Iknow and those who I don't know,
right, I've got mentors inseveral different industries and
in sectors that are actuallyaround the world.
One of my former colleaguesthat I used to work with I still
consider him a mentor to thisday, and he lives in the UK, and
(24:37):
so when I'm wanting tounderstand what is the dynamics
there, how are certain thingsworking, I can reach out to him
and we have this reversementoring type relationship.
So I try inspiration andencourage from a lot of
different places, but I'm awareof who are my mentors, who are
(25:01):
my sponsors and advocates, rightAcross the company as well as
across the greater world, and Ithink that's key.
And then, if you think you knowbroader, some of the other
people that inspire me togreatness Michelle Obama, right,
a huge one for me, and I can goback Maya Angelou and her words
(25:22):
and drawing inspiration fromthere, and there's just, there's
so many, there's so many.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
And finally, if you could go back in time and speak
to the young Deshaun, is thereanything that you would say to
yourself back in those collegedays when you were going for
president or anything like that?
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Wow, I actually love this question, but it's always
so hard.
There's a few things I wouldsay is don't be afraid to be
yourself and to make mistakeslike life is a lesson right, and
some of your greatest and mostimpivotable lessons are going to
come from where you might havea missed up, but I would
(26:09):
probably tell myself a milliontimes over that a missed up is
not the end of the world, andsometimes that particular missed
up can lead you on an evenbetter path than where you were
before.
So embrace that and don't beembarrassed.
I am there easily.
So don't be embarrassed andlean into that lesson.
(26:29):
Find mentors and nurture therelationships.
I think I did that, but I feellike I started doing that more
in college and I think I couldhave done that before.
I would reaffirm because I didthis, but take opportunities,
and so I share that with people.
Take the opportunities,especially those that are
outside of your comfort zone,because one of the best projects
(26:52):
that I've been on to date wasthe one that I was just like no,
absolutely, that is not for me.
I do not want to do that.
That does not sound like italigns to stuff that I enjoy or
anything that I want to do andit's been amazing, it's still
one of my greatest achievementsfrom a work perspective today
and then explore the world.
(27:13):
There is so much to learn frombeing able to be open with
people, to embrace others'experiences and cultures and who
they are and where they comefrom, and without judgment, and
so that is always the key.
(27:34):
We are literally anamalgamation of our own
experiences, and so until we'reable to remove that veil and
that weight, that our way is theright way or whatever we were
raised with is the only way Onceyou remove that, you will
realize just how amazinglybeautiful this world is, and
(27:56):
this world is so beautifulbecause of the amazing people in
it.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Mic drop moment Absolutely remarkable, deshawn,
thank you so much.
I personally have learned sucha lot.
I feel a lot of energy justspeaking with you today.
I'm going to do my best tosummarize some of the learning
points from our podcast and I'msure everyone else has enjoyed
(28:25):
it tremendously.
But I love to start with howthe worlds of philanthropic and
doing business well have reallycome together the capability and
the conviction to break throughbarriers and to dig deep when
times are tough, to keep ongoing, because showing up to
(28:48):
many of your earlier points ismore important than anything,
despite the way we're feeling,having a fantastic sense of
humor, especially given all ofthe crazy changes in the world
that we're seeing and the factthat the world of work these
days it has five generations andit's super fast paced.
You said pushing for progressand that really stuck with me.
(29:10):
How you make your own microcosmof energy to keep diving deep
into the purpose, the reason forexistence, the why you do what
you do, being the domino thatpushes all of the others.
And then also I love how youtalk very fluidly about
mentorship, allyship, reversementoring, inspirations, sending
(29:35):
the lift back down.
I think that speaks sobeautifully to the fact that the
world that we live in,especially in diverse and
inclusion in the people business, it is very much an evolution.
You talked about agility andhow important it is to
re-strategize, to change tact,to be tactical sometimes, to be
(29:56):
strategic other times, butactually taking from those
different places, wherever theymay be, wherever they may be
around the world, actually tolearn, to keep absorbing the
different dynamics that arehappening to ultimately bring us
success.
And so hopefully thatsummarizes just a couple of the
(30:18):
areas.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
You are amazing.
Oh my gosh, wow, did I reallysay all that?
I appreciate you.
You made it sound so beautiful.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
I took from your advice to start with.
Like a sponge does, it absorbsthat water and it takes in all
the learnings.
You talked about lifelonglearnings and you talked about
Maya Angelou, one of myfavorites.
But doing the best you canuntil you know better, but
(30:50):
continuing to learn, that isultimately what this feels it
has all been about.
So, deshaun, thank you.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Thank you.
Thank you so much for having me.
You are a joy and you are aninspiration in yourself, so I
appreciate the work that you doand how you show it for others.
Thank, you.
Deshaun.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
My name is Leila McKenzie-Dellas.
You've been listening to theDiverse Inclusive Leaders
podcast.
We would love you to leave areview and hit subscribe.
We've actually had over 60,000downloads now, so Domino's has
been a theme today.
Please pass on and share.
I know that many people canlearn from DeShaun's wise words.
(31:30):
Today.
You can visit us on ApplePodcast or Spotify, download
your favorite podcast channel orhead straight to the website
wwwdarkglobalorg.
Forward slash podcast.
Take care and we look forwardto seeing you again very soon.
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