Influential Woman · HR Consulting

Tiffany Deans

SPHR, SHRM-SCP

CEO + Executive Strategist, GroundingWork LLC

Washington, DC

1Award received

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Bachelor's Degree in HR Management Degree Harvard Business School Certificate in Design Thinking Cert SPHR Cert SHRM-SCP Cert Harvard Business School Certificate in Design Thinking Member Chamber of Commerce (Alexandria) Member Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) Member EO Accelerator Board

Her Story

About Tiffany

I started in HR through a summer internship at an HR office right out of high school. I always knew I wanted to help people, but I just didn't know in what capacity, so the internship introduced me to HR and I liked it, so I just stuck with it. After 22 years in the industry, I reached a point where I wanted to do more and make a bigger impact. I felt like I wasn't able to really make a big impact at the level that I was at, so I decided to pivot and shift to working directly with small and medium-sized businesses. Now I've owned my own business for 7 years, where I can have more of a direct impact on their organizations and their people. My main area of expertise is employee experience and strategic planning. I work from a home office but also meet with clients at their sites. My typical day involves managing multiple projects, meeting with clients, and guiding them through various situations. I have to be very flexible because in an industry with people, a lot of unexpected things come up, and sometimes my whole day will completely shift based on what happens. But I love it.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Tiffany

01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

My mentor really helped shape my career early on by pushing me to do the research. When I first got started, I would ask her questions like 'what about this, what about this?' and she would respond by asking me 'well, did you... what did you do? Like, have you, you know, looked into it?' That's been something I carry with me - to do my due diligence in everything. I really believe in the power of learning and research, and not just taking shortcuts just to get an answer, but really understanding my field so that I can stand on that and really know what I'm talking about. The thing I always say to my clients is I'm not gonna go to jail for them, and I don't want them to either. So I am very... I have to do my research and do all my due diligence.

02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

I would say to learn how to set your boundaries early. People will always have needs, but learning how to set your personal boundaries between work and personal time is important to do that early, so that you're setting the standard and people know how to move. And then also, don't feel bad about doing that. Because a lot of times, even when I would do that, and honestly I still have to work through that myself, but it's like 'oh, I feel bad,' but you can't feel bad about it. Do it up front, set your boundaries up front, and then everyone will know coming in how you work, how you operate, and they'll respect it.

03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

I think the only challenge I can think of, because I feel like a lot of my challenges are going to be the same because people are gonna be people, is my competition right now, in a sense, would be AI. And not in the sense that I am afraid or intimidated by it, but I would have clients that would lean into and lean on AI versus me as an HR consultant being able to really guide them through things.

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