In our “Ask me anything” series, Dell Technologies executives sit down with rising talent to answer questions about their career journeys, work-life balance and advice that’s guided them. Here, Deonte Thompson, senior director, program management office for the client product group, chats with De’Vonte Parker, marketing analyst.
De’Vonte Parker: You’ve been able to create a successful nonprofit organization while working at one of the best tech companies for 21 years. What is your key to balancing both of these?
Deonte Thompson: At the beginning of my career, it was very difficult. I have always been very active in the community, but I kept my professional work and my nonprofit endeavors separate. I worked full-time at Dell and spent countless hours on evenings and weekends focusing on community activities, which was unsustainable. However, when Dell shifted its vision to be more human-centered, “Creating technologies that drive human progress,” I noticed Dell’s values and my personal values began to converge to a point where my two worlds blended. Dell supported a lot of my work in the community via grants and donations, and I became a lot more active in ERGs that aligned with my interests. I leveraged partnerships to work smarter and more efficiently, which helped tremendously with my work-life balance.
If you had to start all over in your personal and professional career, what would you do differently or change, if anything?
This is a tough question because I believe every failure I’ve experienced and every mistake I’ve made has taught valuable lessons that have fueled my personal and professional growth. A friend once told me, “There are fortunes in your failures,” and that mindset has helped me reframe perceived setbacks. However, If I had to start over, I would focus more on defining my long-term vision and surrounding myself with a strong personal board of directors who could advise me along the way. While it’s great to learn from your mistakes, some mistakes cost you time which is our most precious commodity. I would much rather learn from the mistakes of others and get to my destination faster.
While it’s great to learn from your mistakes, some mistakes cost you time which is our most precious commodity. I would much rather learn from the mistakes of others and get to my destination faster.
—Deonte Thompson, sr. director, program management office, client product group
I’ve been interested in community organizing for some time and had aspirations of creating a nonprofit myself. What advice would you give someone looking to start in this field?
I’ve led a nonprofit for 15 years, and I’ve learned to allow your passion to lead you in the direction of your purpose. Your purpose will connect you to the right people, and the right people will be multipliers of your vision. If you can build a team that is passionately aligned to the purpose and vision, then your organization will be sustained over time. One of the most difficult skills in leadership is to influence without positional power and to manage a team that’s not being paid. Focus on passion, purpose and people and the execution and results will come.
What is one of your favorite quotes that you live by that has helped you reach the heights you have today?
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Everybody can be great—because anybody can serve.” This quote is at the core of who I am. I believe greatness cannot be measured; it can only be acknowledged and demonstrated. I demonstrate greatness by serving my family, my team, my community, my country, my world and my God. We all have a calling to advance the mission of humanity by leaving the world better than we found it, and we can accomplish it by serving a purpose higher than ourselves.
Being with any company for 21 years is a huge milestone. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced, and how did you overcome it?
During the first five years of my career at Dell, the biggest challenge I faced was my own personal internal struggle of not believing I was good enough to accomplish my goals. There is no microaggression greater than the ones I have secretly committed against myself. We often mistake microaggressions as only being unintentional discriminations against a group, but I’ve learned the microaggressions we commit against ourselves are disruptively more impactful. Every time I secretly told myself I wasn’t talented enough for a role, experienced enough to lead a team or polished enough to be an exec, I committed microaggressions against myself, which eventually led to counting myself out. I had to learn how to manage my internal negative self-talk by replacing it with positive verbal truths about my capability. As a result, my confidence grew, and I believed, without a doubt, that I could do anything.
You may be the ‘only one’ in the room, but you are not the only one in the moment. Learn from the past, study the present and have a vision for the future.
—Deonte Thompson, sr. director, program management office, client product group
What is one piece of advice you would give to the future generation and the one shaping our future today who will soon fill your shoes?
You may be the “only one” in the room, but you are not the only one in the moment. Learn from the past, study the present and have a vision for the future. Be a continual learner and look for ways to add value to a mission and vision greater than your own. Commit your energy to serving, and others will commit their energy to your personal vison. Your journey is unique to you, and your path will look different than everyone else’s. Embrace it, and have as much fun as humanly possible.
Read more “Ask me anything” interviews.