Indeed Leadership Connect Member Spotlight: Special Pride Edition

This is the third in a series of Indeed Leadership Connect member profiles. Indeed Leadership Connect is a community of senior leaders in HR and TA. Learn more about the program and apply.

In June, many companies fly the rainbow flag to support their LGBTQ+ employees. But are they being supportive — or performative? 

As a proud gay man and successful TA leader, Erik Kershner has an opinion on this and other topics. Kershner, based in Seattle, is the senior director of Talent and Engagement for Dallas-based WIS International, a sales, marketing and retail solutions organization. Prior to his time with WIS International, he spent time with The Walt Disney Company in numerous operations roles. The following is an edited version of our recent conversation.

How did you get into talent attraction? 

I spent almost 10 years in retail management on the West Coast. As a store manager, I developed a passion for training and development. I moved to central Florida and for 10 years worked at Disney World, a lifelong goal. 

Eventually, I returned to the West Coast and became a regional director for an inventory services organization overseeing the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Northern California. That organization has since merged with WIS International, where I was promoted into the role I have today. 

Is there connective tissue between hospitality, the industry you were in at Disney World; inventory solutions; and talent attraction?

Helping others. Hospitality is about helping others do what they want to do on their own time. Talent attraction and engagement is about helping people grow in their careers and find the right place — the right role. 

What did you learn at Disney about the difference between being a manager and a leader?

Disney taught me a lot about what leadership truly is, which changed my career trajectory completely from management into leadership, and then into talent, training and development. 

Managers dig in and get stuff done. Leaders guide processes; they are more strategic and work with partners to accomplish goals. Put another way: Leadership is about engaging with others to be successful; managers engage with themselves to be successful. 

Managers can be leaders, of course, but not every leadership role is a management role. 

What are the biggest challenges you’re facing in your role today? 

Personally, just trying to navigate the highly dichotomous world we all live in.  

That said, one of the ongoing challenges I face in my role is building and expanding on new and innovative ways to engage, train and develop our new and tenured employees alike. Keeping things fresh and exciting! I’m always working with the team to build upon our best-in-class speed and accuracy in the field while also giving our leaders new tools and resources to tackle the business ahead and grow their own skills.  

Working alongside my peers and leadership team, we continue to build upon decades of amazing legacy knowledge, experience. and exceptional service, all while taking on new challenges as a strategic partner for our customers, both internally and externally.

Has the Indeed Leadership Connect program helped you in any way? If so, how?

I’m what would be called an “extroverted introvert.” If given the choice, I’m not going to hang around other people. The Leadership Connect program helped me shake up that part of myself and interact with others more easily. 

Through Leadership Connect, I found another tribe. Not everyone I meet in Leadership Connect will agree with me on everything, and we’re not all in the same industries. But we listen to and learn from what each other has to say. I have never experienced that in my career to the level I have experienced with Leadership Connect. 

June is Pride month. What does pride mean to you at work and in your personal life?

At my company, Pride is one of our core values. We have an acronym that we use: SPIRIT. It stands for Service, Pride, Integrity, Results, Innovation and Teamwork. At a company level, it’s about taking pride in what you do. We call that “Own It!”

On a personal level, I’m proud to be an openly gay man. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished and of the work my team accomplishes. So for me, being proud is not an ego thing. It’s about taking ownership of who you are and what you do. 

When we think about LGBTQ+ Pride in June, we think about parades and festivals, and that’s all amazing. For me, part of being proud is authentically being myself at work. Not worrying that people will think differently about my ideas or what I do because I’m openly gay. Those ideas and actions have nothing to do with my orientation, but my orientation adds to the fabric of who I am and what I bring to the table.

I cannot be authentically myself if I am hiding a piece of who I am. One of the things that makes for a strong leader is being authentic — letting people know who you are. I am who I am, and I am proud of him.

When did you come out? 

I knew I was gay when I was in elementary school, but I did not come out until college. Through those years, I had my family. They have been amazing; they’re everything to me. For my career in those early years, there wasn’t anyone who was out and proud that I could look up to; I navigated that on my own.

Over the years, I’ve worked for the gamut of folks, from extremely accepting to not at all accepting and everything in between. Today, I’m fortunate that my leadership team supports me completely. It remains my hope that leaders who may be struggling with their orientation can look to me as a successful business leader, someone who beams with pride and continues to make a positive impact in my role.  

What was coming out like for you?

Someone told me that the first time you tell someone you’re gay is always the hardest. After that, it gets easier every time. No truer words have been spoken! The first people I told were my mom and my aunt — and they were the hardest ones to tell. After that, it got easier.

What advice do you have for employers during Pride month — or any month — to support their LGBTQ+ workforce in an authentic way? 

Pride month is an amazing time to celebrate and support your LGBTQ+ employees, especially right now. However, do not make it about the month, because that can come across as performative. Make it about the employees who work for you, all of them.

No matter the time of year, help every employee feel accepted, valued and appreciated for what they do each and every day. You do not need to fly the rainbow flag in June to be an organization that truly respects the pride of all your workers.