LaTosha Kerley is a human resources executive based in Nashville, Tennessee. She holds a Master of Science in Human Resource Management from Strayer University and has built a career spanning employment compliance, workforce strategy, employee relations, talent management, and policy development.
Her path to leadership was anything but linear. After leaving high school twice, LaTosha returned to earn her high school diploma and, after having her first child at 20, went on to pursue higher education—ultimately completing her graduate education through sheer determination, persistence, and an unwavering commitment to growth. Today, she is recognized for her calm, observational leadership style and her firm belief that organizations fail when they reduce human talent to mere credentials and timelines.
How do you define success today, and has that definition changed over time?
Success used to feel like a destination to me—something you reached when the resume looked right or the title reflected your effort. I spent a long time chasing that version. What I understand now is that success is about the quality of the work and the consistency of showing up, regardless of external markers. Shifting my focus from the “title” to the “work” changed everything for me.
What was the hardest moment in your journey, and what did it teach you?
The periods that looked the least promising from the outside were the ones that built the most character. Dropping out of high school twice isn’t usually on a highlight reel, but it taught me about starting over. You cannot advocate for someone else’s second chance if you haven’t lived through the need for one yourself. That experience is the foundation for everything I do in HR.
Is measuring success through compliance metrics and turnover rates too narrow a frame?
It’s part of the frame, but not the whole picture. Metrics tell you what is happening, but they don’t tell you why.
- Why are people leaving?
- Why are policies creating friction?
Organizations that only chase metrics miss the story underneath. The ones that ask “why” are the ones that actually fix the problem.
How do you think about failure in your own career?
I think about it as data. Something didn’t go as planned, so I ask: What do I do with this information? I don’t spend time on self-criticism because it isn’t useful. I stay honest about what happened, understand it, and move with it rather than against it.
What habits have been most important to how you work?
Observation. As a natural introvert, I used to think my quietness was a limitation. I eventually realized that the listening that happens before the talking is where the real work occurs. If you watch carefully, you see where things are going before they get there. That is a massive advantage over being the loudest voice in the room.
What does success look like for the people you work with?
It looks like them being seen clearly. People perform differently when they feel genuinely respected and understood. This isn’t a “soft” HR idea; it has direct implications for retention and engagement. When an organization gets that right, that is success.
What advice would you give someone struggling to find their footing?
The timeline is not the measure. Many people carry the weight of feeling “behind,” as if they missed an on-ramp to a standard path. There is no standard path. Whether you find your footing at twenty-two or forty, if you do the work honestly, you will get somewhere meaningful.
How do you know when you have done the work well?
When I don’t need to say so. I know the work is done well when:
- The systems hold.
- Potential escalations are handled without drama.
- Someone who felt overlooked starts showing up differently because the environment changed.
The best work doesn’t always announce itself—and it isn’t supposed to.