I Know I Belong When...

Innovation Unbiased
  • 5.0 (12)
  • Management

Bold voices. Curious stories. Authentic Impact.What does it really mean to belong?Not just to be invited... To be seen. Heard. Needed."I Know I Belong When…" is more than a podcast; it’s a movement. A mirror. A megaphone. It’s where raw truth meets radical hope.Each episode brings you unfiltered conversations with people who’ve wrestled with the question of belonging in the spaces that shape our lives: workplaces, schools, communities, and digital worlds. From the boardroom to the breakroom, from the sidewalks to our living rooms, our guests share the exact moment they knew they were in, and the moments they knew they weren’t.______This is not about feel-good soundbites. It’s about radical accountability.We explore:~  Where equity is the foundation, not a divider.~  The steps it takes to build diverse cultures, not only to survive, though to prosper.~  Ensure inclusion is not just a checkbox; it is a commitment.~  Where accessibility is not an afterthought, but the amplification to thrive.______At the heart of our conversation is the Belonging Formula:"Belonging = (Inclusion × (Diversity + Equity)) ^ Accessibility."It’s not just math; it’s a mindset. A blueprint. A challenge to every leader, builder, and changemaker: Are you creating spaces where every identity is not only welcomed, however, is valued and respected?______Here’s how we do it:[ We Say Names ]Names are not nicknames. They carry legacy, identity, and power. Inspired by #AlwaysChristopher #NeverChris, we explore how honoring someone’s name is the first act of belonging.[ The Moment of Belonging ]A defining story. A turning point. The moment our guest knew: I belong here. We unpack how that moment shaped their confidence, creativity, and connection.[ Navigating Non-Belonging ]We don’t shy away from the hard stuff. Guests share what it felt like to be excluded, erased, or underestimated, and how they reclaimed their space and voice.[ Sustaining Belonging ]What does it take to keep that feeling alive? We explore the systems, rituals, and leadership practices that make belonging a daily reality, not a one-time event.______Why it matters:This podcast is for anyone who’s ever asked: Do I really belong here?And for every leader who’s ready to answer: Yes, and here’s how we’ll prove it.Whether you’re building inclusive teams, designing accessible tech, or rethinking your own role in equity work, these stories will challenge you to show up differently. To lead with intention. To listen with humility. To act with courage.Because belonging isn’t a destination, it’s a practice. And it starts with listening.

  1. 5d ago

    The brilliance is already present: sustaining rooms of neuroinclusion with Pasha Marlowe

    The most brilliant person in any room may be the one no one thought to hear. Pasha Marlowe has spent more than thirty years changing that. In this episode of I Know I Belong When…, Pasha joins host Christopher Bylone, Principal Strategist, for a conversation about worth, design, and the quiet decision to know you belong to yourself before you ask anyone else to make room for you.  Pasha is a global speaker on neuroinclusion and relational intelligence, a mental health professional, and the author of Creating Cultures of Neuroinclusion. Her work has reached teams at Microsoft, IBM, SHRM, T-Mobile, and Hasbro, and it carries a single stubborn idea: you do not unlock creative capacity by collecting creative people. You unlock it by building a place where every mind can offer its own kind of genius.  This is a story that lives in more than one arena. It begins inside a person, in the moment Pasha decided her own worth was not up for a vote. It moves into workplaces and conferences, where a seating chart can quietly tell someone they matter less. It reaches into home, community, and society, where the same design choices decide who is heard. Belonging in the workplace is part of it, not the whole of it.  Must-hear insights and key moments  Why belonging is something a person knows, not something an organization hands out, and what shifts when leaders accept that. The two-day story of a speaker event in Detroit, and the decision that turned worthlessness into knowing she belongs to herself. How a room gets designed to hear every mind, from seating and sound to sensory needs, and why conferences model the habits offices copy. The reason psychological safety is not real until the least safe person is safe, a test most inclusive culture efforts skip. What ageism and post-menopausal invisibility taught Pasha about choosing to be more visible, not less. Pasha's standout quotes  “There's multiple ways to be brilliant and multiple ways to be a genius. There's not one typical way or one, quote-unquote, ‘normal way.’” “If I belong to myself and not to them and not try to gain their belonging, then, then I could actually relax and just be comfortable.” “I don't feel like we create belonging. I don't feel like an organization or a space creates a sense of belonging. I think it's the people who feel like they belong.” “You can't have psychological safety until the least safe person feels safe.” “Everybody has access needs, supporting sensory needs. Leaders have needs, too.” “If I share something, then all of a sudden that creates more chance of psychological safety for you to then share something that you need.” “I know I belong when I remember that I have always belonged because I am.” Why this episode matters  Belonging is often treated as one more pillar to stack beside inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility. Pasha reframes it as the outcome of that work, the thing people arrive at when the room is built well. Her language gives listeners something to use: a way to name their own worth, a test for whether a space is truly safe, and a simple first move, sharing a need, that any person can make this week. This is human-centered innovation applied to the most human question there is, whether a person knows they belong.  Who should listen  This conversation is for anyone building a place where people can thrive. It is for a person working out their own worth and learning to know they belong to themselves first. It is for parents making a home or chosen family, and for organizers and neighbors widening the circle. It is for people managers, human resources leaders, and inclusion practitioners shaping people's experience and strategic inclusion across remote and hybrid teams. Anyone searching for language for belonging in everyday life has a reason to listen. An Innovation Unbiased Production https://www.iknowibelongwhen.com/about-the-show

    The brilliance is already present: sustaining rooms of neuroinclusion with Pasha Marlowe

  2. Aug 10

    Fix the process, not the person: what unmasking taught me about systems with Grant Harris

    What happens when a capable person stops asking what is wrong with them and starts asking what is wrong with the room around them? That question anchors this conversation, and it reaches far past any office.  In this episode of I Know I Belong When…, host Christopher Bylone welcomes Grant Harris, MBA, Certified Diversity Executive, neuro-inclusive speaker, human-centered performance strategist, and founder of GTH Consulting. Grant is known for one deceptively simple charge to leaders: fix your process, not your people. He is also a late-diagnosed autistic leader, a three-time author, a Hall of Fame athlete, and a man who has memorized every country's flag.  Grant joins Christopher to trace his own before and after, the years he spent believing he was the problem, and the moment he knew he belonged in a room full of his people. His story moves across a whole life. It lives in the self, in the quiet work of knowing who you are is enough. It lives at home and in chosen family, where the people closest to him learned how his brain actually works. It lives in community, where he found others who show up differently and know they belong anyway. And it lives at work, where he helps organizations build belonging in the workplace by redesigning the systems around people instead of labeling the people. This is a conversation about human-centered innovation, strategic inclusion, and the language for belonging that one honest story can offer.  Must-hear insights and key moments  Why Grant reframes workplace friction as a design problem, not a people problem, and how that shift changes who gets blamed. What a late autism diagnosis unlocked in his life, and the difference between living inside a struggle and having language for it. The moment he knew he belonged, in front of hundreds of neurodivergent peers, and why it took him time to reach it. How pressures from society and home follow people into work, and why leaders cannot treat the two as separate. The difference between performing and performative, and how the wrong meeting rhythms quietly burn people out. The one action every leader can take on Monday to catch a misread before it costs someone. Grant's standout quotes  "So the external always influences the internal." "It's not always-- it ain't always the people, uh, in the middle." "We need to move from friction to flow." "You don't have to do work that quickly just because I give it to you." "Well, this is how my brain works. This is how I show up. I communicate this way. I speak this way." "Help me help you create that path." "Didn't have to consciously hide anything, didn't have to retract anything, didn't have to hold back anything, and know that the people around me were doing the same." "If I can be me in that environment for at least a moment... The goal is to be me all the time." Why this episode matters  Grant offers a rare double lens. He is the strategist who teaches leaders to interrogate their systems, and he is the person those systems once misread. That pairing turns an abstract idea, belonging versus inclusion, into something you can feel. Inclusion is the work of designing fair systems. Belonging is what a person knows when those systems finally let them show up whole. This episode gives a clear way to tell the two apart, in every arena of life, not only at the office.  Who should listen  This episode is for anyone working out who they are and where they add value, especially those learning about their own neurodivergence later in life. It is for parents and partners building a home or a chosen family who want to understand a loved one. It is for community builders, organizers, and people of faith creating spaces where everyone knows they belong. And it is for HR leaders, people managers, ERG champions, and inclusion practitioners shaping people's experience and inclusive culture at work. If you are searching for language to name belonging in your own life, this one is for you. An Innovation Unbiased Production https://www.iknowibelongwhen.com/about-the-show

    Fix the process, not the person: what unmasking taught me about systems with Grant Harris

  3. Aug 3

    Winning and humanity: the trade-off was always a lie with Kate McKinnon

    There is a story we tell ourselves about high-performance work: that winning costs you the people, that greatness and humanity cannot share the same room. In this episode of I Know I Belong When…, HR executive, coach, and founder Kate McKinnon shows that the choice itself was never real. Across more than 15 years in human resources, most recently as head of people inside the pressure-cooked world of sports, Kate built cultures people refused to leave, earning recognition as both a Most Loved Workplace and one of the Best Employers in Sports. Host, Christopher Bylone, joins her to trace how belonging in the workplace grows from something quieter and more personal: the moment a person knows they can bring their whole self to the room.  This is not a conversation about choosing humanity over results. It is about how the two rise together. Kate names the false trade-off many leaders still believe, then offers a human-centered way through it, one rooted in authentic leadership, strategic inclusion, and the daily practice of building belonging. She traces her own moment of knowing she belonged, the day vulnerability stopped reading as weakness. She also names a moment she knew she did not, and the lesson it taught her about who culture chooses to include. Whether you lead a team, guide a family, or are still working out where you add value, this story gives you language for belonging you can carry into every part of your life.  Must-hear insights & key moments  Why performance and humanity are not a trade-off, and what leaders lose when they believe they are The quiet moment Kate knew she belonged, and how vulnerability became her strength rather than her liability Why exclusion works as a choice, not an accident, and what it costs when leaders look away Why Kate starts every culture conversation with inclusion and belonging before diversity and equity The hiring, succession, and values questions that reveal whether an organization truly builds belonging One concrete action any listener can take this week to make a space more human Kate's standout quotes  “Oh my gosh, this is the first time I’ve felt like I can actually be myself.” “if you allow people to make those choices to exclude others, people that naturally will exclude others will make that choice.” “a culture is only as good as the worst behavior the leadership is willing to tolerate” “I think belonging helps people be their best self. It helps them be their best performers.” “Just give people a little grace. Assume positive intent.” “When I can bring my full self to something and empower others to do the same” Why this episode matters  Belonging is not a perk that arrives after the real work. It is the foundation the rest is built on. Kate makes the case that when people know they belong, they bring more of themselves, and the work gets better because of it. Her story reframes belonging in the workplace as the outcome of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility done well, not one more box to check. For any leader who has felt the pull between hitting the numbers and honoring the humans, this conversation offers a way to stop choosing and start building both.  Who should listen  This episode is for anyone searching for language to name belonging in their own life. It speaks to people still working out who they are and where they add value. It speaks to parents and anyone building a home or a chosen family around a welcoming table. It speaks to community builders, organizers, and neighbors who widen the circle. And yes, it speaks to HR leaders, people managers, and inclusion practitioners who carry culture at work. Wherever your life reaches across self, home, community, work, and society, there is a reason to press play. An Innovation Unbiased Production https://www.iknowibelongwhen.com/about-the-show

    Winning and humanity: the trade-off was always a lie with Kate McKinnon

  4. Jul 27

    Joy is the fuel, not the reward: rethinking leadership, home, and self with Greg De Koker

    Most of us were taught to earn joy. Land the results, hit the numbers, and then maybe you get to feel good. Greg De Koker spent a career proving that this is backward. On this episode of I Know I Belong When…, Christopher Bylone sits down with Greg De Koker, a brand and culture transformation expert, a bestselling co-author, and the mind behind the forthcoming book Joy Squared: The Hidden Power of Joy in Leadership.  Greg carries a mission with a number attached to it: forty-four million people living, working, and leading with more joy, on purpose. That mission grew from a pattern he could not ignore across hundreds of stakeholder interviews. He named it the global joy deficit, and then he built an ecosystem to help close it.  This conversation moves from the boardroom to the family cottage and back again. Greg reframes joy as strategy rather than a perk, and he shows how a single childhood moment reshaped what home means to him. This is a story about building belonging and creating belonging in everyday life, across self, home, community, and work.  [MUST-HEAR INSIGHTS & KEY MOMENTS] • Why joy is the fuel for performance, not the reward that arrives after it  • The global joy deficit, and what any leader can do to reduce suffering at work  • Culture by design or culture by default, and why intention beats hoping for the best  • The day a lost ten-year-old learned that home is a feeling, not an address  • Calling people up instead of calling them out, and why judgment rarely helps anyone grow  • The one honest question at a gathering of friends that opened a door for everyone in the room  • How Greg caught his own bias in real time and chose curiosity over a quick verdict  [GREG’S STANDOUT QUOTES] • “I think it's the most renewable source of energy and the most underutilized asset, and the biggest competitive advantage, and the best strategy a leader can embrace, which is joy.”  • “Every company does. It's either by design or default.”  • “Home isn't just a physical dwelling. It was a feeling and I could just feel it in my body.”  • “I like the expression of calling people up versus calling them out.”  • “In that moment, people don't need more judgment. They're already judging themselves.”  • “If I'm feeling that way, maybe some of the other guys are, too.”  • “When I feel at home, that's when I know I belong.”  [WHY THIS EPISODE MATTERS] Belonging is not a workplace program. It is the value a person adds to their family, their community, their team, and themselves. Greg gives listeners plain language for that truth, drawn straight from his own life. When leaders treat joy as strategy and treat people as though they already know they belong, culture changes. When parents create that same knowing at home, children carry it everywhere they go. This episode connects authentic leadership, strategic inclusion, and human-centered innovation to something anyone can practice today.  [WHO SHOULD LISTEN] This one is for anyone working out who they are and where they add value. It is for parents and people building a home or a chosen family. It is for community builders, organizers, and friends who want to check in more honestly. It is for HR leaders, people managers, and inclusion practitioners who care about people's experience, inclusive culture, and belonging in the workplace. And it is for anyone searching for language to name a sense of belonging in their own life. Everyone has a reason to listen, not only people leaders.  Press play, and ask yourself the question Greg leaves with all of us: what have you been putting off that would bring you joy? An Innovation Unbiased Production https://www.iknowibelongwhen.com/about-the-show

    Joy is the fuel, not the reward: rethinking leadership, home, and self with Greg De Koker

  5. Jul 20

    The cost of staying: Knowing your worth in every room with Öykü Api

    Belonging is bigger than any office. It begins in the quiet knowledge that who you are is already enough, and it follows you into every room you walk into for the rest of your life. In this episode of I Know I Belong When, host Christopher Bylone sits down with Öykü Api, a thought leader in inclusion, change, and leadership whose story stretches across self, home, community, and work. Öykü spent twenty years inside corporate finance and walked out with three published books, a Cornell credential in women’s leadership and diversity, a law degree, and a passport stamped on all seven continents, Antarctica included. Underneath the resume sits one clarifying thesis: when a career, a relationship, or a place stops serving your growth, the cost of staying becomes higher than the cost of leaving. This is a conversation about knowing your worth in every room. Öykü reframes a sense of belonging as something a person carries inward first, not something a title, a team, or another person’s validation hands over. She gives listeners language for belonging that reaches from the self outward, into chosen family, into community, and into the daily work of building inclusive culture. Through her first-person story you will find new words for authentic leadership, strategic inclusion, and the quiet courage it takes to leave a room that no longer fits. This is storytelling as strategy, and proof that creating belonging in everyday life begins with you. Must-hear insights and key moments: The thesis that staying can cost more than leaving, and how Öykü applies it to career, relationships, and home. Why belonging begins with the self, and how she separates acceptance from the deeper knowledge of belonging to yourself. The internal question “I deserve better,” and how it surfaces at every major turning point. Why she traded a bucket list for a “best moment list,” and what that reveals about a life worth remembering. How her name, which means “story” in Turkish, shapes the way she sees the humanity in every stranger she meets. What standing on unfamiliar ground, including Antarctica, teaches about adapting and knowing you belong anywhere. Her honest reflection on the most expensive room she stayed in too long, and the promise she made to herself at forty-five.  Öykü’s standout quotes: “I cannot confuse belonging with staying in something that no longer feels true and alive for me, because life is, I think, too short and precious for that.” “You belong to yourself, your truth, your values, your passions more than anything else.” “Instead of having a bucket list, I keep what I call a best moment list for myself, a collection of the moments that made me feel like truly alive, present, happy, being me.” “I actually think that’s not a sentence, but that’s more like a question we should all ask ourselves from time to time.” “Curiosity doesn’t let you settle into just one version of yourself, so it keeps nudging you, and there’s always more to explore.” “I love carrying the name Story because it reminds me that everyone I pass by is a living story with the richness and with the complexity.” “When you belong to yourself first, you don’t need to fit into every space. You can show up as the way you are anywhere, because you are comfortable in your own skin.”  Why this episode matters This episode frames belonging as the outcome of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility work, not as one more pillar to manage. Öykü offers practical language for belonging and a model for authentic leadership rooted in self-trust rather than position. Her story shows the difference between belonging and inclusion, and it carries that difference across every arena of a life, from the self to chosen family to community to work. For anyone building belonging in remote or hybrid teams, or simply at their own kitchen table, it is a fresh, human-centered take. Who should listen This conversation is for anyone working out who they are and where they fit. It is for parents and people building a home or a chosen family, for community builders, organizers, and people of faith, and for HR leaders, people managers, and inclusion practitioners shaping a stronger people experience. It is for the career changer weighing a leap and the founder building something purposeful. If you are searching for language to name belonging in your own life, or another word for belonging that finally fits, Öykü’s story will meet you where you are.  An Innovation Unbiased Production https://www.iknowibelongwhen.com/about-the-show

    The cost of staying: Knowing your worth in every room with Öykü Api

  6. Jul 13

    When everyone in the room is seen: Human-first leadership with Dean Carter

    What does it mean to lead so that everyone in the room knows they belong? Our guest has spent more than 25 years answering that question, and his answer reshapes how we think about people, work, and life. Meet Dean Carter. He has served as chief human resources officer four separate times, at Fossil, Patagonia, Sears and Kmart, and Guild, earning national recognition for reinventing the future of work. His book, "Employee Experience Design: How to Co-Create Work Where People and Organizations Thrive," became an Amazon number one bestseller. Now he leads Instill, an AI-native culture operating system built on a single, human-first conviction, that technology should protect people and culture rather than thin them out. In this conversation with host Christopher Bylone, Dean shares the story of when he knew he belonged and the harder moments when he did not. He moves from a Texas office under the sodomy laws, to a community that once shut him out, to a Santa Barbara theater where shy kids sang off-key and knew they belonged. His through-line is human-first leadership, the daily practice of making sure the quiet person, the new mother, and the overlooked kid are seen. This is belonging as a whole-life reality across self, home, community, work, and society. Must-hear insights and key moments Why Dean believes in regenerative HR, and how Patagonia's shift from doing less harm to saving the home planet reshaped his view of people experience.The sentence he repeats in every room, that for what you put into your work, the company should return equal or greater value to your life.The Pearle Vision moment under the sodomy laws, when a leader named Roy told him he was safe, and Dean knew he belonged.The day his own community excluded him, and what it taught him about strategic inclusion and who gets left out.The nursing-companion benefit that told working mothers they belonged without anyone saying a word.The AHA Santa Barbara story, where a community gave its most overlooked kids a standing ovation.A simple, human-centered habit anyone can use this week to help one person know they belong. Dean's standout quotes “For what I put into my work, I believe the company puts back equal or greater value to my life.”“I wanted to be head of HR that day so that someday when I sit in this seat, make sure everyone feels like they belong, like Roy.”“I feel like I have to always speak up for the person in the room that it doesn't feel like they belong because it's just the right thing to do.”“Everything you have for your right to say that I am a cisgendered, straight passing gay white male, that I can't come into the room, I fought for every one of you in this room.”“Just that single thing says, as a working mom, I belong.”“Tell me what's the ROI of your parking lot. Do you have one?”“Find the person no one's talking to. Find the awkward person.” Why this episode matters Belonging is bigger than the workplace, and Dean's life shows why. His story connects the courage to come out, the work of building an inclusive culture, and the quiet systems that tell people they are wanted. It reframes belonging as the outcome of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility, rather than as another pillar on a slide. It models authentic leadership grounded in lived experience and what creating belonging in everyday life asks of us. Who should listen This episode is for everyone, not only people leaders. It is for anyone working out who they are and where they add value. It is for parents and people building a home or a chosen family. It is for community builders, organizers, and people of faith who widen the circle in civic life. It is for HR leaders, people managers, and inclusion practitioners who want human-centered innovation. And it is for anyone searching for language to name a sense of belonging in their own life, across self, home, community, work, and society. An Innovation Unbiased Production https://www.iknowibelongwhen.com/about-the-show

    When everyone in the room is seen: Human-first leadership with Dean Carter

  7. Jul 6

    The behaviors we built, on purpose: A season 3 look back

    Belonging is not built at the office. It is built wherever a person is, at the dinner table, inside a circle of friends, in the places we worship and organize, and at work too. Season 3 of I Know I Belong When… proved that twelve times over. In this special season 3 recap, host Christopher Bylone, Principal Strategist at Innovation Unbiased, brings every guest from the season back together to examine what it takes to be fully inclusive. Twelve guests. Six behaviors. One question asked again and again: what does it actually look like to build a place where people know they belong? The answer frames the episode and its title. The question is never whether a person fits. The question is what they add. This is not a highlight reel. It is a language lesson in building belonging across every part of life, anchored by the Inclusive Behaviors Framework and the Belonging Formula that ground all of Innovation Unbiased's work. You will hear a bank CEO lead with her humanity before her title, a hip hop journalist find belonging in a circle that asks what you bring, and a leader living with blindness move the barrier off the person and onto the design. If you have ever searched for language to name belonging, in yourself, your home, your community, or your team, this episode hands it to you in the voices that earned it. Must-hear insights and key moments Belonging is built, never handed over, usually in a moment small enough to miss.The question is what they add, not whether they fit. Dr. Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander reframes difference as what makes the whole picture warm.Brooke Sullivan shows that listening is the work, the small act that costs nothing and changes everything.Accuracy is not the same as care. Sarah A. Scala separates a name spelled correctly from a person who chose to learn it.Silence is not neutral. Mike Davis names why hesitation quietly sides with whatever already holds power.Access is a design choice, not a favor. Daniel Hodges and Simona Scarpaleggia move the barrier off the person and onto a world we can redesign. Season 3's standout quotes “I have also learned the importance of pieces that don't seem to fit together, that do, and end up creating a huge, big, wonderful, warm, comfortable whole.” — Dr. Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander“There's a human sitting across from you, whether it's virtual or in person, and sometimes you're the first person that listened to them all day.” — Brooke Sullivan“Accuracy doesn't always equal care. Belonging requires intention.” — Sarah A. Scala“Hesitation isn't being neutral. Hesitation is taking the side of the current power structure and the current way things are. Silence is not neutrality.” — Mike Davis“Remember to leave everything and everyone a little bit better than you found it today.” — Joe Machicote Why this episode matters Every episode this season was its own microcosm of learning. This recap connects those moments. Walking the arc across the full season, host Christopher Bylone shows how twelve different stories demonstrate the six behaviors of the Inclusive Behaviors Framework, and how each adds a piece of what it takes to be inclusive. In the episodes, the platform belongs to the guest, so the host stays quiet. Here, he connects the dots. If you missed an episode, this is your map back to it. Who should listen This episode is for everyone, not only people leaders. It is for anyone working out who they are and learning that who they are is enough. It is for parents and people building a home or a chosen family. It is for community builders, organizers, and people of faith who widen the circle where they stand. It is for HR leaders, people managers, ERG champions, and inclusion practitioners shaping inclusive culture on remote, hybrid, and in person teams. And it is for anyone searching for language to name belonging in any part of their own life. An Innovation Unbiased Production https://www.iknowibelongwhen.com/about-the-show

    The behaviors we built, on purpose: A season 3 look back

  8. Jun 29

    Make pretty good trouble: Authentic leadership in turbulent times with Chris Jones

    What happens when you combine a lifelong storyteller, a lifelong protester, and a leader who runs toward the work when everyone else is running away from it? You get Chris Jones. In this episode of I Know I Belong When, host Christopher Bylone sits down with Chris, co-founder of Spectra Diversity and a social justice warrior since 1970, to discuss authentic leadership in turbulent times. Chris has spent more than four decades writing in other people's voices, from documentaries on PBS and National Geographic to scientific work for Mayo Clinic and General Dynamics. Now she is using her own voice to do what she calls her last career: helping leaders measure and improve workplace belonging. While other DEI consultants quietly pivoted to safer industries, Chris doubled down. She launched a second year of her free webinar series, DEI For Real. She partnered with an employment attorney to help leaders navigate what is legal and what is not. And she keeps asking the question every people leader needs to face: Are you actually building belonging, or are you guessing? This is a conversation about creating a sense of belonging at work when the cultural tide pushes in the other direction. It is about the difference between box checking and real strategic inclusion. It is about why measurement matters more than mission statements. And it offers fresh language for belonging, drawn from one woman's story of 55 years of making good trouble in the service of an inclusive culture and human-centered innovation. Must-hear insights and key moments: Why measurement is the missing piece in most belonging strategies, and how exclusion shows up in the data "as plain as the nose on your face"The difference between organizations that double down on inclusive culture and the box checkers who quietly retreatedHow a name like Chris versus Christine reveals the everyday architecture of privilege at workWhy system changes outlast individual changes, and the bottom-up listening practice every leader can adopt todayThe honest counsel Chris offers employees whose assessment data surfaces exclusionWhere Chris herself feels her own truest belonging, and the 25-year community that has become her safe spaceWhat 55 years of protest signs taught her about authentic leadership, from Earth Day 1970 to No KingsChris's standout quotes: "I know I belong when touching base is mutual.""Make pretty good trouble.""The people who are not feeling like they belong... show up in the data as plain as the nose on your face.""Work at system changes rather than individual changes.""A lot of the box checkers are gone now.""I'm now much, much, much more aware of where I have my own privilege.""Find a place where you think that you would belong.""Things also need to go bottom-up."Why this episode matters: This is not a feel-good DEI conversation. This is what authentic leadership sounds like when the work gets hard, and the headlines turn hostile. Chris offers something rare: a leader who measures what others guess at, names what others avoid, and stays in the room when others quietly exit. For anyone building belonging inside an organization that is wavering, or leading teams who are watching to see if the values were ever real, this episode delivers the language and moral clarity to keep going. Who should listen: This episode is for the chief people officer, wondering if anyone is still listening. The DEI practitioner is watching budgets shrink and asking what is worth fighting for. The mid-level leader is trying to build a sense of belonging at work inside a remote or hybrid team. The founder is rewriting values statements with one eye on the news. And the longtime advocate who has been holding the line for decades needs a reminder that the work still matters. If you are leading people’s experience through this cultural moment, Chris will steady your hand. An Innovation Unbiased Production https://www.iknowibelongwhen.com/about-the-show

    Make pretty good trouble: Authentic leadership in turbulent times with Chris Jones
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12 Ratings

About

Bold voices. Curious stories. Authentic Impact.What does it really mean to belong?Not just to be invited... To be seen. Heard. Needed."I Know I Belong When…" is more than a podcast; it’s a movement. A mirror. A megaphone. It’s where raw truth meets radical hope.Each episode brings you unfiltered conversations with people who’ve wrestled with the question of belonging in the spaces that shape our lives: workplaces, schools, communities, and digital worlds. From the boardroom to the breakroom, from the sidewalks to our living rooms, our guests share the exact moment they knew they were in, and the moments they knew they weren’t.______This is not about feel-good soundbites. It’s about radical accountability.We explore:~  Where equity is the foundation, not a divider.~  The steps it takes to build diverse cultures, not only to survive, though to prosper.~  Ensure inclusion is not just a checkbox; it is a commitment.~  Where accessibility is not an afterthought, but the amplification to thrive.______At the heart of our conversation is the Belonging Formula:"Belonging = (Inclusion × (Diversity + Equity)) ^ Accessibility."It’s not just math; it’s a mindset. A blueprint. A challenge to every leader, builder, and changemaker: Are you creating spaces where every identity is not only welcomed, however, is valued and respected?______Here’s how we do it:[ We Say Names ]Names are not nicknames. They carry legacy, identity, and power. Inspired by #AlwaysChristopher #NeverChris, we explore how honoring someone’s name is the first act of belonging.[ The Moment of Belonging ]A defining story. A turning point. The moment our guest knew: I belong here. We unpack how that moment shaped their confidence, creativity, and connection.[ Navigating Non-Belonging ]We don’t shy away from the hard stuff. Guests share what it felt like to be excluded, erased, or underestimated, and how they reclaimed their space and voice.[ Sustaining Belonging ]What does it take to keep that feeling alive? We explore the systems, rituals, and leadership practices that make belonging a daily reality, not a one-time event.______Why it matters:This podcast is for anyone who’s ever asked: Do I really belong here?And for every leader who’s ready to answer: Yes, and here’s how we’ll prove it.Whether you’re building inclusive teams, designing accessible tech, or rethinking your own role in equity work, these stories will challenge you to show up differently. To lead with intention. To listen with humility. To act with courage.Because belonging isn’t a destination, it’s a practice. And it starts with listening.

Information

  • Creator
    Innovation Unbiased
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    54
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 I Know I Belong When...
  • Show Website
    I Know I Belong When...