Shift Leadership – A New Paradigm for
Unlocking Engagement, Belonging, Empathy,
and Psychological Safety in Workplaces

Our workplaces are deeply struggling. They were burdened before the pandemic, but as we’re seeing, it feels like we’re worse off now.

And to boot, our old ways of leading won’t help to yield the change we desperately require.

We need a new paradigm for leadership in our society and workplaces, given all the challenges we’re currently experiencing – in particular, exhaustion relating to the pandemic, changes to people’s mindsets about work, cultural and generational differences in the workplace, increased mental health challenges including burnout, tension caused by geopolitical issues, public and legal attacks on DEI, and the economic downturn.

This is a lot to contend with, which is why this new leadership paradigm must prioritize team members’ needs first and foremost, while pushing leaders to adjust how they behave. In fact, this new paradigm must be rooted in principles of:

 

And this list applies both at the individual leader and systemic levels within organizations.

I’m calling this new paradigm “SHIFT LEADERSHIP” because not only do we need to shift how we view leadership but, as leaders, we must shift our behaviors – which is about adjusting and adapting how we show up in the workplace so that we give precedence to team members’ needs.

Going forward at bhasin consulting inc., this will be our focus. As a globally recognized leadership and DEI consulting firm, our continued mandate will be to help organizations shift leadership, cultivate belonging, grow empathy, and unlock psychological safety.

Are you with me?

I’d love to hear from you! Please send me a message through our Contact Us page, LinkedIn, or Instagram.

Dr. Komal Bhasin, MSW, MHSc, DocSocSci

Komal is bci’s Senior DEI Consultant and Mental Health Expert-in-Residence and an accomplished DEI facilitator, coach, and strategist. Komal has over 20 years of experience in providing strategic and advisory guidance and program development across a range of sectors, with a particular concentration in mental health and racial inclusion. Komal is also the founder of Insayva Inc., a social enterprise focused on providing accessible DEI and health equity support to charities and non-profit organizations.

Komal has extensive experience in creating and delivering programming in a range of DEI areas, including unconscious bias, cultural competence, mental health inclusion, psychological safety, and allyship. She is passionate about driving transformational change in workplaces and has worked closely with bci clients – corporations, professional service firms, health care providers, and educational institutions – to embed cultures of DEI within their organizations.

Komal has provided one-on-one inclusion coaching to hundreds of senior leaders and brings a unique approach that is informed by her background as a psychotherapist. Using a trauma-informed lens and somatic approaches, she also has experience guiding leaders and teams in mending relationships, and rebuilding trust where harm has occurred due to inequities, intercultural conflict, value mismatches, exclusion, and psychological or geopolitical safety issues, with the goal of creating a more inclusive, resilient or organizational culture.

Komal also offers a performance coaching program designed specifically for BIPOC leaders. This program aims to help BIPOC leaders harness their place, position, and identity to thrive in the workplace and beyond. Komal is a qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI).

As bci’s Mental Health Expert-in-Residence, Komal offers tremendous expertise around workplace mental health. As a doctoral trained mental health clinician, certified health executive, and registered social worker, Komal has assisted organizations looking to advance employee mental health inclusion and well-being through offering programming on inclusive dialogue, anti-stigma, burnout prevention, psychological safety, resilience, and self-care. Komal is committed to advancing mental health and wellness across the life course; she currently serves on the board of the Alzheimer’s Society of Ontario and previously served on the board of Children’s Mental Health Ontario and the YMCA of Greater Toronto.

When Komal is not working, you’ll find her painting, cooking or snuggling with her cat.