Our Areas of Expertise

Belonging

How to Create Cultures of Belonging in the Workplace

Experiencing belonging in the workplace is essential. To create an organizational culture that is rooted in inclusion, psychological safety, trust, engagement, and innovation, all team members must feel accepted and honored for who they are. And this is what belonging in the workplace is about. To unlock this profound experience, leaders and teams must cultivate authenticity in how they work and lead.

Belonging and Authentic Leadership Programming for Your Leaders

Authentic leadership creates cultures where everyone can be who they are and experience belonging. Our tailored leadership programming highlights the profound connection between inclusion, belonging, authenticity, and leadership, and draws on the expertise set out in Ritu’s bestselling books We’ve Got This, and The Authenticity Principle.

Why Choose bci for Your Belonging and Authenticity Training

Given that Ritu is an expert in DEI, authenticity, belonging, and psychological safety, our training in this space provides practical strategies for leaders and teams on a range of topics, including: how to leverage authenticity to experience heightened belonging; how to create an organizational culture rooted in belonging where team members can bring more of their authentic selves to work; and, how to collectively live, work, and lead with this spirit. Our belonging and authenticity training focuses on frameworks developed and laid out in We’ve Got This and The Authenticity Principle, including:

The Three Selves Framework™

A model for better understanding how to be more authentic in how you live, work and lead by exploring your Authentic Self, Adaptive Self and Performing Self

The Seven Behavioral Dimensions

A deep dive into key behavioral elements to help you better understand your preferred behaviors, where you are conforming and why, when and how to adapt your behavior

Core Wisdom

How to grow and leverage the knowledge you hold within to be more authentic, stand in your power, use your voice to be an ally, be a more empathetic coach and leader, and more

Did You Know?

Authenticity and belonging go hand in hand.

To experience belonging, you must be able to reveal your authentic self. And when you feel safe to be your authentic self, this is when you experience the greatest belonging.

This is why authentic leadership matters. When we lead with an authentic spirit, our team members will be more likely to say that they trust us, enjoy working with us, feel more engaged and satisfied, and have greater feelings of workplace well-being and meaning.

And of course, all of this will cause team members to experience belonging.

All of bci’s belonging and authenticity training can be offered in a webinar or virtual workshop format.

We’ve Got This

Unlocking the Beauty of Belonging

Many of us feel constant pressure to mask and curate who we are — to perform as someone we’re not rather than be who we are. And it hurts us. But we don’t need to live this way.

With We’ve Got This, Ritu offers leaders an opportunity to become better allies by practicing empathy and learning about the barriers to belonging, and she reveals how to unlock belonging — for yourself and for others.

We’ve Got This is a captivating and compelling read that outlines the path to standing in your power. Ritu’s insightful messages and deeply personal stories about the trials and tribulations of finding belonging resonate with the passion and authenticity she’s known for.

Jeffrey Remedios

Chairman & CEO, Universal Music Canada

The Authenticity Principle

Resist Conformity, Embrace Differences, and Transform How You Live, Work, and Lead

At a time when many of us want to be more inclusive of others but don’t know how to make it happen, The Authenticity Principle is essential reading. Ritu Bhasin provides a highly practical and realistic action-plan for leaders to revolutionize how they lead their organizations and their teams, with authenticity as a guiding principle. This book is guaranteed to change how you think about yourself and those around you, while giving you the edge you need to be an inclusive leader in today’s world.

Bill Thomas

Global Chairman, KPMG International
3D rendering of the book cover of The Authenticity Principle by Ritu Bhasin

Belonging and Authenticity Resources

TIP SHEET

Cultivating Belonging in the Workplace

ARTICLE

Authenticity: The Transformative Approach to Building Inclusive Environments​

TOOLKIT

BelongingToolkit​

BOOK

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts​.

by Brené Brown

Interested in building a more inclusive workplace?

Don’t hesitate to contact us to learn how we can help, or subscribe to our mailing list to get the latest DEI insights in your inbox every month.

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 services 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 therapist. She is able to expertly handle sensitive conversations and situations and works with leaders to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to advance racial/ethnocultural, gender, and mental health-related equity across teams and organizations. 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.