In the years before the signing of the U.S. Constitution, framers like James Madison and Thomas Jefferson were vocal about the idea that a person’s civil rights should not depend on their religious opinions. They believed everyone should be free to profess and argue for any view on matters of religion and that no one’s legal rights should depend on those views.

Their words laid the foundation for the First Amendment, which Thomas Jefferson described as “a wall between the separation of church and state.” Since then, several attempts have been made at the federal level to expand these protections. For example, in 1993, Congress adopted the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1997.

More recently, states responded by passing their own versions of this law despite Constitutional protections for religious freedom enshrined in the First Amendment. Some believe the states’ actions were thinly veiled responses to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling requiring all states to legalize same-sex marriage and recognize same-sex unions from other states.

These legal battles over religious freedom aren’t isolated incidents. They impact many parts of U.S. society, including the workplace. Increasingly, more employees are bringing their faith into the workplace, expecting greater accommodations. Research shows that religious discrimination is growing faster than claims of gender or racial discrimination at work. Recognizing the U.S. workforce is composed of people who hold many different faith and non-faith beliefs, it begs the question:

Does faith belong at work?

To help us explore this big question, I’m thrilled to introduce you to Jelisa Dallas, CEO of Go Brace LLC. Jelisa equips individuals and organizations with the emotional intelligence required to break barriers, bolster belief, and build behaviors that optimize life for true belonging. Jelisa has a background in education and has developed resilience programming for nonprofit organizations, historically underrepresented communities, and for-profit and public institutions.

During our conversation, you'll:

1. Discover how to cultivate “true belonging” for all employees, regardless of their religious beliefs or lack thereof.
2. Learn why religious discrimination is rising and access practical strategies to help organizations minimize risk.
3. Gain insights to respect personal religious beliefs while limiting the risks of creating a hostile environment for those with different beliefs by focusing on organizational values.

This conversation is designed to support visionary leaders like you and those on their way to joining us. Savor this insightful talk, and if you’re looking for more ways to connect with inspiring leaders like Jelisa, be sure to join the Belonging Membership Community. This community of practice is committed to putting our values of belonging, collective care, and collaboration into action. Members have the unique opportunity to connect with guests like Jelisa for 1:1 laser coaching sessions.

Join the Belonging Movement by subscribing to our newsletter: www.rhodesperry.com/subscribe

Learn more about Go Brave LLC: https://jelisadallas.com/

Thanks for growing our #BelongingMovement!

You may have heard the phrase, or you may have said it yourself, we have to see it to be it. The phrase underscores the importance of possibility models, a concept I wrote about in my first book, Belonging at Work. To be a possibility model means that you are providing an example of future scenarios for a person who holds a shared core identity central to who you are.

Simply by living your life, you provide inspiration for people within communities you belong to by offering a new way for them to visualize alternative futures for what could also be possible for them. Your existence, and the path you forge, provides the motivation for others to climb up the ladder of opportunity you have graciously dropped down to support their journey.

For underrepresented people in the workplace, including LGBTQ+ employees, the simple act of being seen can engender powerful feelings, especially if these groups feel neglected, overlooked, and underestimated. Recognition is a necessary precondition to feeling a sense of belonging at work, and when a group of people are valued for the lived experiences they bring into the workplace, they are more productive, innovative, and engaged.

Given that belonging is the prerequisite for business success, I am fortunate to talk with Sarah Tinkler, to explore one of the core ingredients to building belonging at work. The interview examines this key question: How does being an openly LGBTQ+ advisor at NM shape her own interactions with fellow LGBTQ+ clients?

For those unfamiliar with Sarah, she is a financial planning entrepreneur associated with Northwestern Mutual since July 2006. She is also a Forrest-inspired yoga instructor, certified life coach, and certified personal trainer. Sarah blends those passions together with a refreshingly soul-nourishing approach to visioning, analysis, planning, and guiding her clients' assets so they can live abundantly, authentically, and be ready to jump at the next aligned opportunity the Universe throws their way.

Together, during our conversation, you will:

• Learn why one of the preconditions for feeling a sense of belonging starts with being recognized, respected, and valued.
  
  

• Gain strategies on how you can be a possibility model for communities you belong to that can help your organization more fully represent the communities it serves.

• Recognize the value add LGBTQ+ employees bring into your own organization..

This interview was designed to support people like you - visionary leaders, and those on their way to joining us. Savor this insightful talk, and if you’re looking for more ways to connect with inspiring leaders like Sarah, be sure to join our Belonging Membership Community - a community of practice committed to putting our values of belonging, community, and collaboration into action. Members have the unique opportunity to connect with guests like Sarah for 1:1 laser coaching sessions.

For LGBTQ+ friendly financial planning services, get in touch with Sarah Tinkler at: https://www.northwesternmutual.com/financial/advisor/sarah-a-tinkler/

You can also find her on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahtinkler.

Imagine belonging with our community when you join the Belonging Movement Newsletter: www.rhodesperry.com/subscribe.

Why build spaces of belonging at work? After all, your company is likely investing in technology products to reduce overhead and increase returns. It’s investing in new products and services to increase market share. It’s also likely investing in advertising to increase brand awareness and positioning. In short, you invest in building belonging at work, because the people working at your company are at the end of the day, your greatest asset.

Tragically, most of the people working in U.S.-based companies (64%) experience “non-belonging,” and suffer from what the current U.S. Surgeon General labels an “Epidemic of Loneliness.” Left unchecked, this form of exclusion comes at an annual price tag of $1.05 trillion dollars due to lost productivity, high turnover, and employee disengagement. This is a problem that is especially vexing for LGBTQ+ employees, and a spirited commitment to building belonging at work can help solve.

So what will it take to build this kind of culture and prioritize the people in your business & innovation strategy? It starts with creating a shared foundation of psychological safety and trust, particularly for those within your organization most likely to experience the sting of social exclusion. These foundational prerequisites for building belonging are necessary to ensure that more of our workforce experiences the coveted emotional outcome of belonging.

It’s for this reason I sat down with Natalie Le. Natalie knows what it takes to benefit from a workplace prioritizing building spaces of belonging at work for their LGBTQ+ employees. Natalie currently serves as the Growth & Development Director at Northwestern Mutual in San Jose. As a dedicated leader, Natalie is a strong advocate for multicultural and LGBTQ+ communities within the corporate sphere.

Recently, Natalie was a featured speaker at the 2024 Multicultural Affinity Summit, where she participated in the "Playing Bigger & Multiplying Impact" Leadership Panel. Alongside two other successful LGBTQ+ leaders, she shared her personal experiences and challenges, inspiring attendees to amplify their local impact and gain effective tools and language for advocacy. Natalie's commitment to inclusion and development continues to uplift and empower those around her.

This interview was designed to support people like you - visionary leaders, and those on their way to joining us. Savor this insightful talk, and if you’re looking for more ways to connect with inspiring leaders like Natalie, be sure to join our Belonging Membership Community - a community of practice committed to putting our values of belonging, community, and collaboration into action. Members have the unique opportunity to connect with guests like Natalie for 1:1 laser coaching sessions.

Imagine belonging with fellow visionary leaders when you join the Belonging Movement Newsletter: www.rhodesperry.com/subscribe.

For LGBTQ+ friendly financial planning services, get in touch with Natalie at: https://www.northwesternmutual.com/financial/advisor/natalie-le/