Imagine Belonging at Work
by Rhodes Perry, Bestselling Author & Belonging Strategist
If you have ever felt disconnected, excluded, or that you just didn't matter at work, then this podcast is for you.Your host, Rhodes Perry, 2x bestselling author of Imagine Belonging and Belonging at Work, introduces you to inclusive leaders, visionaries, and change-makers. This show was created for people like you – people ready to imagine and build belonging at work.In this podcast, we dare to imagine workplace cultures that have yet to exist…until now. It recognizes that leading this kind of transformative work can be both thrilling and intimidating.You'll hear inspiring stories from inclusive leaders who have boldly imagined a new way to lead, build teams, and structure the future of work.You'll learn how they moved beyond their limiting beliefs, giving themselves permission to envision and then build an enduring culture of belonging at work.This kind of proven visioning work results in powerful individual, interpersonal, and organizational transformation.During your daily co
Episodes
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When Belonging Feels Risky
How does the instinct to fit in turn into an exhausting performance? In this solo episode of The Imagine Belonging Podcast, Rhodes Perry explores what happens when self-doubt and code-switching take over our workdays—and why these behaviors are not personal shortcomings, but intelligent, embodied...
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When Good Leaders Get in Over Their Heads
How does a good leader end up in a mess? In the fourth conversation of Lead Embodied: Wisdom for Leading Through Uncertainty, Rhodes Perry sits down with Jess Pettitt, author of Doing Good Better, to explore what happens when the problems we avoid begin to shape our organizations and our own...
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Awareness Is a Leadership Practice: Bias, Belonging & the Human Side of AI
What happens when we begin noticing the judgments and assumptions shaping how we lead? In the third conversation of Lead Embodied: Wisdom for Leading Through Uncertainty, Rhodes Perry sits down with Howard J. Ross and Jake Ross, co-authors of the new edition of Everyday Bias, to explore how...
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Commitment without Certainty
What does it mean to commit to transformation when we can't know exactly how to get there? In the second conversation of Lead Embodied: Wisdom for Leading Through Uncertainty, Rhodes Perry sits down with Casey Tonnelly, queer, neurodiverse, non-binary facilitator, educator, and author of Striving...
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Healing, Vulnerability & the Stories That Set Us Free: Part 1 of the Lead Embodied Series
What happens when the identities and stories we've carried for years no longer fit? In the opening conversation of Lead Embodied: Wisdom for Leading Through Uncertainty, Rhodes Perry sits down with author, keynote speaker, and leadership thought partner Joel Davis Brown to explore the courage it...
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Lead Embodied: From Book to Practice
What if becoming a more grounded, authentic leader isn't about learning another leadership technique—but about coming home to yourself? In this episode of Imagine Belonging, Rhodes Perry shares what's coming this fall as Lead Embodied moves from book to practice. While Lead Embodied won't be...
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When the Pressure Is On, Who Do You Become?
We're living through a tremendous amount of uncertainty and change. Disruption at work, polarization in our communities, rapid technological change, and the stress and grief that accompany them can ask more of us than we realize. In this episode, I explore a question at the heart of my…
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A New Chapter 📚 Introducing Rhodes Perry Leads
In this episode, Rhodes introduces Rhodes Perry Leads, a new newsletter exploring embodied leadership, belonging cultures, and the human side of transformation. While the Imagine Belonging Podcast continues to be a space for conversations about belonging, culture, leadership, and community…
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When Leadership Comes Home
For years, I believed better leadership meant working harder, knowing more, and holding everything together. In this solo episode, I explore the leadership lesson that changed everything: authentic leadership doesn't happen only in our minds—it happens through our bodies. Drawing from my own...
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Holding the Frequency of Heartbreak: Inside the First Collective Peace Share
Most leaders are carrying an energetic weight they were never meant to hold alone. In our current professional climate, those committed to equity and belonging face a quiet but painful trend: being hushed—subtly or overtly signaled to continue their transformative work with less organizational...
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The Mirror's Invitation: Recognizing the Person Most Responsible for Your Future
Most leaders are carrying a weight they weren't meant to hold alone. For some of us, we've been conditioned to believe that leadership means being overly responsible—carrying the team, the culture, and the bottom line until we are bent under the pressure. In this episode, we flip the mirror....
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Beyond Frameworks: Real Leaders on Embodying the Ultimate Power Skill
Most leaders don't need another strategy, another 10-step checklist, or another theoretical framework to study. What they need is the ability to embody what they have already learned about leadership to have more agency to respond to challenges when the stakes are high. In this episode, we move...
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Finding Your Ground: A 7-Minute Somatic Centering Practice
Many leaders today are experiencing "Quiet Cracking," a state of Burnout 2.0 where we are expected to remain high-functioning while navigating empathy fatigue and physical exhaustion. The expectation is to "power through," but this move erodes our creative vision and ability to connect with…
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A Somatic Gratitude Practice for Leaders
In this episode of the Imagine Belonging Podcast, Rhodes Perry invites listeners to shift their relationship with gratitude—from a passive reaction when things go well to an intentional practice of resilience. Drawing on the rich sensory experiences of a recent pilgrimage to India, Rhodes guides...
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Between the Monkey Bars: How to Let Go of 2025 (+ Visioning Practice)
In this episode of the Imagine Belonging Podcast, Rhodes Perry invites listeners into the "liminal space"—that unique, quiet week between the holidays and the New Year. Using the metaphor of the "monkey bars," Rhodes explores the terrifying but necessary moment of suspension where we must let go…
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🎉 Celebrate 7 Year Book-A-Versary of 'Belonging at Work' on World Kindness Day
In this episode of the Imagine Belonging Podcast, Rhodes Perry reflects on the creation and impact of his first book, 'Belonging at Work,' published on World Kindness Day in 2018. He discusses the evolution of workplace belonging and previews his upcoming book, 'Roads Less Traveled,' a memoir and...
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DEI Now: Leading with Integrity and Inclusion with McKensie Mack and Ellen Pao
Are you a CEO struggling to protect your brand's values in today's political climate? In this essential episode of the Imagine Belonging Podcast, host Rhodes Perry interviews MMG Earth CEO, Mckenzie Mack, and former Reddit CEO, Ellen Pao, about their groundbreaking report, "DEI Now: Leading with...
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Are You Using the Right Language to Talk About DEI?
Are you struggling with how to talk about your organization's DEI commitments in today's volatile climate? In this episode of the "Navigating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion's New Reality" mini-series, host Rhodes Perry offers message-tested communication strategies to fortify the heart of your...
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How Are You Addressing Collective Trauma in Your Workforce?
In this episode of the Navigating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion's New Reality mini-series, we're talking about something every leader needs to be aware of: the profound impact of collective trauma and grief on your workforce. Host Rhodes Perry shares how the current climate amplifies fear and...
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What to do When Your Profession is Under Attack?
In a climate where diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) professionals are facing unprecedented challenges, how can leaders continue to build spaces of belonging? This exclusive mini-series, Navigating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion's New Reality, inspired by a toolkit originally for Fortune…
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Is Your Belonging Strategy a Legal Liability or Asset?
Are you confident your organization's diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are legally sound? In this episode of the Imagine Belonging Podcast mini-series, "Navigating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion's New Reality," we explore the shifting legal landscape and what it means for your...
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Are You Ready to Be the Inclusive Leader Our World Needs?
In the face of growing opposition, what proactive actions can leaders take to fortify their diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments? This final episode of the mini-series "Navigating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion's New Reality" is your guide to moving from a defensive stance to one of...
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How Do You Support Protected Employee Groups In This Climate?
In this special bonus episode of the "Navigating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion's New Reality" mini-series, we reflect on the material consequences of inflammatory rhetoric and dangerous policies that impact protected employee groups. Host Rhodes Perry identifies the groups disproportionately...
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EXCLUSIVE: Pride in Exile featuring Former EEOC Commissioner, Chai Feldblum and New York District EEOC Administrative Judge, Karen Ortiz
Congress established the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Its primary purpose is to prevent and address unfair treatment in the workplace, ensuring that employers don't discriminate against individuals based on race, gender, religion, or...
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[Out & Equal Mini-Series] Building Gender Inclusive Workplaces ft. Amanda Simpson and Chris Mossiah
The past decade has tragically tested the resilience and brilliance of transgender, nonbinary, and gender expansive (trans) people living in the U.S. Misinformation about who we are and what we want has sparked thousands of anti-transgender bills introduced in nearly every state capital across…
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[Out & Equal Mini-Series] How to be an Authentic Ally w/ Jean-Marie Navetta, Out & Equal VP of Learning Programs
Allies. In workplace settings, there are times when most of us need them. Consider this scenario; you're in a meeting, and you're about to take a calculated risk to share an unpopular idea. As soon as you complete your thought, one of your colleagues quickly responds, complimenting you on your...
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[Out & Equal Mini-Series] Part II: Reaffirming Our Belonging Commitments Ken Janssens, Co-Founder and Head of Social Impact for Windō and Board Chair at Out & Equal
Welcoming LGBTQ+ employees into the workforce is one of the great business success stories of the last 20 years. By implementing LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and practices businesses led the way, before the laws caught up, and organizations like Out & Equal paved the way. Listen to this episode...
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[Out & Equal Mini-Series] Part I: Reaffirming Our Belonging Commitments w/ Deena Fidas, Managing Director & Chief Programs Officer at Out & Equal
In this new era, organizations in the United States and worldwide are navigating a complex and ever-changing landscape that impacts their global strategies. This includes a growing emphasis on intersectional approaches to DEI, integrating AI ethics into fairness initiatives, and developing more...
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[Out & Equal Mini-Series] The Movement's History & Our Inclusion Journey w/ Bob Witeck, President of Witck Communications, Inc.
The episode you're about to hear is one of nearly a dozen conversations a part of the show's podcast mini-series, The Business of Belonging, brought to you by Out & Equal. Out & Equal is the premier global nonprofit organization working exclusively on LGBTQ+ workplace equality. In this particular...
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The Belonging Beat: How Journalism Shapes Our Understanding of Workplace Culture (ft. Sam Ragland, VP of Journalism Programs at the American Press Institute)
While inspirational to many, the terms diversity, equity, and inclusion also terrify some. This reality underscores why there is still so much to be learned about what diversity, equity, and inclusion mean as values that guide ethical decision-making, as strategies to upend structural inequities,...
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Navigate Economic Headwinds by Evolving Your DEI Business & Practice (ft. Amber Vilhauer, NGNG Founder)
Are you a diversity, equity, and inclusion small business owner feeling the pressure of economic uncertainty and unfounded assaults to your vital work? If you answered yes, then this is an Imagine Belonging Podcast episode you cannot afford to miss! Over the past 60 years, diversity professionals...
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Who Do You Need to Become to Build Belonging Spaces? (Meditation w/ Rhodes Perry)
What kind of leader do you need to become to create true belonging? This solo meditation with Rhodes Perry guides you to explore the leadership qualities needed to foster creativity, connection, and support on your team, even amidst fear and uncertainty. Reflect on your current leadership style…
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Not Your Father's Workplace: The Essential Role Men Play in Advancing Gender Equality (ft. Adam Segal, New Masculinities Founder)
In a world struggling to embrace the beauty, complexities, and possibilities of gender it's not surprising that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently called for more "masculine energy" in corporate America. His callous statement made on the Joe Rogan Experience has sparked controversy and ignited...
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The Belonging Practice: Bridge Differences & Practice Collective Care to Become the Leader You Need
Who do you need to become to be the leader you need in this moment? There's nothing more powerful than a question like this one. Even if you don't have an answer, big questions like these generate new thoughts. To encourage new thoughts to emerge, leaders like you will need to practice belonging...
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Fairness Under Threat: A Call to Upend Project 2025 (ft. Bestselling Authors, Jess Pettitt and Joel A. Davis Brown)
Imagine a future you long for and want to win—a future where all living beings, including the Earth, belong without exception. This kind of visioning work was why I created the Imagine Belonging Podcast. I wanted to create a welcoming space, inviting guests to dream with me, without limitation....
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Does Faith Belong at Work? (ft. Jelisa Dallas, CEO of Go Brave)
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...
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Power of Representation
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...
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The Gifts of the LGBTQ+ Employee Journey
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...
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The Power of Allyship
Allies. In workplace settings, there are times when most of us need them. Consider this scenario; you're in a meeting, and you're about to take a calculated risk to share an unpopular idea. As soon as you complete your thought, one of your colleagues quickly responds, complimenting you on your...
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Feeling Election Anxiety? This Practice Can Help!
Welcome to the Imagine Belonging at Work Podcast brought to you by Rhodes Perry Consulting. The episode you're about to hear is a special gift to help ease what psychologists and researchers have identified as a specific kind of anxiety; election anxiety. To ease election anxiety, the show's…
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The Equity Case: A Thoughtful Response to SHRM (ft. Minal Bopaiah, Brevity & Wit Founder)
On July 9th, in a statement on LinkedIn, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), announced its decision to drop the "E" from DEI. SHRM is the world's largest HR association dedicated to creating better workplaces that "work for all," and positions itself as being "the voice of all…
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Out and Equal Summit- Talent on the Move: Why Pride at Work is Essential for Business Growth (ft. Erin Uritus, Out & Equal CEO)
Nearly a decade ago, the State of North Carolina enacted HB2, the first statewide anti-trans bathroom bill introduced in the United States. It required transgender people to use public restrooms inconsistent with their gender identity, which sparked widespread political backlash and severe…
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The Authenticity Advantage: Building Trust and Connection with Agency at Work (ft. Don Mamone, Identity Coach)
Do you ever feel like you're stuck in a professional persona? You show up, put your head down, and power through the workday, but a nagging sense of inauthenticity lingers. Maybe you crave deeper connections with colleagues, or you dream of a career that aligns with your true values. Here's the...
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Beyond the Checkbox: Design and Evaluate DEI Interventions that Work (ft. B. McKensie Mack, Founder of MMG Earth)
In the wake of last year's Supreme Court decision to overturn affirmative action, certain media personalities and recalcitrant business leaders have falsely claimed that "DEI is dead." This claim may very well be true for the businesses that were never serious about setting this work up to…
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Building Trust by Talking Through Tough Issues at Work w/Dr. Elisa Glick
Talking through tough issues at work can help initiate change and influence others by presenting different perspectives and approaches to solving problems. When we engage in healthy debate and work through conflict, our team is much closer to realizing its next innovative idea, product, or…
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Building a Better Educated Workforce w/Rebecca Kling, Author of The Advocate Educator's Handbook
Are you concerned about the #InclusiveLeadership skills gap in today's workforce? Are you curious about how to change this reality? You're not alone. In this year's State of the Union, President Biden mentioned a recent meeting he had with nearly all Fortune 500 CEOs. He asked them what they…
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Coaching Peace with Diana Cutaia, Founder of Coaching Peace Consulting
Many listen to this podcast to gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to build a workplace where we feel seen, connected, supported, and have a sense of pride on the job – these elements are what it takes to build belonging. To achieve this emotional outcome of belonging, we must be willing…
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The Changing Face of Leadership w/Dorothy Enriquez, Founder of the Ellevate Collective
Dorothy Enriquez, Founder of the Ellevate Collective, shares her wisdom about what's required to change the face of leadership to fully reflect today's workforce. Workplace demographics are rapidly changing. Researchers predict that somewhere between 2045 to 2050 the US will become a...
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Build a Belonging Society w/ Cordell Carter, Aspen Institute Belonging Project Founding Director
In 2020, current US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy authored a powerful treatise on the impact of loneliness and the benefits of human connection. Drawing on rich science, compelling personal stories, and beautiful prose, it explores the high costs of loneliness and considers how individuals,...
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Overcome Political Backlash Against DEIB Programs w/Paolo Gaudiano, Aleria Founder
The different people, cultures, and ideas stitched throughout the fabric of your organization are at the end of the day your most powerful assets. Your workplace has the capacity to embrace all parts of these powerful differences, and the CEOs who recognize this truth will have a competitive...
About this show
If you have ever felt disconnected, excluded, or that you just didn't matter at work, then this podcast is for you.Your host, Rhodes Perry, 2x bestselling author of Imagine Belonging and Belonging at Work, introduces you to inclusive leaders, visionaries, and change-makers. This show was created for people like you – people ready to imagine and build belonging at work.In this podcast, we dare to imagine workplace cultures that have yet to exist…until now. It recognizes that leading this kind of transformative work can be both thrilling and intimidating.You'll hear inspiring stories from inclusive leaders who have boldly imagined a new way to lead, build teams, and structure the future of work.You'll learn how they moved beyond their limiting beliefs, giving themselves permission to envision and then build an enduring culture of belonging at work.This kind of proven visioning work results in powerful individual, interpersonal, and organizational transformation.During your daily co
Hosted by
Rhodes Perry, Bestselling Author & Belonging Strategist