Build psychological safety: Humor, trust, and high-performing teams with Chris Courneen
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What if creating belonging in the workplace begins with a laugh—and a promise to learn your name the way you say it? In this episode of I Know I Belong When, Global Head of HR Chris Courneen joins host Christopher Bylone to translate a first‑person story into a leadership practice. From stagecraft to strategy, Chris shows how humor, trust, and authentic leadership unlock voice and performance in an inclusive culture. He reveals how learning every name signals dignity, why ‘I know I belong when…’ gives people language for belonging, and how human‑centered innovation turns people’s experience into measurable outcomes.
You will hear actionable answers to ‘how to create a sense of belonging at work,’ practical moves for building belonging across remote and hybrid teams, and a credible way to marry qualitative narrative with quantitative data—so workplace belonging becomes visible, trackable, and investable. Chris also reframes belonging vs inclusion, positioning belonging as the outcome of IDEA work, not just another pillar, and challenges leaders to evolve: move from anonymous surveys to confidential, trusted signals that enable predictive analytics on engagement, attrition, and psychological safety. If you’ve ever searched synonyms of belonging, another word for belong, or love and belonging needs from Maslow’s hierarchy, this conversation gives you the words, the why, and the what‑now—for creating belonging at work that lasts.
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Must-hear insights & key moments
Humor as a performance lever: ‘A team without humor is a team that would fail.’ Laughter diffuses tension and builds psychological safety in high‑stakes work.
Names as strategic inclusion: Learning—and pronouncing—every person’s name communicates care and belonging in the workplace, especially in global teams.
The ‘pinky’ metaphor: Every role is necessary; when any voice is excluded, the team suffers. Practical framing for building belonging in high‑performing teams.
COVID crucible of trust: Rapid crisis response forged deep trust and clarified the link between belonging, confidence, and business outcomes.
Data with heart: Combine stories (qualitative) with metrics (quantitative) to earn leadership credibility and prove ROI for inclusive culture.
Next frontier: Shift from anonymous to confidential, trusted signals to power predictive analytics on engagement, attrition, and a sense of belonging at work.
Chris’ Standout Quotes:
“A team without humor is a team that would fail.”
“How you expect to be addressed is how I want to address you.”
“I want you to know me, not my title.”
“If you are the pinky, you are still necessary on this team.”
“If I can’t describe a way to measure it, I’m not done with the idea.”
“We are uniquely positioned to marry these two things together to tell stories that improve our business.”
“I know I belong when I don’t have to wear a mask.”
Why this episode matters
Belonging is the outcome of IDEA work. This episode translates belonging vs inclusion into everyday leadership—learning names, using humor, designing trusted data—and shows how creating belonging at work drives retention, engagement, and performance. It equips leaders with language for belonging and a playbook to connect people, outcomes to strategy, and measurable business value.
Who should listen
HR leaders, DEI practitioners, people managers, and remote/hybrid team leads seeking authentic leadership practices and human‑centered innovation. If you are exploring belonging in remote teams, searching ‘how to create a sense of belonging at work,’ or building an inclusive culture with credible ROI, Chris’s story‑rich, data‑grounded guidance will help you design workplace belonging that is felt—and proven.