Winning and humanity: the trade-off was always a lie with Kate McKinnon
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There is a story we tell ourselves about high-performance work: that winning costs you the people, that greatness and humanity cannot share the same room. In this episode of I Know I Belong When…, HR executive, coach, and founder Kate McKinnon shows that the choice itself was never real. Across more than 15 years in human resources, most recently as head of people inside the pressure-cooked world of sports, Kate built cultures people refused to leave, earning recognition as both a Most Loved Workplace and one of the Best Employers in Sports. Host, Christopher Bylone, joins her to trace how belonging in the workplace grows from something quieter and more personal: the moment a person knows they can bring their whole self to the room.
This is not a conversation about choosing humanity over results. It is about how the two rise together. Kate names the false trade-off many leaders still believe, then offers a human-centered way through it, one rooted in authentic leadership, strategic inclusion, and the daily practice of building belonging. She traces her own moment of knowing she belonged, the day vulnerability stopped reading as weakness. She also names a moment she knew she did not, and the lesson it taught her about who culture chooses to include. Whether you lead a team, guide a family, or are still working out where you add value, this story gives you language for belonging you can carry into every part of your life.
Watch the full episode :
Must-hear insights & key moments
Why performance and humanity are not a trade-off, and what leaders lose when they believe they are
The quiet moment Kate knew she belonged, and how vulnerability became her strength rather than her liability
Why exclusion works as a choice, not an accident, and what it costs when leaders look away
Why Kate starts every culture conversation with inclusion and belonging before diversity and equity
The hiring, succession, and values questions that reveal whether an organization truly builds belonging
One concrete action any listener can take this week to make a space more human
Kate’s standout quotes:
“Oh my gosh, this is the first time I’ve felt like I can actually be myself.”
“vulnerability and empathy and emotion can really be listed as a weakness”
“if you allow people to make those choices to exclude others, people that naturally will exclude others will make that choice.”
“a culture is only as good as the worst behavior the leadership is willing to tolerate”
“I think belonging helps people be their best self. It helps them be their best performers.”
“Just give people a little grace. Assume positive intent.”
“When I can bring my full self to something and empower others to do the same”
Why this episode matters
Belonging is not a perk that arrives after the real work. It is the foundation the rest is built on. Kate makes the case that when people know they belong, they bring more of themselves, and the work gets better because of it. Her story reframes belonging in the workplace as the outcome of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility done well, not one more box to check. For any leader who has felt the pull between hitting the numbers and honoring the humans, this conversation offers a way to stop choosing and start building both.
Who should listen
This episode is for anyone searching for language to name belonging in their own life. It speaks to people still working out who they are and where they add value. It speaks to parents and anyone building a home or a chosen family around a welcoming table. It speaks to community builders, organizers, and neighbors who widen the circle. And yes, it speaks to HR leaders, people managers, and inclusion practitioners who carry culture at work. Wherever your life reaches across self, home, community, work, and society, there is a reason to press play.