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The Belonging Project

There is a strong business case for connecting your team to your culture. According to Gallup, employees who feel connected to their culture are:

  • 3.7x as likely to be engaged at work
  • 5.2x as likely to recommend their organization as a great place to work
  • 37% more likely to be thriving
  • 68% less likely to feel burned out at work

The Belonging Project pairs bite-sized tactical training on topics like psychological safety in the workplace with accountability partners for further relationship-building. Sessions are hands-on and flexible enough for even the busiest teams, for a minimum of 20 participants per session.

The Belonging Project Program Plan

  • PHASE I:

Assessment & Analysis

NEWaukee deploys a survey & internal audit of existing engagement data. With the Like|MindedTM intelligent matching technology, NEWaukee is able to create pairs ofprogram participants that will move through the training process as accountability partners. 

  • PHASE II:

Leadership Training

Bartolotta & Associates trains the participants on a neuroscience foundation with somaticprinciples on how our accumulated life experiences impact our ability to function andrelate. This three-hour, in-person training is the core of the content that the leaders will usein the subsequent accountability partner reunions. 

  • PHASE III:

Strategic Vision Setting

Based on the feedback from the Phase I Assessment and Phase II engagement at the training,both teams customize the 4 month accountability partner experiences with content andmaterial creation included. 

  • PHASE IV:

Accountability Partnerships

A four month program that converts training into a lived employee experience by gatheringthe accountability partners every three weeks for a facilitated application of the training andopen space for the participants to process the ongoing trauma, triggers and real lifeexamples of each face in their day-to-day management roles. 

  • PHASE V:

Evaluation Design Session 

A facilitated design session that unpacks the post-program survey results and potentialsystemic shifts with leadership.

“This program has changed my life… Through this, I have learned techniques to assist with releving anger, anxiety, and frustration to improve my mood and ultimately my health. I have also been able to form close friendships with my peers that I previously did not have. I now feel supported and know others feel the same way.”

The Belonging Project Program Deliverables:

The final metrics for program evaluation are co-created with the leadership team, but the followingare the key deliverables The Belonging Project tracks throughout the program: 

Leadership development skills in how to lead with unmistakability meet employees where they are; and create an environment where employees feel psychologically safe.

Core competencies in theneuroscience of our mental andemotional physiology; tools forself-regulation and exploration ofexperiential bias andneutralization tactics.

Increased ability to filter incongruent behavior and “see” the humanity in co-workers. 

Increased sense of psychological safety.

Increased greater team performance and sense of team cohesion. 

Increased sense of belonging on the team and for the company. 

Participants Leave the Program With:

  • Actionable techniques to improve their mental and emotional resilience
  • Tactics for using vulnerability, connection, feedback, and more to create stronger working teams
  • A stronger understanding of their own workstyle, and how to relate to others in the workplace
  • Accountability partners who are intelligently matched by a unique connection software

The Belonging Project Results:

We recently had the opportunity to take nursing leaders from a major Wisconsin health system through The Belonging Project. Based on pre- and post-program surveys, these leaders reported:

of participants “hardly ever” feel isolated from others after program end

of participants discovered they had a best friend at work

increase in feeling of connection to others within their organization

increase in happiness working at their organization

“This was one of the BEST opportunities I have been afforded in my career! You truly come away with a different level of understanding of yourself, your peers, and how to stay connected to your purpose.”

Introduction to the Belonging Project

Teams function optimally when all members feel like they’re seen, heard and like they matter…it is only then that trust can be built over time.  Our process takes team members on a journey that improves their understanding of physiology, emotions and behaviors to improve team performance, increase employee job satisfaction, and foster a transparent and trusting workplace.