Thank you so much for joining me today at the Women in Tech Global Conference for my session on Resilience and Belonging. Every year I love being a part of this event filled with thoughtful, courageous women and allies who are ready to lead with intention.
If you’re reading this after our time together, I hope the message stays with you: We don’t have to wait for resilience to show up—we can build it together. The very foundation of that resilience is in allyship and belonging.
Resilience is Rarely a Solo Experience
In fast-paced environments like tech, sometimes we think resilience is about personal toughness—something we develop by pushing through, staying late, and never showing weakness. But that version of resilience is lonely and frankly, unsustainable.
REAL resilience is not just an individual strength—it’s a relational one. We become more resilient when we know we’re not alone, when we feel seen and heard, and when we’re part of something bigger than ourselves.
It’s why I wrote about Resilience for Entrepreneurs—because whether you’re building a startup or leading a team inside a large company, resilience grows when we have support, not when we isolate ourselves. We build together in community.
The Role of Belonging and Allyship
Belonging is more than being included in a meeting or added to a Slack channel. It’s the sense that who you are—your voice, your story, your perspective—matters.
And when you’re in a space where that’s true, you don’t have to spend energy proving yourself. You can spend it doing your best work. You can innovate, collaborate, and take creative risks.
This is where allyship becomes powerful. Allyship isn’t about saving anyone—it’s about creating space. It’s about pausing to listen, checking your own biases, and offering support in ways that actually meet people where they are.
In teams that practice this kind of mindful allyship, people thrive. Collaboration becomes deeper. Trust gets stronger. And even when challenges come up—as they always do—we’re more likely to face them together, not at odds.
Psychological Safety Starts With Us
One of the most common questions I get from leaders is: “How do we create psychological safety?”
And the answer is both simple and hard: it starts with you. With how you show up in conversations. How you handle mistakes. How you respond to feedback or opposition.
When people feel safe enough to be honest—even when it’s uncomfortable—they’re more willing to grow, take ownership, and connect.
That safety grows when we lean into hard conversations with care. If you’re navigating polarized workplaces or just trying to talk about the tough stuff, I wrote this post to offer some practical ways to start those conversations from a place of compassion and strength.
Overcoming Bias, Building Curiosity
We all carry unconscious biases. It’s human. But when we let those biases run unchecked—especially the negativity bias that primes us to look for what’s wrong—we miss opportunities to connect.
If you’ve ever caught yourself ruminating over a single criticism while ignoring ten compliments, you’re not alone. That’s negativity bias in action. The good news? We can train ourselves to shift. I talk more about that here.
When we make the effort to understand someone else’s story—even if we don’t agree with all of it—we build the kind of mutual respect that fuels collaboration and trust. And trust is the heart of belonging.
What We Practice at Work Ripples Into Our Lives
Everything I’ve shared today applies not just in the workplace, but at home and in our communities. When we practice allyship and psychological safety with our colleagues, we’re also building the muscle to show up for our families, our neighbors, and even strangers with more empathy and care.
The conversations we have. The stories we share. The assumptions we challenge. These are all doorways into deeper relationships.
You can read more about how positive psychology and communication create not only happier teams, but also stronger relationships at every level of life. Because when we understand each other better, we’re more likely to support each other especially when life gets hard.
Let’s Keep Talking
If something in today’s session struck a chord with you, I’d love to continue the conversation.Maybe you’re navigating a leadership transition, struggling to feel like you belong, or trying to create a culture of care inside your team. This is the work I do every day with clients—helping them lead with more emotional intelligence, compassion, and resilience.
On my site, you’ll find ways to work with me through coaching, workshops, and retreats—all grounded in evidence-based practices and real-life experience. I founded Nearly Mindful to help people discover what it means to thrive—not just survive—and to grow into their fullest potential as human beings.
You don’t need to go it alone. And you don’t need to be perfect. You just need to start with curiosity, care, and a willingness to listen—first to yourself, and then to others.
That’s how we create belonging. That’s how we build resilience. And that’s how we rise—together.