107: The Umbrella Hour with Dr. An Goldbauer & Zander Keig LCSW - Episode 107107: The Umbrella Hour with Dr. An Goldbauer & Zander Keig LCSW - Episode 107
UK Health Radio Podcast
Hosts Dr. An Goldbauer and Zander Keig talk with consultant Christopher Bylone about belonging in families, workplaces, faith communities and within yourself. The conversation blends personal stories, LGBT experiences and practical ideas on psychological safety, values and inclusive cultures.
41:23•27 Apr 2026
Belonging at Work, at Home and in Your Own Skin with Christopher Bylone
Episode Overview
- Belonging is needed across life – at home, school, work, in community and within yourself – rather than being limited to corporate initiatives.
- It is not an individual’s duty to repair every hostile culture; sometimes the healthiest choice is to leave and seek spaces that already accept you.
- Psychological safety shows up when people can say “I don’t agree” without punishment, while leaders set clear expectations and policies to support that.
- Belonging to yourself means knowing your core values and refusing to compromise them just to stay in a relationship or job.
- Startups should think about diversity from hire number two, so teams reflect the people they serve rather than resorting to token “diversity hires” later.
“It’s not your responsibility to fix that organisation so that you can belong.”
Curious about how others handle feeling like outsiders at work, at home, or even in their own skin? This Umbrella Hour conversation brings together hosts Dr. An Goldbauer and licensed clinical social worker Zander Keig with guest Christopher Bylone, founder of Innovation Unbiased, for a candid chat about what it really means to belong.
Christopher shares how years of working as a chief diversity officer led him to build a consultancy focused on “cultures of belonging”, and why he thinks belonging has to start long before the office – in families, schools, communities, and within ourselves.
He talks openly about growing up gay in southern New Jersey, parenting two sons, and the gut-punch moment when one of them said, “I don’t know that I belong at home,” forcing a family-wide rethink of expectations and communication. You’ll also hear how being a gay dad in different parts of the US brings wildly different assumptions – from being praised for “giving your wives the day off” to being treated as two separate families at a restaurant.
As Christopher puts it, “It’s not your responsibility to fix that organisation so that you can belong,” highlighting the importance of sometimes walking away and finding spaces that are already safer and more accepting.
Things get especially personal when he describes a long battle with depression, bariatric surgery, and working with a therapist to understand why he “did not feel I even belonged in my own skin.” That journey leads into a powerful discussion about “belonging to self”, holding firm to core values, and refusing to twist yourself into relationships or workplaces that don’t fit.
For anyone who’s ever felt out of place – in their family, faith community, job, or body – this conversation offers practical language, gentle humour, and plenty of real-life examples to chew on. Where in your life are you ready to stop shrinking yourself and start insisting that you belong?
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