Shasta Nelson

Featured Keynote Programs

Focus: Leadership & Culture

Do you want to dedicate a day to improve your company culture and the relationships among your employees and team members? Do you want to maximize that time together—making sure it’s fun and memorable but also strategic and bonding?

All too often, when we strive for relationship building, we either err on the side of too much talking and updating, or in an attempt not to be “boring,” we only plan time for play, with the hope that activity will automatically lead to relationships. You’re wise enough to invest in bringing your employees together—let’s ensure your gathering builds lasting relationships that enrich your company culture!

This All-Hands Gathering is customized and co-created to weave in strategic play and activity with Shasta’s signature speed-friending and motivational teaching. This half- or full-day program will help your employees maximize their connections with each other and with your organization and give them a meaningful and fun day that equips them with the tools and insights to strengthen all of their relationships— professional & social. The outcome for your organization will be greater retention, organizational loyalty and pride, more high-trust and resilient relationships, increased psychological safety, and higher employee satisfaction.

Perfect for leaders & orgs who:

• Want to improve company culture and the relationships among their employees and team members

Audiences will leave with

• Help new employees meet more coworkers and feel more belongingness

•  Facilitate all your employees getting to know each other in new and purposeful ways

• Cast the vision for the ways your organization and leaders support employees

• Teach your employees the science of belongingness and human connections in ways that will benefit their personal lives and increase their job satisfaction at work

• Strategically feature people in your organization through interviews, games, and spotlights

Focus: Leadership & Culture

Did you know that employees with meaningful relationships at work are seven times more likely to be engaged in their jobs, take fewer sick days, collaborate more effectively, provide better customer service, and have higher loyalty to their companies? Belongingness is the #1 factor for employee satisfaction, and creating a culture of belonging is an effective solution for decreasing turnover and increasing employee fulfillment.

In this dynamic and interactive program, belongingness expert and author of The Business of Friendship: Making the Most of Our Relationships Where We Spend Most of Our Time, Shasta Nelson provides a framework to evaluate belongingness within your teams and delivers practical tools to create and accelerate the high-trust and resilient relationships that boost employee productivity, retention, and profitability.

Perfect for leaders & orgs who want to:

• Increase employee retention, engagement, and collaboration.

•  Inspire and gift their employees with skills to improve their

• well-being and fulfillment at work and in their personal lives.

•  Create a culture of belonging at work.                                                              

Audiences will leave with:

•  The latest research on how meaningful relationships at work impact employee engagement and retention.

•  The 3 requirements of all healthy relationships and how they establish a culture of belonging.

•   A framework to evaluate belongingness within your teams and identify areas of improvement to focus on for maximum impact.

•   Strategies to implement the 3 requirements in your company culture and accelerate high-trust and resilient relationships at work.

Focus: Leadership & Culture

We frequently talk about how lonely it is “at the top,” yet we’ve almost resigned ourselves to believing that’s the way it has to be. Just as our team members need meaningful relationships at work to be more engaged and productive, our leaders need to feel connected and supported. The stats speak for themselves: 60% of CEOs say they’re lonely, and three-fourths say it’s hurting their performance. But it doesn’t have to be this way—leaders with supportive relationships at work are more resilient through crisis, communicate more effectively, and enjoy increased longevity and health.

In this fun and interactive program, belongingness expert and author of The Business of Friendship: Making the Most of Our Relationships Where We Spend Most of Our Time,
Shasta Nelson delivers strategies to create and maintain the supportive relationships that your leaders need and addresses the biggest fears around boss- employee friendships such as favoritism, confidentiality breaches, and more.

Perfect for leaders & orgs who want to:

•  Boost leadership performance, resilience, and job satisfaction.

• Improve communication and trust between leaders and team members

•  Ensure their leaders’ health and well-being by building better relationships professionally and socially.

•  Combat potential favoritism, power imbalances, and confidentiality breaches arising from boss-employee friendships.

  Audiences will leave with:

•  The latest research on how meaningful relationships at work impact leadership performance, resilience, and communication

• The three requirements of all healthy relationships and how they establish a culture of support and belonging

•  Strategies to strengthen the three requirements and create supportive relationships that will boost your leaders’ performance and job satisfaction

•  Insight into addressing the biggest fears around boss-employee friendships, such as favoritism, power imbalances, confidentiality breaches, firing and/or reprimanding a friend, and more

Focus: Health & Wellbeing

How many of us struggle to muster the energy to socialize with strangers or even with our closest friends? Making new friends or deepening our existing relationships is uncomfortable, awkward, and—at times—painful. But choosing to avoid social discomfort often leaves us feeling lonely, with over 61% of the United States and 73% of Gen Z-ers feeling lonely regularly. The damage to our health, happiness, and longevity is devastating. Feeling disconnected is as harmful to our wellbeing as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, twice as harmful as being obese, and is the equivalent of being a lifelong alcoholic. So, what’s the solution?

In this energizing program packed with real-world research and inspiring stories, belongingness expert Shasta Nelson explores the #1 health factor more critical than kale and treadmills and teaches us how we can enjoy long, connected lives.

Perfect for:

•  Hospitals and other healthcare organizations who want to teach their communities and employees how to improve mental health through belongingness and human connection

•   Leaders and organizations who want to improve their employees’ health and wellbeing

Audience will leave with:

•   The latest scientific discoveries on the devastating side effects of loneliness and the health benefits of belongingness

•   A framework to reflect on and assess your social health, and identify which takeaway will make the biggest difference in fostering meaningful connection in your own life

•   Healthy expectations of relationships and their discomforts, such as conflict, disappointment, and insecurities

Did you know that over 60% of us feel lonely on a regular basis? With the constant connectivity of today’s world, it’s never been easier to meet people—but it’s never been harder to form meaningful relationships. The truth is, most of us aren't lonely for more interaction, but rather for more intimacy, more support, and more depth. But how do we create these relationships we all want?

In this energizing program packed with real-world research and inspiring stories, Social Relationships expert Shasta Nelson unlocks the secret to turning acquaintances and casual friendships into deep, supportive connections and reaching a level of trust that she calls “frientimacy.”

Perfect for:

•  Fundraising galas, nonprofit organizations, philanthropic foundations, client appreciation events, and community-focused events

Audiences will leave with:

•   The three requirements of all healthy relationships and how they work together to deepen our connections

•  The ability to identify which of the three requirements need to be developed in your own relationships

• Tools to strengthen the 3 requirements and achieve the supportive relationships you’re craving

Focus: Leadership & Culture

Do you want to facilitate belonging and connection within your team(s)? This Off-Site Team Belonging program includes a pre-assessment that allows a safe space for each participant to evaluate their current sense of belongingness within their team and provides a “team score” in each of the three requirements of all healthy relationships, enabling leaders and teams to identify areas of improvement to focus on to make the biggest difference.

This program is most often facilitated for groups of 6-20 participants but has also been run for 100+ people, divided into teams or smaller groups at tables. It can be as short as 2 hours but is typically 3-6 hours.

Perfect for leaders & orgs who

• Want to facilitate belonging and connection within their teams
• Have undergone a lot of transition, turnover, or big changes recently
• Are new leaders in a team
• Are committed to promoting professional development & personal growth

Hiring Shasta to facilitate meaningful & strategic time together will:

• Cast the vision for why it’s important to enjoy the people we work with (for the organization's success, but also for employee satisfaction!)

•  Teach the three requirements of all healthy relationships

•  Provide an assessment for evaluating team dynamics and empower everyone to help be a part of the solution

•  Guide leaders and teams to develop strategies that create a culture of belongingness at work

•  Facilitate conversation and getting to know each other

• Offer your team(s) a framework to evaluate their personal and work relationships

• Make you (the leader!) look good as it communicates to your team that you care about their relationships and gives you a chance to participate with them in connecting!