Foundations of Shemewé: Values That Guide Us
8 September 2025
Written by Toni Hanna
At Shemewé Collective, our foundations are the values that guide both life and work. They shape our approach to Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) , workplace wellbeing initiatives, and leadership development. These values, Heart-Centered, Relationship-Led, and Multiplicity & Inclusivity, offer employers and HR leaders practical pathways to create inclusive, values-driven workplace culture.
Heart-Centered
Being heart-centered in leadership and workplace wellbeing means leading with empathy and clarity. In practice, this looks like listening deeply, respecting vulnerability, and balancing care with accountability. For example, I’ve held space with clients in moments of crisis, sent care packages between sessions, and provided practical help in times of hardship. These small but significant acts of care demonstrate that heart-centered culture is not abstract, it translates into real impact.
For HR and Wellbeing Managers, a heart-centered workplace creates psychological safety and improves employee wellbeing. It recognises that when leaders filter out the noise and listen with presence, staff feel valued, supported, and motivated. This builds resilience and fosters long-term loyalty in teams.
Relationship-Led
We are always in relationship, with colleagues, with teams, and with the wider communities we serve. At Shemewé, relationship-led workplace culture means prioritising trust, repair, and accountability. When organisations grow quickly without investing in relationships, staff disengagement, burnout, and knowledge loss often follow. Conversely, when relationships are nurtured, teams thrive and growth is sustainable.
For HR leaders, embedding relationship-led values means investing in practices that build trust and repair misunderstandings. This creates healthier teams, reduces turnover, and strengthens psychological safety, key outcomes for any values-driven HR strategy.
Multiplicity and Inclusivity
Multiplicity means embracing diversity as a strength. Inclusivity ensures that all voices are heard, even those that feel uncomfortable or discordant. At Shemewé, our Conscious Parenting and Relationship Rescue online groups are designed to reflect this by creating inclusive group spaces where cultural needs, learning styles, and neurodiverse experiences are respected.
For employers, this approach addresses real challenges: supporting neurodiverse staff, improving team cohesion, and embedding adaptive leadership. Diversity is not disruption, it is innovation. By practicing multiplicity and inclusivity, workplaces expand perspectives, build resilience, and foster belonging.
Living the Values Together
These values are not theory, they are lived every day. For example, when a neurodivergent couple joined one of our groups, we co-created strategies to support their focus and contribution. By adapting facilitation to individual needs, we demonstrated inclusive, trauma-informed practice that welcomes difference rather than excluding it.
This values-led approach shapes all our services at Shemewé Collective, including our culturally responsive EAP program. It ensures employees experience workplaces where human diversity is valued as much as productivity and business growth.
The Thread That Binds
Our values, Heart-Centered, Relationship-Led, Multiplicity and Inclusivity, interconnect like beads on a string, each reinforcing the others. They guide us in supporting HR and Wellbeing Managers to design programs that reduce burnout, increase retention, and cultivate belonging.
We invite you to join us in creating workplaces where care, connection, and diversity drive wellbeing. Reach out to start a conversation about how Shemewé Collective can support your organisation.
