Do I Belong Here?
Do you know how your employees would answer that question?
When my business partner and I formed Talent Dimensions in 2018, we began with a simple belief … an organization’s performance is propelled through their people … all their people.
We brought together decades of perspectives, research, and solutions from two firms to help organizations create cultures where individuals have a voice, find meaning in their work, and feel safe to bring their full selves to the workplace. Our goal was to help organizations create cultures where talent can achieve a sense of belonging and realize their full potential.
Let’s face it, everyone needs and wants to belong. It’s a fundamental human need ingrained in our DNA. It transcends demographics, job roles, and organizational hierarchies. We believe belonging sits at the intersection of engagement, inclusion, and psychological safety. You don’t have to look hard for research that affirms the positive business impact when organizations excel in these three areas.
In recent years, belonging has become a foundational concept in the DEI world. There are good reasons for that. Individuals from historically underrepresented groups often struggle to achieve a sense of belonging in the workplace due to factors like existing and persistent biases, microaggressions, lack of pipeline representation, cultural mismatches, flawed policies, and historical legacies. We believe that belonging, at its core, is about an individual’s willingness and ability to bring his/her/their whole self to the workplace. When an individual does not or cannot bring the full collection of their ideas, skills, perspectives, and energy to their work, the organization suffers.
So, belonging is an essential concept for all employees. It’s not simply a substitution or replacement of terminology in reaction to current attacks against the language associated with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. We believe that belonging transcends these boundaries and is, in fact, a unifying thread that enriches every corner of organizational culture.
Belonging is the OUTCOME organizations must achieve, and Belonging by Design™ is the WAY to get there.
If belonging is the goal for organizations, the first step is recognizing that there are as many definitions of belonging as there are individuals. In other words, no one-size-fits-all solution exists, and every corner and role of organizational life – Organization/People Leaders/Employees – must be factored into the equation.
Does This Organization Align with Who I Am?
At the organizational level, your mission, values, policies, practices, systems, and processes are critical drivers of belonging. Does this organization do good work in the world? Do the values of this organization align with mine? Do I see others like me represented throughout this organization? Is this organization committed to providing opportunities for me to learn and grow?
The Role of the Leader
While the organization is a crucial component in creating a culture of belonging, we continue to say the same thing … people don’t leave organizations … they leave their managers. There is truth to this statement. Depending on the research or study referenced, 50-60% of an individual’s engagement level is related to the manager-employee relationship. Managers play a critical role in driving engagement, inclusion, and psychological safety within their teams. Recognizing that everyone’s needs are different and expressing care and curiosity to understand those needs is an important step in creating the foundation for a trusting relationship.
Every Employee Contributes to a Culture of Belonging
Finally, it is the responsibility of every employee to do their part in creating a culture where individuals feel connected, included, and valued. Cultures are nothing more than how things get done within an organization. Getting things done in a way that creates an environment where everyone has a voice, can find meaning and feels safe to bring every aspect of him/her/their self is a challenge and an opportunity. When every employee understands, aligns with, and consistently demonstrates the following…
- Who we are
- What we believe
- The values we hold dear
- How we want to treat each other
…a culture of belonging can be achieved.
A Model for Belonging
As we begin to think about Belonging more expansively, organizations must determine how to operationalize belonging as an outcome while recognizing it’s unique to every individual. Remember, every aspect of the organization impacts an individual’s ability to belong. This requires intention and commitment to assessing and developing the organization’s culture through the lens of belonging.
The following model identifies the key components that must exist to create belonging: engagement, inclusion, and psychological safety. Within those three components there are drivers organizations can address to gain traction. One foundational driver, trust, spans all three components. Without trust, the others don’t matter. If an individual is unable to trust the organization, their leader and their colleagues, that individual will be unable to bring his/her/their best self to the workplace.
Belonging is not simply a nice-to-have. Belonging is essential to creating and sustaining high-performing, innovative, and resilient organizations. By recognizing that belonging matters for every employee and implementing strategies to foster it, organizations can create workplaces where all individuals feel valued, connected, encouraged, and empowered to contribute their best.
