Within the context of exploring innovative strategies to transform organisational cultures, one can always envision the executive coaches. They are the people who get called in to turn the culture around when the in-house initiatives are failing.
One of them, let’s call her Lucy, has a somewhat unique approach. She tries to gather as much evidence as possible about the company she’s working with without the CEO knowing. She’s a master observer and she knows that the key to unlocking the true potential of a company lies in understanding the perspectives of those in the engine room.
So she offers to mentor a few middle managers for free. It’s through these sessions that she gains insights that even the most seasoned executives would struggle to uncover.
During one of her sessions, Lucy welcomed her first mentee into her office: Sienna, a bright and enthusiastic analyst from the marketing team. But the conversation took an unexpected turn when Lucy asked her a simple question: “Are you happy at the company?”
Sienna’s response was both shocking and heartbreaking. She revealed that she often felt lonely at work, struggling to connect with her colleagues and unable to share her thoughts and ideas with them: “Sometimes I want to say something about how the current news makes me feel, there’s so much going on that it’s hard to leave it all at the door, but I end up not saying anything.”
Lucy knew that she had to do something to help. She also realised there were likely many other employees who were struggling in silence. She was even more determined to try to hone a better culture at the company.
The proof is in the pudding
Sienna is not alone, her story is one of thousands in the UK where employees are feeling a lack of connection and belonging at work. Startling statistics have revealed that one in six workers with less than five years of experience in their workplace suffer from feelings of loneliness.
Astonishingly, however, a resounding 89% of respondents agreed that a sense of belonging is paramount to overall employee satisfaction.
Startling statistics have revealed that one in six workers with less than five years of experience in their workplace suffer from feelings of loneliness.
Employee engagement has also plummeted to shocking depths. A staggering 80% of employees reported that they simply “just go to work,” lacking any genuine connection or enthusiasm. And as growth in per-person productivity in the UK continues to decrease below 1% over the past 40 years, executives are left questioning the work culture they have created. They are now turning towards the concept of belonging to amend their work culture.
‘Belonging’ has recently erupted onto the business scene
After George Floyd’s tragic murder, citizens around the world called on businesses and organisations to lead the change in greater inclusivity. They turned to diversity and Chief Diversity Officers to turn the misfortunes around. These initiatives, however, fell vastly short of their promises.
Despite the best intentions of mostly the HR departments, the messages promoting diversity and inclusion struggled to resonate with employees. A survey conducted by HBR revealed a stark disparity: 97% of HR leaders believed inclusion was improving in their companies, while only 37% of employees strongly agreed. Shockingly, 34% admitted they didn’t know if any real changes were taking place!
Leaders are now turning towards the concept of belonging to amend their work culture.
Still today, employees feel overlooked and excluded at work. Many are losing hope with a system that just wasn’t built for them. Several experts explain that the failure to amend the system lies in the divisive nature of the inclusive messages themselves. Now there’s a fundamental shift at play: inclusion was never about diveristy; it was about belonging.
In Poles Apart, authors Alison Goldsworthy, Laura Osborne, and Alexandra Chesterfield assert that true progress cannot be achieved by speaking in the language of divided groups. Instead, they advocate for a language of ‘collective groups’ where everyone unites towards a common purpose.
Then, in the United States, Karith Foster, a Black keynote speaker is coaching teams across different industries along the same train of thought. She wants to include those who aren’t marginalized in the conversation about inclusion, and using a narrative of belonging is one way to do that.
Now there’s a fundamental shift at play: inclusion was never about diversity; it was about belonging.
Ms Foster believes that every team has some form of irreconcilable differences it must overcome to move forward. Especially when it comes down to political beliefs and the idea that one might be left behind while others get ahead in society. Since a lot of people still have that zero-sum mindset when it comes to progressive policies or codes of conduct, Ms Foster believes it’s now vital to speak in a language that includes everyone.
She uses terms such as “building bridges” during her coaching sessions and highlights examples of employees standing up for those who feel excluded in the moment. Rather than having a conversation about broad patterns and identity politics, she jumps straight into team building and brings employees closer together with a purpose.
She told The New York Times that “an overemphasis on identity groups and a tendency to reduce people to ‘victim or villain’ can strip agency from and alienate everyone — including employees of colour.” Rather than putting individuals into categories, she believes that everyone should be included in the conversation about ameliorating culture in a positive light, allowing everyone to make mistakes and correct them.
An overemphasis on identity groups and a tendency to reduce people to ‘victim or villain’ can strip agency from and alienate everyone.
Empowering strengths and winning together
Today, one step towards changing culture for the better is ensuring everyone can bring their authentic selves to work. For employees to really embody the message of bringing their authenticity to work, it has to hit home for everyone. The message must come from the leaders and empower their employees.
Hiring the best talent is not enough anymore to drive a successful business. Leaders must motivate their best talent to perform to the best of their abilities for their teams.
This is exactly what executive coaches and keynote speakers like Lucy and Karith speak about. If culture isn’t being turned around inside the company, then they need an external force to turn the motivation around.
The key steppingstone to creating a culture of belonging is allowing employees to be authentic at work. That takes continuous compassion between employees and leaders. The return on that investment is an extraordinary commitment to success, creating a ‘feel good’ environment in the workplace.
