Teams are only as strong as their weakest link. The way to ensure there are no weak links is to help every member know they're in the right place.
This path helps your team build the skills that empower them to forge deep connections and foster indiscriminate inclusivity.
The next key component of fostering a culture of belonging is maintaining the practice of psychological safety. It is defined as "the belief that you won’t be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes." This means managers encouraging employees to try new things, speak openly, give honest feedback, which in turn promotes innovation & connection. Creating small moments of inclusion and belonging in day-to-day interactions and creating a space where employees feel confidence in their value.
Emotional Intelligence, or EQ, is becoming a highly valued quality, which includes your ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions. Those with higher EQs tend to show greater empathy towards others, including their co-workers. As such, studies have shown that Emotional Intelligence, has become a strong predictor of job performance. In fact, people with a high EQ and average IQ outperform those with the highest IQs 70% of the time. Build on your EQ to improve your self awareness, boost your people management skills, nurture productive relationships, and leverage the strengths of your team.
One of the key components of a culture of belonging is creating a space for everyone to feel included, especially marginalized groups, and consistently practicing empathy and inclusiveness. Research by Google reveals that the best teams engage with each other from a continuous place of empathy. Active listening is the most vital part of practicing empathy. It's also one of most actionable ways managers can create a "culture of belonging."
HR teams striving to build workplace inclusivity, especially as they deal with hybrd/remote work changes from COVID or as they return to office.
Leadership changes or new leader promotions where the time it takes for the leader to be effective is directly proportional to the time it takes to gain the trust of the people they lead.
Teams battling workplace toxicity where they recognize they have behaviors that need to change, and are looking for support/direction to make it happen.
