You Belong Here - Part 1

Editors note: The following article compilation by Consultants Collective executive coach, Kevin Jordan, is the first in a 3-part series on belonging. As part of Consultants Collective’s Third Wave initiative, which focuses on company culture and the future of how we work together in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the goal of creating more inclusive organizations, we’ve been asking: how can leaders rethink what it means to be part of a company — to truly create a sense of belonging when in many cases we are no longer together physically — a sense of belonging for everyone regardless of role, race or gender, level, or title, for those on the front lines or working from home? We hope you find this series helpful, if our advisors, consultants and coaches can help you and your organization, please contact us at info@consultantscollective.net

This week, the Articles and Podcasts sections focus exclusively on corporate culture, and its profound effect on our feelings of belonging, connectivity, perceived value and worth for the myriad gifts we bring to our craft. As well as our desire to give discretionary effort in services to our leaders and organizations. The Articles section in this series on belonging will focus on three areas:

1) This week we’re focusing on the key attributes and components of culture and why culture is a vital differentiating factor to both attract and retain talented folks and successfully grow your business.

2) In Part Two, we’ll focus on the power of and need for truly inclusive workplace environments, especially in our current, and what will likely be our ongoing, remote work environments. There are multiple perspectives here on why and how we need to get beyond diversity and inclusion to a sustained sense of belonging. “Dear White Boss” is a truly moving piece and is relevant now as when it was originally published (read it first and then guess the date… I was way off)

3) Finally, in Part Three we’ll focus on cultural pitfalls to avoid (or at least mitigate), as well as a series of pragmatic articles for creating, sustaining and evolving the culture that you want (e.g. conducting organizational culture mapping, fostering mentally healthy workplaces, revamping hiring best practices, providing proactive onboarding tips for new employees, etc.)

As always, happy reading and listening! And please stay safe and look out for your families and your community.

Articles

Why Great Employees Leave “Great Cultures.” “To start, we need to get more specific in how we define culture. Great organizations and leaders know that the culture stuff is the hard stuff. Culture takes time to define. It takes work to execute. Yet, if the time is spent (1) really understanding the behaviors expected throughout the organization; (2) identifying the systems and processes that will continue to help those behaviors be expressed and sustained; and (3) shaping practices that help employees and the organization become better, then you can close your culture gaps.”

Why the Most Effective Operations Managers Truly Value Great Culture. “Your organization’s ability to execute—to operate effectively and efficiently—is directly related to the health of its culture.”

Making Empathy Central to Your Company Culture. “Empathy deserves its buzzy status, and leaders are wise to desire it for their businesses. But to succeed in making it part of their organization’s DNA, they must pay close attention to how cultures build and change — organically, collectively, and often from the bottom up.”

Are Your D&I Efforts Helping Employees Feel Like They Belong? “People want their social group to be included and their individual self to belong. These are two different things. Managers can hit both targets when diversity initiatives do consider social identity, but inclusion initiatives focus on the individual. Managers should not only signal that a social identity is valued, but also that the individual is valued, as a person, not just on the basis of the social group they represent. Support and recognition from coworkers, particularly those in leadership positions, foster feelings of inclusion and belonging.“

Sustaining and Strengthening Inclusion In Our New Remote Environment. “Thoughtful action now can help teams build new habits, strengthen connections, and encourage the growth of inclusive cultures that will better realize the full potential of all employees.”

TED Talks/Podcasts

WorkLife with Adam Grant: The Fall of WeWork’s Culture. “Exclusive: In his first public interview since WeWork’s collapse, former Chief Growth Officer David Fano opens up about the company’s leadership and culture. We go deep on the rewards and risks of charismatic leadership and bold visions, the differences between strong cultures and cults, and how a meteoric rise can come crashing down.”

Blog Posts

Seth Godin: Generous isn’t always the same as free. “The answer might be showing up to do the difficult work of connection, of caring and of extending ourselves where it’s not expected.”

Arts, Music & Culture Corner

15 Insane Photos from Northern California’s 2-Day Lightning Storm. “…The 2-day storm gave photographers throughout Northern California the opportunity to capture some eye-catching shots…From the Bay Area to Sacramento and all the way up to Redding, the storm was bright throughout the area. Here are some of the best photos.”

Cameron Crowe on the 20th Anniversary of ‘Almost Famous’: “It’s Never Been as Popular as It Is Now.” “The writer-director on interviewing rock legends for ‘Rolling Stone,’ screening the movie for Led Zeppelin, and why the film still resonates after two decades.”