Don’t ignore the business benefits of a great culture.
If your organization isn’t actively cultivating a positive culture of belonging, you’re falling behind — and you’re also losing money. Fostering belonging in your organization isn’t a feel-good add-on; it’s a hardcore business strategy that drives real, palpable financial results. Without it, you’re willingly handicapping your company’s potential for growth, creativity, and innovation.
Here are ten ways to leverage belonging as your secret weapon for business success.
1. Be Honest, Authentic, & Communicate Clearly
Forget sugar-coated directives. Crystal clear communication is non-negotiable. Leaders need to speak plainly about the company’s mission, values, and goals. Clarity reduces confusion and builds trust, and your team’s engagement and productivity depend on it. If you’re not open, authentic, and clear, you’re basically ensuring your team operates in the dark.
2. Practice Genuine Inclusive Leadership
Are you truly practicing inclusivity, or are you just ticking boxes? Great leaders know they can harness the immense power of diverse perspectives to fuel innovation and edge out competition. If you’re not actively promoting an inclusive leadership style, you’re essentially giving your competitors the upper hand. Wake up and smell the innovation.
3. The Tactical Advantage of ERGs & Community Networks
Think Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are just nice-to-have? Think again. They’re strategic powerhouses that drive employee engagement and market insights. Ignoring this tool is like leaving your best weapons sheathed while heading into battle. Equip your people to connect, share, and innovate — then stand back and watch the magic happen.
4. Celebrate Diversity or Stay Mediocre
Celebrating diversity is smart business. It brings diverse solutions to the table, and ignoring this fact is akin to business malpractice. Regularly recognizing and celebrating the diverse cultures, achievements, and backgrounds of your employees, you actively engage with your employees, and you’re not just being nice — you’re being incredibly profitable.
5. Flexibility Is No Longer Optional
Are you still enforcing rigid schedules or demanding a return to the office? Stop sabotaging your own success. Today’s top talent demands flexibility, and if you’re not providing it, they will take all that knowledge and experience to your competitors. Flexible work policies significantly enhance employees’ sense of belonging, boosting their commitment to the organization, and offer a testament to leadership’s trust and respect— the key to unlocking employee potential.
6. Double Down on Leadership & Employee Development
If you’re not investing in continuous learning and development, you’re stunting your workforce’s growth and your own bottom line. Development opportunities are not perks, they are investments. By encouraging employee professional development, leaders align organizational objectives with individual career goals — helping everyone on the team grow. Companies that prioritize learning see higher engagement and retention rates. Don’t underestimate this.
7. Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions
Think routine feedback is just a bureaucratic checkbox? Then you’re missing out on one of the greatest opportunities to drive company-wide improvement. Regular feedback helps bridge the gap between individual aspirations and organizational goals. It’s about creating a two-way dialogue where employees feel heard and leaders gain insights that can drive better decision-making and more inclusive strategies. Feedback fosters a culture where everyone feels valued and integral. It’s a critical pathway toward organizational and personal growth.
8. Accessibility Is NOT Negotiable
Making your workplace accessible should be a given — if it’s not, you’re not just on the wrong side of history, but you’re impacting profitability. Accessible companies score higher on performance, innovation, and employee satisfaction. Accessibility improvements not only enhance the overall work environment, it also makes it more usable and comfortable for everyone, leading to increased productivity and innovation. Don’t just comply—lead.
9. Be the Engine that Drives Collaboration and Teamwork
When leaders foster a culture of collaboration and teamwork, it can greatly enhance the sense of belonging in the workplace. A team environment allows individuals to bring their diverse perspectives to problem solving, which in turn increases their success at arriving at solutions more efficiently and effectively — while building soft skills like active listening, empathy, and interpersonal communication. When you encourage collaboration, you also drive innovation.
10. Recruit New Team Members With Belonging In Mind
Recruitment processes should mirror your commitment to an inclusive culture. If new hires feel like outsiders in the workplace, they suppress the parts of themselves that make them unique from their colleagues — and you lose that unique perspective too. You need to strive for a recruitment process that attracts a diverse talent pool and implements bias-free selection practices so those bright new hires feel an immediate sense of belonging.
By actively engaging in these strategies, leaders can not only enhance their organizational culture but also significantly impact their bottom line. Remember, a culture of belonging isn’t just about making employees feel good—it’s about driving real, tangible business outcomes through enhanced engagement and trust.
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Kelly Meerbott, PCC is a renowned expert in executive leadership, an award winning coach, author, and TEDx Speaker. As a leadership coach, Kelly has worked with senior executives, the C-suite, and more than 400 high-ranking officers in the US military. Her customized strategies have demonstrated and measurable results, and her trauma-informed approach and PTSD training makes her unique in the industry. Combined with her coaching experience, Kelly creates a psychologically safe space for confidentiality where clients can be honest and truthful so they can break through their worst roadblocks. Kelly has multiple coaching certifications in Human & Organizational Transformation, Unconscious Bias, Leadership, cognitive therapy, improv, and communications. She is a certified clinical trauma specialist.
Currently accepting new clients for late 2024-2025, Kelly invites you to discover how her coaching can transform your leadership journey.
