Belonging and Helping Them Matter
Culture Building
I’m sure we’d all agree that a team member who feels like they belong is more likely to stay on the team than a team member who feels on the outskirts. But, even though teams are often working toward a common goal, building a culture of belonging in the workplace can be more difficult than we might expect.
Of course, there are some tried and true methods: creating shared experiences and rituals (in Denmark, teams sing together before business meetings!), one-on-one meetings, and being vulnerable as the leader can all do some work in fostering a culture of belonging.
All of these methods are great--and effective. But they focus immediately on interpersonal relationships as the building blocks of belonging. I want to suggest that the building blocks of belonging are much more personal.
The Superpower Connection
If you don’t know what you bring to a team, it’s going to be tougher to believe that you belong as part of the team.
Team leaders, you have a responsibility to name, nurture, and celebrate the unique perspectives and skills of those on your team. If you’re not able to identify what differentiates your team members beyond their titles, you don’t have a culture of belonging. You have a culture of association.
I believe that everyone has some quality or skill--their superpower--that is totally unique to them. Leaders need to start with this assumption when working to cohere their team. Part of any leader’s job is to help the team members discover and unlock their distinctive assets and help leverage those in the larger construct of the team to achieve a common goal.
New View EDU Podcast Episode 5: Schools for Developing Superpowers
Lisa Kay Solomon is a leading expert and futurist on education and design thinking. She and I met as fellow members of Silicon Guild, a distinguished salon group of 40 authors and thought-leaders who get together regularly to discuss key topics. (Other members include Susan Cain, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Chris Yeh, Jacqueline Novogratz, Rita Gunther McGrath, Bob Sutton, and Julie Lythcott-Haims). Lisa and I immediately bonded over our shared value in fostering the next generation and the belief that the humanity-facilitating skills, such as empathy, curiosity, and imagination, are critical to success in any field. These skills need to be the cornerstone of our next generation's education.
“But to be true in the big moments, you have to be true in the small moments. And moments... moments matter.” In this episode of New View EDU, Lisa, co-host Tim Fish, and I examine resilience through the lens of leadership in the school setting. What are the essential understandings, skills, and practices school leaders can adapt from other settings to create dynamic and supportive environments for students and staff? How can we learn from the legacies of great leaders like Coach K to transform our own teams and live lives of significance?
It’s a big topic to tackle at a time when many are focused on just getting students back to school and back to the traditions and systems we recognize. But in this moment of transformation, we have a unique opportunity to adapt our practices to help our schools thrive in a rapidly changing world. Leadership, executed with empathy and positivity, is an art form that chips away all but the “assumed awesomeness” in each person, leaving every administrator, teacher, student and staff member ready to develop their own superpowers.
As you listen to this episode, what are superpowers elements you can apply to your own organization?
The Takeaway
Knowing how your team members matter is one of the most powerful ways you can create a culture of belonging. Specifically, knowing the innate and instinctive strengths of your team members can provide teams with greater functional and relational insight.
What’s Next?
Thank you for reading this issue of Leadership Playbook: Unleashing Your Superpowers! The next issue - out March 23 will be a special issue that contains the first two sections of the audiobook version of The Launch Book: Motivational Stories to Launch Your New Idea, Business, and Next Career.
Got a leadership, career, or superpowers question? Let me know via comments or email and I hope to answer them in a future issue.
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