Culture of belonging and psychological safety

A sense of not belonging, that we are not accepted or valued at work can be enormously detrimental to our psychological well-being and sense of self, and can impact engagement, motivation and performance.

Belonging requires leaders to have the insight and tools to create a culture in which everyone can experience a sense of belonging, including fostering a climate of psychological safety, and ensure they too can feel they belong at work.

Our impact and effectiveness in the workplace is grounded in our confidence, self-efficacy and self-esteem. This is turn requires self insight and awareness, which can be achieved through opportunities for self-reflection, psychometrics tools, and facilitated self-enquiry.

This insight also lays the foundations for understanding others and supports leaders in developing relationships, effective influencing, offering impactful coaching and feedback to their teams.

For real progress to be made within organisations today in terms of equitable treatment of diversity requires and understanding and awareness of unconscious bias, yes.

But it also requires a shift in attitude that can only come through education, understanding and awareness, along with the confidence and competence to step into the conversation and become true allies to those from diverse groups.