Creating Belonging – Answer the Call to Conscious Leadership

Kenston Henderson, Sr., Chief Empowerment Officer of Live with Lyfe, a training and development solutions company specializing in DEIB and conflict resolution, stepped in for Lawrence this month to co-host and speak from his experience of creating belonging.

Right off the bat, we had to give creating belonging credit for helping organizations and communities to get more done. That is just one of many benefits creating belonging has been proven to produce, like higher engagement, lower absenteeism, presenteeism, and turnover.

Even some companies who get it, and vie to create belonging are missing the mark. In doing so, they lead uninvested leaders with ammunition to claim that DEIB initiatives aren’t worth the investment, at best, and don’t work at all, at worst.

One of my favorite quotes from this event was: “If you’re doing DEI alone, you’re doing it wrong.”

Below are some of the questions that Kenston and I answered in this month’s event. Join C3 to gain access to the replay. Answer half of them correctly by submitting your answers to me via LinkedIn message or email: Karen@epiccareering.com, and win access to the full ConCon Library!

✷What does Lawrence call “Courageous Inclusion”?

✷Why is it hard for new people to feel like they belong?

✷What was the local organization Kenston propped up as an organization that has an inspirational model of creating belonging through what he calls a “juggernaut” of a DEI department?

✷Why do many DEIB initiatives actually fail or fall short?

✷What is required to make DEIB succeed so the organization can realize the benefits?

✷What were the steps, or perhaps the scale, that Kenston described for belonging

✷Valuing input. Many cultures discourage or even prohibit junior employees from providing input. 

✷Should a company start from scratch to “bake in” belonging, or can it start from wherever it is to elevate it?

✷What does belonging look like?

✷What is the #1 most important ingredient for DEIB success?

✷How do you know your organization is ready for DEIB? 

✷What do leaders have to embody in order to create belonging among their teams?

✷What questions should leaders be asking?

✷What do affinity groups done well look like and what are the potential pitfalls?

✷Are standards by nature anti-inclusive and how can they be assessed? 

✷What are some misconceptions of belonging that are used as justifications to ignore it?

✷What happens when belonging isn’t pervasive at all levels?

✷Why is belonging so powerfully connected to the benefits we mentioned?

✷What are the detriments of lacking belonging?

✷What is data’s role now in how organizations can better inform policies, funding, and initiatives?

✷What can those who want belonging and inclusion do to inspire greater investment and stakeholdership in related initiatives?

In C3, we want you to GRAB. THE. MIC! Share your experience with conscious leadership. Join C3 today and introduce yourself. Tell us what you would like to share that can help more of our members create even greater conscious change.