Do you "belong"?

I was talking to a friend the other day. He was telling me... "well, actually, I feel I don't belong to my team". He was describing to me a strange sensation he was having every day. He was getting to work, knowing that he would NOT be taken into account. Things would go their own way, and even if he had another point of view (or, maybe, a great idea), noone would ask for it. On top of that, he felt he was "too different". He tried to pretend he was similar to the other team members but by doing so he was feeling he was moving away from his true essence, and was feeling the tension inside. He was not relaxed at work and started to feel anxiety.

Unfortunately, this is the feeling many people are facing with, every day. They believe they do not "belong" to the place / company / team where they usually work and they struggle with it.

Why is that?

Companies and their leaders sometimes make a poor job in "including" employees so that they feel important and valued in their day-to-day activities. Some companies decide to spread the sense of belonging my creating campaigns on "values", "culture"... but, on a daily basis, the managers are not willing to question themselves and open up to get new points of view. Could be too risky. Too exposed.

Inclusive leadership is a necessary step towards generating a culture of belonging. Let's push our organisations in this sense, speaking up for us and for those others who do not dare.

#diversity #inclusion #belonging