What do I belong to?

Hello,

I'm Isabel.

I belong to my family, I belong to my friends, I belong to my community.

I still belong (the ties of camaraderie) to the company I've spent five great years with, and I'm now setting out on my own new adventure.

I belong to my children's school. I belong to London. I belong to Britain, I belong to Europe.

There, that's already enough to start a few conversations.

Human beings are tribal creatures. Our individual identity is marked by that of the groups we join: our collective achievement is made up of many individuals' efforts. We share characteristics, excitements, frustrations; work towards a common purpose, vision and ethos.

I belong to musicians (a sensitive tribe with tendencies to perfectionism), parents (trading patience with indulgence) and those who love laughter (a more maverick bunch).

21st century life requires us to belong to many tribes at the same time. This brings fruitful interchange as well as tricky issues. Societies and nations have developed complex systems to manage both, some more even-handedly than others.

Belonging, and NOT belonging, raises big challenges for organisations and employees.
It is a theme for our times, at the heart of many business issues:

• What happens after a merger or acquisition? The conflict of belonging has been the downfall of much-lauded mega-deals.
• What about companies whose main business is outsourcing: if your uniform says one name and your pay packet another, what do you belong to? This confusion can dilute effort and effectiveness.
• How can organisations include remote, dispersed and isolated employees?
• In global businesses, with hundreds of thousands of employees in many countries, across different cultures, departments, disciplines... how best to ensure the healthy interchange between all those internal tribes?

  

These are not small issues. Nor are they soft. 

Belonging is hardcore. 
Businesses lose and make vast amounts of profit based on the success of belonging as much as the strength of their product or distribution. 

The old cliché that  'Culture eats strategy for breakfast' 
has a load of mangled half-chewed-and-spat-out business disasters behind it as evidence of truth. And belonging is behind most of them.

And it's not just money that's at stake. Public bodies, charities and voluntary bodies all seek to serve their purpose through the collective efforts of their people. A clear sense of belonging, of how all the tribes come together, is vital for success.

Having spent most of the last 20 years helping companies (big and small, parochial and global) to make their culture work better, and led new thinking on values, ethics and purpose, I've been more and more bothered about the big questions at the heart of this:

• How do we belong? 
• Does belonging mean 'membership' or 'ownership', or a dance between both?
• How does an organisation invite people to belong, and set out the terms of being part of it?
• How do individuals choose what to commit to? 
• How can organisations uphold common belief and purpose, maintain standards and ethics? 

I don't believe there is a single 'Belonging model' that clever consultants can shove companies into. 

I don't believe there's a simplistic answer. 
It's complicated. And individual.

I do believe that there are common themes for any organisation. 

I know the parameters for how belonging works - and how to strengthen it when it fragments. 

The shape of the model, and the most relevant methods for strengthening Belonging, will vary for each company.

I've identified some of the main reference points - but I want to pin down more detail and nuance.

So now I'm putting my efforts where my mouth is and investigating this more thoroughly.

I'm just setting out, excited by how much there is to do. 
Of course, as well as seeing new insights, I can see all the things that I'm not. (Oh dear, I did say I belong to Britain - national characteristic self-deprecation?)

I want it to be thorough and rigorous, with a clear tune (Ah yes, the musician speaks...).

And I want it to be meaningful and useful (Hmm, parenthood).

I believe that belonging matters. 

I believe it's in our interdependence (not our independence) that we can really make a difference.

And that's how organisations and individuals - and communities and nations - can all flourish.

I'll be sharing much of my thinking as I go as an open-brain process on  http://www.belongingspace.com/    

It's a space to think, a space to exchange, a space to read, a space to challenge, a space for all things belonging.

I'd be delighted to hear from any like-minded souls, and any organisations who would like to give an interview.

And meantime, if you'd like any help with how to create a stronger sense of belonging in your organisation, drop me a line at isabel@belongingspace.com

That's hello from me and the Belonging Space.

What about you?

What do you belong to?

How can we can help you create a sense of Belonging?
Drop us a line, we'd love to chat.

isabel@belongingspace.com
www.belongingspace.com

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@BelongingSpace
@IsabelBelonging