Belonging, Performance, and Engagement

Abstract

The effects of leadership on performance and engagement have long been evaluated and measured. Communities, organizations, and educational institutions seek to empower and support behaviors that lead to results, but the context of how is fundamentally different post-pandemic. Looking forward, organizational and institutional success will depend on the leader's ability to create a belonging environment. With followership no longer driven by rational rewards, leaders must learn how to connect with members' emotional needs to motivate and inspire action. This chapter examines the importance of adopting new leadership behaviors, the cost of membership loneliness and exclusion, and the impact of trust, accountability, and empathy. The chapter concludes with indicators and tactics to create belonging environments that drive engagement and high performance. In the absence of consideration of the concepts discussed in this chapter, mediocrity will rule, and a twenty percent engagement rate has the potential to become the global standard impacting performance worldwide (Gallup, 2022). These executed concepts and tactics will support community members to behave differently, empowering each other to rebound and thrive using tools that meet emotional needs and empower positive change.