I have recently read 3 great books on leadership, focused on team development and building a sports dynasty (winning multiple championships)
- Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson
- How Phil Jackson, as a coach, won 11 NBA Championships
- This along with ‘The Trillion Dollar Coach’, which is the playbook of Bill Campbell, are my two all time favorite books
- The Fearless Organisation, by Amy Edmunson
- Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation and growth
- Cultures of Growth, by Mary C Murphy
- How the new science of mindset can transform individuals, teams and organisations. (Mary was the student of Carol Dweck who wrote Mindset, another great book on Leadership and Parenting).
When I read these books, I always try to take away 3 learnings from my readings to reflect on and to practice as a new behaviour. Any more than three, will be an overload that will not allow me to develop new habits. But after reading these three books, the one learning that I never read – or at least stood out and stuck with me – was the importance of BELONGING … and it is just so obvious to me now.
People have a natural desire to want to belong to a cause or a team. One of the main characteristics of an effective team is formed because the people have a sense of belonging to the cause and to the people that make up the team.
We will all know of, or may have unfortunately experienced, a person who was ostracized from a society or a group. The impact it has on the individual can be very harmful and long lasting; but if you are responsible for building a true team, then you need to realize the harmful effect it will have on the team as well.
When Michael Jordan went into retirement for the first time in his storied NBA career to go and try to play professional baseball, he rediscovered the sense of belonging. Spending time with his baseball teammates had him rediscover the joy of bonding with others.
Creating the culture of Belonging is now such an obvious leadership principle to me. Implementing this principle in the safety of a book is very different then implementing and practicing it in real life situations. As leaders we need to make difficult decisions, we need to have honest conversations, and we need to do this with all our own flaws. Creating a Belonging culture sounds easy and obvious, but in practice or in the heat of the moment, it is not always going to be easy and obvious. My only suggestion when it is one of these difficult moments, is to be authentic and let your intentions guide you.
If this concept resonates with you, then become the Affiliative type of Leader:
- Affiliative leaders create emotional bonds and harmony.
- They’re communicators and relationship builders. Their mindset is, “People come first.”
- This style values people above all else. These leaders want people to be happy and motivated.
- At its best, this style inspires fierce loyalty and drives teamwork.
- These leaders are positive and build a sense of belonging in an organization.
- They are culture builders.
I know we need more of them in our environments
Other thoughts on Belonging:
- Guy Kawasaki’s Remarkable People podcast:
- “In order for connection to happen, we have to be able to be seen”, Brene Brown
- Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
thought for the week 
you can also add people “like to be heard”
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