Belonging

It’s what makes a market, culture or a movement. I’m not sure it’s a precursor to performance but it certainly is an output, and in the process of creating performance, it is both foundational and created from a group striving toward performance, toward meeting a challenge. 

It’s simpler to understand and recognize for me than inclusion, though inclusion is certainly in the ingredient mix. Belonging though is tied to an outcome that arises from its presence.  A sense of belonging creates the assumption of ownership.  If you belong, you are part of it, and you have an obligation to the group’s success, and responsibility to your role and contribution.  When I think of belonging, and the groups I have worked with, it was their reliance and belief in me and one another that made me both belong and be accountable to.  I was damned if I was going to let them down.  

In that way, belonging to a culture of performance is exclusive and rare.   Where people come together to rely on each other, the sense of belonging develops.  You can rely on us, and we can rely on you.  I know of no culture that performs well, where those who are part of the success don’t feel that at a visceral level.