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EPISODE SUMMARY:
What is belonging? How can organizations harness the energy that comes from true belonging? Wendy Gates Corbett will share her 3-pillar framework of belonging along with tactical ideas to foster a culture of belonging.
What is belonging? How can organizations harness the energy that comes from true belonging? Wendy Gates Corbett will share her 3-pillar framework of belonging along with tactical ideas to foster a culture of belonging.
Wendy Gates Corbett is a bestselling author and belonging researcher. She works with organizations worldwide to identify the specific behaviors that build belonging in their workplace communities. She is an international keynote speaker who has spoken to over 150,000 people and an adjunct professor of leadership and management at Duke University. While she has worked in the organizational culture space for almost 30 years, her work on belonging stems from her personal journey as a biracial child growing up in predominantly white neighborhoods. Her book, The Energy of Belonging: 75 Ideas to Spark Workplace Community (you can omit the subtitle if you want), highlights her research on belonging behaviors. It was released in January 2024 and is a #1 bestseller in Business Management, HR and Personnel Management, Org'l Behavior, Org'l Change categories.
www.wendygatescorbett.com / www.signature-presentations.com / www.linkedin.com/in/wendygatescorbett
#energyofbelonging #youbelonghere #belonging #organizationaldevelopment #teamdevelopment
Tune in for this empowering conversation at TalkRadio.nyc
Wendy Gates discussed the various interpretations of belonging. She noted a gap in typical definitions and proposed her own. She highlighted several components contributing to a sense of belonging within a corporation: feeling safe, valued, and crucially, connected to both colleagues and the organization as a whole.
After recounting her childhood experiences and the incident at the stoplight, she emphasized the universality of the feeling of belonging. Furthermore, she advised stepping back from intrusive thoughts or spiraling doubts about being accepted by others. Instead, she suggested shifting focus to what one would personally desire in a similar situation. Wendy also highlighted that in a professional environment, fostering a welcoming atmosphere shouldn't necessarily require financial investment. It simply demands consistency and transparency to encourage team members to engage and share about themselves, thereby fostering teamwork and acceptance.
This segment went over about feeling protected in an environment; essentially since nobody is perfect we are worried about our weaknesses showing. In a safe environment, weaknesses aren't used against you. This aligns closely with the concept of protecting others, like confronting bullying in the workplace. Numerous leaders struggle with addressing this issue tactfully, as confrontation can be uncomfortable yet necessary.
The final part covered Wendy's website, her consulting services, where to find information about her and her book, and also included a survey for organizations to gain insight into what to focus on when striving to create a positive change in the workplace.
00:00:24.490 --> 00:00:38.380 Mira Brancu: welcome to the hard skill show with me, Dr. Mira Branku, and today's guest is Wendy Gates, Corbett, and we'll be talking about the strategy behind creating a culture of belonging so great to have you on the show, Wendy.
00:00:41.010 --> 00:00:42.600 Mira Brancu: and you're on mute.
00:00:44.350 --> 00:00:50.969 Mira Brancu: Mira. I am delighted to be here. Thank you absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. And
00:00:51.620 --> 00:01:00.289 Mira Brancu: just, you know, I'm not sure what's happening this year for me. I used to be known as the person with the hardiest
00:01:00.460 --> 00:01:03.309 Mira Brancu: metabolism and the hardiest
00:01:03.450 --> 00:01:06.300 Mira Brancu: you know.
00:01:06.670 --> 00:01:24.860 Mira Brancu: immune system, and not getting sick ever like I was a person in the family that never, ever got sick. And now, like I feel like every time I come on the show I have to say I'm sick again. What's happening this year. So I apologize. Everyone. My voice is probably gonna sound quite an easily. But
00:01:25.140 --> 00:01:28.930 Mira Brancu: the the music did get me pumping. So
00:01:29.140 --> 00:01:39.089 Mira Brancu: on this show we discussed. I love that intro music. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, it gets me going. It gets me pumped
00:01:39.150 --> 00:01:51.809 Mira Brancu: so on the hard skills show. Wendy, we discussed how to develop the nuanced hard skills needed to drive significant systemic change, to make a real impact through your leadership.
00:01:52.210 --> 00:01:58.220 Mira Brancu: And I want the audience to really be ready for Wendy here and take some notes.
00:01:58.230 --> 00:02:13.659 Mira Brancu: I do. I always take notes. But when I listen to Wendy you need to lean in because she's got so many like really thoughtful gold nuggets when it comes to this topic. And I really think out of all of the
00:02:13.790 --> 00:02:18.779 Mira Brancu: hard skills we talk about belonging is one of the most critical these days. Right? Wendy.
00:02:18.950 --> 00:02:38.489 Mira Brancu: absolutely. Yes, yeah. So really lean in, let me just share a little bit about Wendy Wendy Gates. Corbett is a bestselling author and belonging researcher. She works with organizations worldwide to identify the specific barriers that build belonging in the workplace communities.
00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:45.440 She is an international keynote speaker who has spoken to over a hundred 50,000 people
00:02:45.600 --> 00:02:49.759 Mira Brancu: and adjunct professor of leadership and management at Duke University.
00:02:50.020 --> 00:03:05.509 Mira Brancu: while she has worked in the organizational culture space for almost 30 years. Her work on belonging stems from her personal journey as a biracial child growing up in a predominantly white neighborhoods. So I'm curious to learn about that journey as well.
00:03:05.530 --> 00:03:08.510 Mira Brancu: Her book, The Energy of belonging
00:03:08.740 --> 00:03:29.480 Mira Brancu: 75 ideas to spark workplace, community highlights, her research on belonging behaviors. It was released in January, and it's a number one bestseller in business management, Hr. And personnel management, organizational behavior and organizational change categories. I was so excited for you, Wendy. Thank you. Thank you
00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:51.089 Mira Brancu: absolutely. Absolutely. So let's let's just start with like, the basics here. What is your definition of belonging? II know there's a kind of a lot of definitions out there. I'm curious. Where are you coming at this from. There are a lot of definitions of belonging. And what I found is I started researching
00:03:51.180 --> 00:03:53.339 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): into what
00:03:53.450 --> 00:04:09.179 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): contributes to a sense of belonging. I myself wanted a definition. So every article and every podcast I listened to all had their own definition, but it felt to me like there was something missing in each of those definitions.
00:04:09.300 --> 00:04:24.930 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): So I made up my own that sort of pulls together. What I thought worked in each of those. So my definition of belonging is that it is a result. It's an outcome, it's an emotion.
00:04:25.030 --> 00:04:35.659 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): It's what we feel when we feel welcomed. when we feel valued, when we feel seen by the people around us
00:04:35.810 --> 00:04:42.100 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): when we feel safe to be our imperfect selves in front of other people.
00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:56.899 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): without fear of losing our jobs or without fear of retribution, and it also includes feeling a part of something that is meaningful to us that's larger than ourselves.
00:04:57.250 --> 00:05:02.000 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): So that's my my definition of belonging in a big nutshell.
00:05:02.170 --> 00:05:06.399 Mira Brancu: Yeah, I like that a lot. I
00:05:06.710 --> 00:05:08.920 Mira Brancu: I've never heard it
00:05:08.930 --> 00:05:18.309 Mira Brancu: said quite that way about feeling a part of something that's larger than ourselves. But that makes a lot of sense to add that that it's not just like us
00:05:18.390 --> 00:05:30.300 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): feeling valued, but also what are we? You know, a part of right exactly, and that what we are a part of is making some kind of impact that we think is important.
00:05:31.060 --> 00:05:34.290 Mira Brancu: Absolutely. So when we think about
00:05:34.380 --> 00:05:37.570 Mira Brancu: this experience within the world of work.
00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:40.540 Mira Brancu: Right? What is it that
00:05:40.580 --> 00:05:46.799 Mira Brancu: makes it so hard to create that environment, that feeling of belonging.
00:05:48.470 --> 00:05:58.660 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): It's not as hard as we think it is. My experience tells me that we have a tendency to over complicate
00:05:58.690 --> 00:06:00.820 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): what it is we don't understand.
00:06:00.890 --> 00:06:14.910 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and many of us think we don't understand belonging. And so we make it incredibly complicated. We think that it is a complicated construct. It's vague, its nebulous.
00:06:15.640 --> 00:06:23.909 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and what it actually is is an outcome of how we behave. It's a result of human interactions
00:06:23.960 --> 00:06:25.869 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and how we treat each other.
00:06:26.590 --> 00:06:48.239 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): So that's actually the basis of my research. When II went out searching for what behaviors create a sense of belonging, what behaviors contribute to us, feeling a sense of belonging in our workplace communities. And what I found is that, far from being complicated and complex.
00:06:48.260 --> 00:07:18.120 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): it is simple behaviors that actually contribute to a sense of belonging. So, for example, what I found in in all of the resources that I devoured, as I was trying to understand what wrap my own head around belonging. What I found is that there is a lot that goes into contributing to a sense of belonging. But there were 3 consistent themes that I found in everything that I consumed.
00:07:18.230 --> 00:07:23.259 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): I discovered that we need to feel connected to the people we work with
00:07:23.780 --> 00:07:26.360 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and connected to our organization.
00:07:26.530 --> 00:07:39.819 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): We need to feel respected by our peers and by our leaders, and we need to feel protected. We need to feel safe, to to be ourselves, to be seen as ourselves
00:07:39.840 --> 00:07:42.740 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): without major fear.
00:07:43.430 --> 00:07:45.330 Mira Brancu: Yeah.
00:07:46.440 --> 00:07:48.909 Mira Brancu: I want to dig into all 3 of these.
00:07:49.070 --> 00:07:54.450 Mira Brancu: But before we do, I'm curious. How did you even get to this
00:07:54.480 --> 00:08:11.500 Mira Brancu: interest in belonging. You know II read your bio and some of it has come from your own experiences. Growing up as a biracial child in white neighborhoods. So I'm I'm sort of curious. How did you get to this point based on your own experiences growing up?
00:08:11.970 --> 00:08:13.559 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): Well, it's
00:08:13.720 --> 00:08:25.509 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): It's been an interesting journey and quite unintentional. But just to to give you a little bit of context for how much a role belonging has played in my own life.
00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:39.360 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): We need to go back to back to when I was born. I am a biracial child my biological father is black. My biological mother is white. I'm adopted by a white family.
00:08:39.380 --> 00:08:44.889 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and the neighborhood in which we we grew up was predominantly white.
00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:56.379 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and I have always felt like I belong in my family. That's not where my lifelong quest to belong comes from. I've never had a doubt that I belong in my family.
00:08:56.660 --> 00:08:59.950 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): but being in a predominantly white neighborhood.
00:09:00.020 --> 00:09:27.520 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): all my friends were white and so I had a a next door neighbor the neighborhood where I lived when I was 5 years old. One of my next door neighbors and I were were great friends, and there were times when we got along and we got along great but when little girls got into fights, when when we got on each other's nerves one of the things that Laura would say to me, is, you don't belong here, Wendy? You're different.
00:09:28.850 --> 00:09:38.169 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): I internalized that thought. I, internalize that to a point where that became my guiding belief.
00:09:38.350 --> 00:09:53.639 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): I believed that if you thought that I was different from you then I wouldn't belong. And all of this is unconscious or subconscious. II didn't know that I had internalized that belief.
00:09:54.410 --> 00:10:01.600 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): but that belief led every single one of my behaviors until I was about 35 years old.
00:10:01.930 --> 00:10:21.019 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): I always tried to. II was the the eternal chameleon, you know, trying to convince you that I'm the same as you, whether you were smart and applied yourself in school, or you didn't, whether you were athletic or not. When it comes to class.
00:10:21.030 --> 00:10:27.329 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): you know socioeconomic status. I was always trying to convince you that I was like you.
00:10:27.350 --> 00:10:41.420 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and that meant that I was on on high, alert all the time, because I had to to figure out whether I'd been convincing you, and then, if I had great, I had to make sure that you were still convinced.
00:10:41.990 --> 00:10:52.070 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): As a result of that, I was never myself. I didn't realize this, but I was never myself. I was always who I thought you thought that I was.
00:10:52.210 --> 00:11:04.730 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): I was never seen as a leader in my professional setting, because I was always afraid to voice my opinion. Because what if my opinion was different from yours?
00:11:05.280 --> 00:11:06.380 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): So
00:11:06.420 --> 00:11:18.099 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): that's how. That's that's the basis of my experience with belonging and II was not aware of any of this
00:11:18.170 --> 00:11:24.149 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): until I had an experience at a stoplight when I was about 35 years old.
00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:29.040 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and everything was fine in my world. There was no drama. I was by myself.
00:11:29.100 --> 00:11:37.640 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and I pull up at a stoplight. On on one side of me is a car of black women, and on the other side of me is a car of white women.
00:11:37.790 --> 00:11:39.579 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and out of nowhere.
00:11:39.640 --> 00:11:48.810 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): I flipped out because I didn't know who to try to be like. Alright. I had this identity crisis at a stoplight.
00:11:48.950 --> 00:12:00.669 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): induced by my own thinking. trying to fit in with strangers who had no idea that I even existed. And that was when I realized
00:12:00.860 --> 00:12:02.750 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): how much
00:12:02.760 --> 00:12:07.120 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): the you don't belong here you're different statement.
00:12:07.300 --> 00:12:11.630 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): Contributed to who I was.
00:12:11.760 --> 00:12:17.820 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and at that point I started to shift very slowly but very steadily, shift
00:12:18.580 --> 00:12:27.650 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): my thinking of and my concern, my guiding concern about what you think about me, and who you think I am.
00:12:27.730 --> 00:12:32.160 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and I started to become who I really am.
00:12:33.130 --> 00:12:55.699 Mira Brancu: What a powerful, powerful story. I I was really drawn to it both from a personal level. And you know my own experiences of belonging, and I'm sure that when people listen to this they'll resonate in their own way from their own stories of belonging or not belonging right? Yeah. And
00:12:55.940 --> 00:13:03.860 Mira Brancu: how interesting that that's the moment that came up for you, you know each person probably can think of like the moment it came up for them
00:13:04.060 --> 00:13:10.709 Mira Brancu: as well. So when we come back from the break which is coming up. I would love to hear
00:13:10.760 --> 00:13:14.129 Mira Brancu: you know more about number one.
00:13:14.350 --> 00:13:36.699 Mira Brancu: How did you sort of blossom out of that. How did how did you know you? You had your sort of revelation, and then what you know? What did it take and then get diving into those 3 themes that you started talking about, and how others can do that and apply it to that themselves. Their leadership in their organizations after this week. So where
00:13:36.770 --> 00:13:55.100 Mira Brancu: entering the outbreak, you're listening to the hard skills with me, Dr. Mirabranku and our guest, Wendy Gates Corbett, we air on Tuesdays at 5 pm. Eastern. If you'd like to join us online and ask questions, you can on Linkedin or youtube@talkradio.and we'll be right back with our guest in just a moment.
00:16:08.430 --> 00:16:25.230 Mira Brancu: welcome back to the hard skills with me, Dr. Mirabranku and our guest today, Wendy Gates, Corbett, and we're talking about the energy of belonging. And Wendy, you just got done sharing a really powerful story your own story of belonging and that pivotal moment
00:16:25.310 --> 00:16:28.460 Mira Brancu: when you realized
00:16:28.530 --> 00:16:34.569 Mira Brancu: that you were butting up against your own sort of internalized you know
00:16:34.890 --> 00:16:48.890 Mira Brancu: Feeling of lack of belonging. And so the first question for me is, how did you get out of that? I think a lot of people would want want to know for themselves as well like what it what it takes to move
00:16:49.010 --> 00:16:51.030 Mira Brancu: to a different place with this.
00:16:51.620 --> 00:17:12.329 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): Well, I it's something that I still work on continually. I am not cured of a fear of not belonging, because I think it's it's universal. What what I found that worked for me is at that stop light! I heard a voice in my head that said, What about me?
00:17:12.440 --> 00:17:23.170 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): What do I like? What do I want to do? And those questions helped me crawl outside of your head and back into my own.
00:17:23.630 --> 00:17:38.420 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): And so what I did is, as I would realize, start to realize that I was starting to think. Oh, I wonder what they think about me. IWI bet they think I'm you know. Fill in the blank. As I started to have those thoughts.
00:17:38.440 --> 00:17:40.789 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): I would ask myself, what about me?
00:17:40.940 --> 00:17:47.640 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): And that would help me pause that train of thought, that spiraling into
00:17:47.810 --> 00:17:51.780 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): over concern about what other people are thinking about me, and what?
00:17:52.340 --> 00:18:01.249 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): What box they're putting me in. And so those questions remind me to stay within my own head
00:18:01.380 --> 00:18:09.189 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and to focus on being who I am. And those questions really inspired me and spurred me
00:18:09.480 --> 00:18:25.900 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): to start blossoming, to be the real person that I am. As I started doing that I actually started meeting a totally different kind of people, and II became friends with and did work with, and still do
00:18:25.930 --> 00:18:47.579 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): have people in my life who are the kinds of people I wanted to attract in my life. In the first place. So it is continual. It's I still have a a questions. I still have times when I feel like I don't belong, and those are times when II tap into my own heart, I soothe my spirit and
00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:51.860 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): remind myself that I have value
00:18:51.970 --> 00:18:56.610 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): simply by being me not any value that you place on me
00:18:57.690 --> 00:19:09.329 Mira Brancu: powerful powerful Wendy. It's making me think of a couple of things. Number one, just my own journey of you know we came to this country as as immigrants, and
00:19:09.450 --> 00:19:26.029 Mira Brancu: the the place that we moved to in some ways was a good thing for for me and my family, because it was in a place in New York full of immigrants, and so english was not a first language for most of us. On the other hand.
00:19:26.260 --> 00:19:42.529 Mira Brancu: you know, as we grew up and and we moved to other areas. That wasn't always the case. And so this questioning of belonging did come up for me many, many times. And it's interesting how different people
00:19:42.570 --> 00:19:53.969 Mira Brancu: like deal with this right? Like, there are people who turn into chameleons just like you and they could just figure out how to fit in everywhere, and for for me.
00:19:54.120 --> 00:19:56.660 Mira Brancu: I'm in the camp of
00:19:56.700 --> 00:20:14.009 Mira Brancu: No, I'm not gonna be like anybody at all, and I'm not gonna even let you in, and it's gonna be really hard to get in with me, you know, and it's a very like it's a total defense mechanism, just like the chameleon thing right? It's just not allowing ourselves to be
00:20:14.010 --> 00:20:27.349 Mira Brancu: connected one way or another. But instead, putting some kind of barrier whether it's I'm gonna pretend I'm somebody I'm not, or I'm going to not let you in at all. It's still a wall, right? Some kind of like
00:20:27.560 --> 00:20:37.219 Mira Brancu: difficulty or or creating a lack of connection, actual feeling of connection. And it sort of gets me into this first
00:20:37.400 --> 00:20:52.730 Mira Brancu: of your 3 phases. Connection, right? So the first theme is getting connected to people within your organization and the organization itself. How do you create that experience?
00:20:53.340 --> 00:20:54.240 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): Well.
00:20:54.480 --> 00:21:15.430 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): the the the way that I sought to answer that question was I wanted to identify what behaviors I wanted to share the behaviors that help us create connection, and I assumed that the answers were already out there, that somebody else had already figured it out. So I was scouring everything I could find.
00:21:15.430 --> 00:21:40.030 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and didn't see any any resources that were geared directly towards the largest audience in in an organization. The front line employees. I saw some information related to and relevant to leaders. I saw resources geared towards Hr. And talent development organizational development. But I didn't see
00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:52.660 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): significant resources identified and targeting frontline employees. So I do what I usually do when I have a question about what is it that that helps you?
00:21:52.860 --> 00:22:01.849 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): I asked my network. I started asking other people, what's one thing that your colleagues do, that help you feel connected to them.
00:22:01.860 --> 00:22:08.999 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): What's one thing that your leader does that shows that they see you and or that they express interest in you.
00:22:09.010 --> 00:22:18.959 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): So I created a survey called the Belonging at Work Survey. That is, open-ended questions that's designed to crowdsource behaviors that build
00:22:19.220 --> 00:22:43.269 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): connection, respect and and a sense of protection. So when it comes to creating connection again, we we tend to over complicate. What it is that creates connection. We think that many of the leaders that I work with think, oh, it's gonna take a you know, an off site, half day retreat or you know, a multi
00:22:43.410 --> 00:22:49.470 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): $1,000 budget or an organization-wide cultural transformation initiative
00:22:49.490 --> 00:22:59.629 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): when it could not be farther from the truth. It is simple behaviors that create a sense of connection, and it's demonstrating interest
00:22:59.830 --> 00:23:02.859 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): in what's going on in your life.
00:23:03.010 --> 00:23:17.280 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): You know. How was your weekend or creating time in a team for team meetings occasionally not even every single meeting, but occasionally adding a couple of minutes to a meeting to
00:23:17.370 --> 00:23:25.310 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): invite a couple people to share a story about one of the photos on their phone. You know, one of the last 10 pictures on your phone. Tell us about it.
00:23:25.500 --> 00:23:33.000 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): Or if there is a holiday coming up like. For example, we're about to celebrate the Chinese New Year
00:23:33.060 --> 00:23:54.930 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): in the class that I teach at Duke. Many of my Chi. My students are Chinese. So I can tell you that on Monday I'm gonna a I'm gonna ask a couple of our students if they'd be willing to to explain the the meaning behind Chinese New Year demonstrating an interest in their culture.
00:23:54.980 --> 00:24:08.819 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): So these are really simple behaviors that don't have to take a long time that demonstrate interest in learning more about the person. And I wanna clarify that. That doesn't mean that that we're
00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:26.500 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): violating privacy or pushing a boundary, a personal boundary of how much someone wants to share about themselves. But it's creating an invitation for you to be as known as you want to be.
00:24:27.060 --> 00:24:31.249 Mira Brancu: It's bringing up something that
00:24:31.360 --> 00:24:34.090 Mira Brancu: I am realizing. So so
00:24:34.380 --> 00:24:41.580 Mira Brancu: one of my jobs is within a large organization and on that team.
00:24:41.840 --> 00:24:49.850 Mira Brancu: There are a few people who are really, really good at this connection thing. And so they started something just literally, just
00:24:50.690 --> 00:25:10.710 Mira Brancu: probably be because it comes naturally to them, you know, grassroots stuff. It wasn't started by leaders every Monday. They put like a little fun, Emoji, about Happy Monday, right? And so recently. They did one where they, said, Ola, you know. And then another person chimed in.
00:25:10.710 --> 00:25:30.330 Mira Brancu: and all of a sudden, like we were all saying good morning in a different language. And sometimes that was like literally an international formal language. But sometimes it was like a vernacular like, I'm from the Midwest, I'm gonna say, hey, all you know. And all of a sudden we got to know each other from a very simple
00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:35.610 Mira Brancu: like grassroots exercise. It just came naturally. Right? Yes.
00:25:36.120 --> 00:25:39.769 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): that's a perfect example. And it was organic.
00:25:40.180 --> 00:25:48.049 Mira Brancu: Exactly. Totally organic. Okay, so let's move into your second theme.
00:25:48.220 --> 00:25:53.160 Mira Brancu: Respected by peers and leaders.
00:25:53.930 --> 00:26:11.060 Mira Brancu: to me. I feel like the the themes that you have they move into, in my opinion, harder and harder to achieve. And feeling respected, I think, is harder to achieve than feeling connected. So I'm curious to hear what you learned about this one.
00:26:13.210 --> 00:26:20.259 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): We feel respected when we sense that what we contribute
00:26:20.270 --> 00:26:25.320 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): to an organization, to our department, to a project
00:26:25.390 --> 00:26:34.239 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): is seen as valuable and is recognized when we are appreciated. When someone says, thank you.
00:26:34.570 --> 00:26:46.140 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): You know when someone asks for our advice. Oh, my gosh, really! And you, you know you want my advice about about slides, or about
00:26:46.390 --> 00:26:54.860 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): lighting in your office, or where to go to to adopt a kitten. You know what it doesn't even have to be work related.
00:26:55.020 --> 00:27:06.169 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): So it is when we feel like the time that we commit to an organization the sacrifices we make and the talent that we bring
00:27:06.200 --> 00:27:11.439 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): are recognized and appreciated by our peers and our leader
00:27:11.980 --> 00:27:14.830 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): or leaders. And how would you separate?
00:27:15.070 --> 00:27:29.420 Mira Brancu: So in my eyes I see recognition and respect as as different. And sometimes you can respect people, but not necessarily recognize them publicly, or whatever, and vice versa. So
00:27:29.560 --> 00:27:32.519 Mira Brancu: How do you see them as as different?
00:27:33.610 --> 00:27:47.189 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): I agree that you can have one without the other. But but recognizing someone's contribution or acknowledging someone's contribution, their skills, their talents.
00:27:47.210 --> 00:27:54.570 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and their time. You can do that without respecting them. But it is by acknowledging
00:27:54.670 --> 00:28:06.809 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): the the way that they, the impact that their skills, have had on the project on the department and the organization. Can go a long way in saying
00:28:07.040 --> 00:28:09.609 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): the talents and skills you bring
00:28:09.670 --> 00:28:16.990 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): are making an impact here. And are respected. Here, go ahead.
00:28:17.140 --> 00:28:20.060 Mira Brancu: I was gonna just like, put a highlight on
00:28:20.550 --> 00:28:26.339 Mira Brancu: the fact that you just said you can technically recognize without respecting.
00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:33.150 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and people know it when you do it. So don't do it. Yes.
00:28:33.250 --> 00:28:36.640 Mira Brancu: like there's some leaders that like
00:28:37.340 --> 00:28:47.599 Mira Brancu: sort of re like, Oh, you're I'm supposed to recognize people. It's so annoying like I really don't like spending all this time recognizing every single person. And so then they do it
00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:57.640 Mira Brancu: in a way that you can. You can feel it's annoying to them. Right? If it's not coming from a place of true like
00:28:57.680 --> 00:29:00.010 Mira Brancu: belief in others.
00:29:00.220 --> 00:29:13.260 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): Or a value of what they bring. That is not respectful people get people feel it? Oh, yeah, and that does more damage than doing nothing is to try to play it off.
00:29:13.330 --> 00:29:14.989 Mira Brancu: absolutely, absolutely.
00:29:15.020 --> 00:29:23.159 Mira Brancu: Okay, so we're getting into another ad break when we come back. I really wanna get into this
00:29:23.170 --> 00:29:37.360 Mira Brancu: final theme of protected feeling protected. You're listening to the hard skills with me, Dr. Mirabanku and our guest, Wendy Gates, Corbett. We are on Tuesdays at 5 Pm. Eastern, and will be
00:29:37.420 --> 00:29:39.730 Mira Brancu: right back with our guest in just a moment.
00:31:40.020 --> 00:32:03.130 Mira Brancu: Welcome back to the hard skills with me, Dr. Mirabanku and Wendy Wendy Gates, Corbett. We are now talking about the third of a 3 part model that she developed for creating a sense of belonging and extracting the energy from that that third part I feel like is by far the hardest
00:32:03.250 --> 00:32:14.149 Mira Brancu: which is creating a sense of feeling protected in the organization. So I can't wait for you to tell us a little bit more about how to do this. Well.
00:32:14.660 --> 00:32:18.020 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): well, fortunately, this is
00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:29.050 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): an area where there is already a lot of research and a lot of resources. This is very closely related to psychological safety, which I am thrilled is
00:32:29.210 --> 00:32:31.130 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): really front and center
00:32:31.260 --> 00:32:40.259 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): in organizational culture work. When it comes to feeling protected. That is when we feel like
00:32:40.320 --> 00:33:06.520 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): we, we know that we're imperfect. I know that I am not a perfect being. I know that I have some strengths, and I know that I have some weaknesses, and many of us feel like. There are neon signs pointing to our weaknesses, and we are afraid that our weaknesses will be used against us, or that will be punished for them, or or they are a threat to us. We're afraid you're gonna find out about them.
00:33:06.620 --> 00:33:15.379 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): But when we are in a protected space, when there is a psychological safety that is built on trust
00:33:15.390 --> 00:33:25.350 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): interpersonal trust. Then we know that we can be our imperfect selves. We are comfortable.
00:33:25.390 --> 00:33:29.189 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): being willing to raise our hand and say, I have a question.
00:33:29.210 --> 00:33:34.260 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): I don't quite understand this, or I need some help.
00:33:34.300 --> 00:33:36.819 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): or I have a concern.
00:33:36.910 --> 00:33:46.340 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): or I have a really crazy idea. I just want to throw it out there and see what you think that happens when
00:33:46.510 --> 00:33:53.030 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): we are comfortable or not as uncomfortable, being vulnerable.
00:33:53.240 --> 00:34:11.019 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): So one of the things that we can do to create safe space is create a model the behavior by being willing to be vulnerable about something. Now, I'm not saying go all into the deep end with what you're vulnerable about.
00:34:11.020 --> 00:34:27.480 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): One of one of my favorite examples of of creating a space of vulnerability is having a failure party where we all share one of the the oh, my gosh! I can't believe I sent another email where I forgot to send the attachment.
00:34:27.590 --> 00:34:38.419 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): or I hit reply all instead of just reply, where where? A couple of people, not even everybody, but a couple of people share some of their recent
00:34:38.750 --> 00:34:45.189 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): errors or mistakes. and then we can all laugh about it. And there is that release
00:34:45.280 --> 00:34:50.770 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): when you are no longer holding onto the shame of that that last email.
00:34:51.080 --> 00:35:00.809 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): It is creating a space where we are willing to be vulnerable. And that happens when somebody somebody's got to start.
00:35:01.360 --> 00:35:03.830 Mira Brancu: Yeah, yeah,
00:35:04.940 --> 00:35:09.970 Mira Brancu: you know, II In some ways I see
00:35:10.330 --> 00:35:13.980 Mira Brancu: leaders getting better at this.
00:35:15.080 --> 00:35:22.590 Mira Brancu: you know, we we know about Patrick Lencioni's 5 behaviors of the dysfunctional team and
00:35:23.000 --> 00:35:25.050 Mira Brancu: He says that
00:35:25.210 --> 00:35:41.350 Mira Brancu: the greatest challenge that you know leaders must overcome is their need for invulnerability. And I see many leaders, especially within the mission driven organizations that I work in servant leader types. You know. They lean into this
00:35:41.620 --> 00:35:46.469 Mira Brancu: pretty well. Unfortunately, what I'm finding is now.
00:35:46.530 --> 00:35:55.420 Mira Brancu: They sometimes have to deal with employees who can be bullies
00:35:55.680 --> 00:36:06.200 Mira Brancu: and this has me scratching my head a little bit, you know, like it's one thing when a leader is a bully right? We already know clearly
00:36:06.290 --> 00:36:12.070 Mira Brancu: that it that is, that is going to affect the entire team. It affects the entire organization.
00:36:12.310 --> 00:36:22.650 Mira Brancu: when you have, like one employee starting into to sort of bully other team members, for example, on a team. Right?
00:36:23.130 --> 00:36:24.610 Mira Brancu: sometimes.
00:36:24.730 --> 00:36:33.329 Mira Brancu: The leader in that situation needs to protect the other team members and doesn't always do it
00:36:33.630 --> 00:36:42.110 Mira Brancu: or doesn't always do it well, and I'm sort of curious about, have you seen this? What would you sort of suggest or recommend in those kind of situations
00:36:42.520 --> 00:36:51.780 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): absolutely agree that when there is bullying behavior, or any any inappropriate behavior that goes unchecked. can
00:36:52.280 --> 00:37:11.720 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): absolutely contributes to the lack of safety or a lack of protection. It violates a sense of protection. So one of the one of the 75 ideas that are shared in the book is to be willing to confront
00:37:11.730 --> 00:37:14.100 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): behavior that
00:37:14.770 --> 00:37:19.490 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): threatens the the psychological safety of a space.
00:37:19.500 --> 00:37:38.709 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): I absolutely think that a lot of leaders need practice having these kinds of difficult conversations where they are diplomatically addressing someone's inappropriate or bullying behavior. And if it's not gonna be a leader, then
00:37:39.110 --> 00:37:42.970 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): someone else in the group can step up.
00:37:43.000 --> 00:37:45.719 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): And even if it's saying.
00:37:45.870 --> 00:37:56.330 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): Mira, I don't appreciate the way that I don't appreciate the tone of that joke that feels offensive to me. I'm I'm gonna step out of this conversation.
00:37:56.600 --> 00:38:16.530 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): you know. So there are ways to step into the discomfort of having an uncomfortable conversation. But it is absolutely necessary that someone step up and address inappropriate or bullying behavior. Yeah, I do think it's one of the hardest skills.
00:38:16.820 --> 00:38:31.809 Mira Brancu: I mean, one of the hardest skills for most leaders. And one of the most important. If you're gonna finish off this framework for belonging right, it's one of the most important to be able to do effectively.
00:38:31.830 --> 00:38:54.710 Mira Brancu: And if that means getting a coach, if that means, you know getting a consultant to help you getting a book, you know, on how to do this. Crucial conversations? Right? There are ways to practice at lower levels to get to the point where you could do it really well at higher levels.
00:38:54.720 --> 00:39:02.750 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): absolutely for leaders, but also for any of us. It's yes, totally. Yeah.
00:39:03.060 --> 00:39:04.270 Mira Brancu: So
00:39:04.840 --> 00:39:11.270 Mira Brancu: let's talk about the. So your book is not just on belonging. It's on the energy of belonging. What?
00:39:11.520 --> 00:39:15.549 Mira Brancu: how? How do you see? Belonging like
00:39:15.800 --> 00:39:26.960 Mira Brancu: putting energy into an organization and driving results and outcomes, because a lot of leaders are like, why should I care about belonging like, you know, we we got work to do here?
00:39:27.740 --> 00:39:57.529 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): Well, it sounds for many people. It sounds woo woo especially because I've have landed on the energy of belonging. I understand where people who tend to think that belonging is woo, woo, or or soft, or fuzzy, fluffy but there is significant research that shows that when there is a sense of psychological safety when there is a stronger sense of belonging that in an organization those organizations are 75% more creative.
00:39:57.530 --> 00:40:06.330 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): more innovative. They are better problem solvers. They are more productive and they are more profitable.
00:40:06.490 --> 00:40:10.549 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): So there are bottom line impacts
00:40:10.580 --> 00:40:25.549 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): to when there is a stronger sense of of belonging in an organization. And II landed on the concept of energy of belonging. Because think about imagine a team that you've been a part of
00:40:25.550 --> 00:40:41.239 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): where there is a strong sense of belonging where you can feel each other. Kind of II envision. People wrapped around on their elbows are are linked, even if it's a virtual team where there is that sense of connection
00:40:41.240 --> 00:40:58.289 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): where you know that your colleagues have your back, and where they know that you have their back, there is an energy that is produced that contributes to the productivity, the creativity. The problem solving the and the output.
00:40:58.920 --> 00:41:21.800 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): When that energy exists, the opposite is also true when they're when the energy of belonging is missing, or when that strong sense of belonging is missing, there are negative consequences. That also contribute to the bottom line. So it is but since belonging is the result of human interactions.
00:41:22.070 --> 00:41:33.169 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): it when those interactions are positive that creates that positive momentum and positive outcomes, profitable outcomes. And the opposite is also true.
00:41:33.900 --> 00:41:50.830 Mira Brancu: Yeah, I mean, you know, we just think about our own lives right? Like when we don't feel any connection or belonging in an organization. Or, in fact, we start feeling pushed out, ignored, invalidated, undervalued.
00:41:51.200 --> 00:41:52.409 Mira Brancu: We're gonna go.
00:41:53.200 --> 00:41:58.359 Mira Brancu: We're gonna go and you lose really talented people when that happens.
00:41:58.520 --> 00:42:01.949 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): Well, I also wanna point out that we don't necessarily go.
00:42:01.980 --> 00:42:08.990 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): That's true. There's a problem. If we go. And there's a problem. If we don't go.
00:42:09.100 --> 00:42:13.869 Mira Brancu: that's right. Yeah, we we could. We could sit and just
00:42:13.900 --> 00:42:25.760 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): s start turning into weeds where we drag everybody down with us. In fact, there are toxicity can become infectious.
00:42:25.980 --> 00:42:36.789 Mira Brancu: Absolutely. So. It's not just a retention problem. That's right. It's a different kind of retention problem filtration problem, right?
00:42:36.840 --> 00:42:42.770 Mira Brancu: and you know, just again, to like, bring this to a practical level when you think about
00:42:43.190 --> 00:42:54.189 Mira Brancu: if I feel and you feel, if we all feel like we really belong here, and our ideas are valued and supported.
00:42:54.580 --> 00:43:20.869 Mira Brancu: it's gonna be easier for us to exchange ideas without worrying about people judging us. And when those ideas are starting to be exchanged, that's how the creativity expands. That's how the problem solving improves. That's how you end up driving more and better results. That's where the profits come from. That's right. And we are invested in ideas that are put forward, even if they're not our own.
00:43:22.030 --> 00:43:23.570 Mira Brancu: Yeah, yeah.
00:43:23.810 --> 00:43:34.739 Mira Brancu: we're reaching another ad break. You're listening to the hard skills with me, Dr. Mirabranku and our guest. Wendy Gates Corbett, we'll be right back in just a moment.
00:45:32.570 --> 00:45:38.409 Mira Brancu: Welcome back to the hard skills with me, Doctor Mirabonu and our guests. Wendy Gates, Corbett.
00:45:38.530 --> 00:45:45.940 Mira Brancu: Now we have talked all about the different ways that you can engender belonging.
00:45:46.070 --> 00:45:47.220 Mira Brancu: and
00:45:47.390 --> 00:45:51.309 Mira Brancu: how clearly you can sort of track
00:45:51.670 --> 00:45:59.570 Mira Brancu: that your organization. Your company can do incredibly well in terms of its results, its outcomes.
00:46:00.500 --> 00:46:09.690 Mira Brancu: profitability, profitability, creative innovative products and services. When you can put in place these 3 pillars
00:46:09.960 --> 00:46:16.289 Mira Brancu: of connectedness respectedness and protected this right and
00:46:16.600 --> 00:46:26.789 Mira Brancu: so we can see that if you target the root cause, it has an effect on the output right? And so some leaders might wonder.
00:46:26.980 --> 00:46:32.599 Mira Brancu: Can this be measured? Can can I put in place some of these things
00:46:33.020 --> 00:46:39.880 Mira Brancu: and measure progress of belonging. It seems kind of difficult to do, and I'm wondering what your thoughts are on that
00:46:40.300 --> 00:46:48.029 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): we can definitely measure the the impact of and degree of belonging.
00:46:48.130 --> 00:47:00.559 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): One of the ways that II encourage the organizations I work with to use is to tap into their engagement surveys. There are indicators of belonging
00:47:01.000 --> 00:47:07.900 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): that they're probably already measuring. So I know that I don't want to add to yet another
00:47:07.910 --> 00:47:26.249 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): source of measurement. So I often look at the engagement survey questions, several of the organizations I'm working with now where we're getting. We're reading through and editing some of their engagement? Survey questions.
00:47:26.270 --> 00:47:29.960 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): but you can look at the questions that that reflect.
00:47:30.040 --> 00:47:34.370 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): Some of the Gallup questions. Do you have a a best friend at work.
00:47:34.430 --> 00:47:37.490 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): Do you have? Do you feel
00:47:37.580 --> 00:47:56.449 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): your manager? Recognizes your you know your your contributions? The degree of trust that you feel so? There are questions that are already being asked in many organizations that we can look at as measures of of belonging.
00:47:57.410 --> 00:48:05.229 Mira Brancu: That's great. So if people want to learn more about how to work with you around this. Where can they find you?
00:48:05.620 --> 00:48:10.909 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): Well, you can find me at my website is wendygatescorbit.com.
00:48:10.950 --> 00:48:19.380 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): You can also connect with me on Linkedin, and as as one of the things that I do.
00:48:20.200 --> 00:48:32.860 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): one of the things that that I do on my Linkedin profile is I. Every single day I I post a tidbit of from my survey responses from my research
00:48:32.860 --> 00:48:56.730 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): single simple things that people can do to create a stronger sense of connection, respect, or or protection. So every single day there is a tidbit, an idea that you can you can either implement right away or use it to to spark some a creative change or a create another creative idea, a riff on that idea.
00:48:57.140 --> 00:49:00.220 Mira Brancu: Awesome if you're watching
00:49:00.340 --> 00:49:07.750 Mira Brancu: live, or the recording I am showing wendigatescorbit.com.
00:49:07.760 --> 00:49:11.060 Mira Brancu: CORB. ett.com
00:49:11.170 --> 00:49:20.199 Mira Brancu: her amazing beautiful website here where you can find why, belonging, for example.
00:49:20.220 --> 00:49:27.620 Mira Brancu: And she gives, you know, a really good recap of what we just talked about right?
00:49:27.810 --> 00:49:37.149 Mira Brancu: and you can see what other presentations and media. That she talks about the energy of belonging there.
00:49:37.520 --> 00:49:41.729 Mira Brancu: and then you have a another website here as well.
00:49:42.050 --> 00:49:54.300 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): You wanna share about this this one? Yep, my other. My other website my company name is signature presentations. And that website is signature, dash presentationscom.
00:49:54.380 --> 00:50:03.119 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): There's some information about my belonging work. But also there is information about presentation kind of consulting that I do.
00:50:03.960 --> 00:50:09.180 Mira Brancu: Awesome. Alright. So we've learned a lot
00:50:09.230 --> 00:50:10.380 Mira Brancu: today.
00:50:10.560 --> 00:50:21.239 Mira Brancu: And I'm curious to hear more about what did you take away? Audience? More importantly, what is one small change you can implement this week based on what you learn
00:50:21.360 --> 00:50:22.420 Mira Brancu: from Wendy.
00:50:22.450 --> 00:50:35.269 Mira Brancu: There's a lot that she shared, so I'm sure you will have plenty to choose from. Share it with us on Linkedin, at Mirabranku, or@talkradio.nyc. Or Wendy Gates, Corbett.
00:50:35.420 --> 00:50:38.329 Mira Brancu: and you know, share it with us so that we could share you on.
00:50:38.430 --> 00:50:53.990 Mira Brancu: We're also on Facebook, Instagram Twitter Twitch all over the place. But Linkedin is where I live. I think that might be where you live. Wendy. Yeah, alright. So meet us there if you would like to explore how
00:50:54.120 --> 00:51:01.950 Mira Brancu: my company and I can help you with leadership and team development services. You can also check us out@gotowerscope.com.
00:51:02.690 --> 00:51:18.120 Mira Brancu: And in addition to being a live show, remember that we're also a podcast, on itunes and spotify. So please go, subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, share with others, to help increase our visibility for Wendy and for me and our reach and impact.
00:51:18.230 --> 00:51:28.369 Mira Brancu: Thank you to talkradio dot Nyc. For hosting. I'm Dr. Mirabanku, your host of the Hard Skill show and thank you for joining us today. Wendy Gates Corbett
00:51:28.400 --> 00:51:30.300 Mira Brancu: really appreciate having you on.
00:51:31.090 --> 00:51:34.640 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): Thank you for having me absolutely, and have a great
00:51:34.670 --> 00:51:42.899 Mira Brancu: rest of your day wherever you're tuning in from. In the meantime, while folks
00:51:43.400 --> 00:51:47.659 Mira Brancu: are closing out here. I wanna just share a little bit more
00:51:47.830 --> 00:51:50.409 Mira Brancu: about your website. I'm just gonna
00:51:51.790 --> 00:51:53.670 Mira Brancu: go back to this
00:51:54.690 --> 00:51:56.180 Mira Brancu: and
00:51:56.390 --> 00:52:04.189 Mira Brancu: you mentioned where? Where can people find the You mentioned an assessment or questionnaire?
00:52:04.340 --> 00:52:05.309 Mira Brancu: That right?
00:52:06.590 --> 00:52:15.249 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): Yes, it's it's in the it's posted in the book, and actually they can get the book on Amazon.
00:52:15.480 --> 00:52:25.359 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): but one of the things that I wanna point out is that my my whole reason for writing the book and doing the research is to make belonging doable.
00:52:25.420 --> 00:52:40.460 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): So it is my hope that you, you read some of the the 25 ideas that you can use to connect with your colleagues and be like, really, it's this simple, because the answer is, yes, it is that simple
00:52:40.590 --> 00:52:50.119 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): so one of the things that you can do as a leader is in an upcoming team meeting is to ask, Have your have your team
00:52:50.140 --> 00:53:02.699 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): comp fill in the blank. One thing that my colleagues do, that help me feel connected to them is. or I feel, I feel particularly vulnerable or unsafe when
00:53:02.750 --> 00:53:13.859 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and then have people share their responses. You can even do it anonymously. The survey that I distribute when I work it with organizations is anonymous, so that people feel comfortable.
00:53:14.100 --> 00:53:19.770 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): being being transparent. and then use those responses
00:53:19.820 --> 00:53:30.449 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): to generate more to generate ideas for how you can build a stronger sense of belonging. Yeah, absolutely. I think that's
00:53:32.940 --> 00:53:37.460 Mira Brancu: because of the fact that I mean you. You started saying it because of the fact that people
00:53:37.610 --> 00:53:40.170 Mira Brancu: over complicate this.
00:53:40.390 --> 00:53:42.200 Mira Brancu: They then
00:53:42.360 --> 00:53:51.739 Mira Brancu: don't know where to start with just asking simple questions. Of their employees and their staff and their leaders. I'm
00:53:52.040 --> 00:53:54.480 Mira Brancu: also thinking about
00:53:54.600 --> 00:53:58.450 Mira Brancu: Sometimes leaders are lonely.
00:53:59.160 --> 00:54:05.889 Mira Brancu: and sometimes they don't feel a sense of belonging. I'm sort of curious about your thoughts on that.
00:54:06.530 --> 00:54:34.520 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): Yeah, it's when I work with organizations. Sometimes a a leader will reach out to me and say my my direct reports needed. You know, I wanna encourage a stronger sense of belonging in my direct reports with with these people, and I always start with the leadership, the highest level that I can access. I wanna start with that leader group. Because
00:54:34.750 --> 00:54:41.409 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): particularly because many leaders think that really do, I have to invest, you know, time, resources, effort.
00:54:41.450 --> 00:54:46.880 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and and when we have the conversations of really you 2.
00:54:46.930 --> 00:54:49.190 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): Oh, my gosh! It's not just me
00:54:49.230 --> 00:55:02.179 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): there when those leaders are willing to be vulnerable with each other. The connection that that comes from that the energy that comes from that is palpable.
00:55:02.220 --> 00:55:12.430 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and then they are much stronger advocates and better champions for for fostering, for being willing to say.
00:55:12.780 --> 00:55:28.460 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): this is what I want to do. I want to make an effort for us to strengthen the sense of belonging here, and I'd like your help. Are you willing? I could really use your help. Will you help me, please? You know. So oftentimes leaders
00:55:28.670 --> 00:55:34.869 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): feel like they have to have all the answers. But when a leader is willing to say, I don't have all the answers.
00:55:35.770 --> 00:55:46.989 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and I'm asking for your guidance or for your input you know it actually creates a a stronger sense of of connection. Yeah. Yeah. And it
00:55:47.480 --> 00:55:52.790 Mira Brancu: these days, when it's more important than ever before to have
00:55:53.050 --> 00:55:55.200 Mira Brancu: strong leadership teams.
00:55:55.410 --> 00:55:59.559 Mira Brancu: not just one individual leader, but in the, you know, leadership teams.
00:56:00.090 --> 00:56:05.610 Mira Brancu: who can drive the teams of teams right?
00:56:05.800 --> 00:56:19.500 Mira Brancu: That's where it starts with it starts with them, feeling a sense of belonging, and them feeling a sense of connection amongst them, and them feeling a sense of protection and respect among them. And it's a trickle down effect. I mean.
00:56:19.540 --> 00:56:26.400 Mira Brancu: there's research on that, that. There's a trickle down effect. So out of all of the things that we talked about
00:56:27.710 --> 00:56:33.550 Mira Brancu: what is one final thing that you want people to take away out of all the things that we talked about so many.
00:56:33.630 --> 00:56:52.129 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): What is one thing you want people to take away from today. Wherever you sit in an organization, wherever you sit in your organization, you have the power and the ability to contribute to a sense of belonging in in your colleagues.
00:56:52.140 --> 00:56:59.359 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): and they will appreciate it. So you have the power. You have the authority. You have the time you have the budget.
00:56:59.420 --> 00:57:01.559 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): And now you have some ideas.
00:57:02.440 --> 00:57:18.089 Mira Brancu: What a wonderful message it's all within us, I mean, the this is completely within our out of all the things that are not in our control. This is the one thing that is in our control, that we can help other people feel a sense of belonging around us in our sphere of influence.
00:57:18.400 --> 00:57:19.940 Wendy Gates Corbett (she/her): Exactly. Yeah.
00:57:20.210 --> 00:57:31.829 Mira Brancu: thank you again, Wendy, for coming on. And thank you. Talkradio dot Nyc for hosting, and will be back with you next Tuesday with another episode of the hard skills.
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