On The Team Or A Part Of The Team?
You take on a new role to lead a new team. The first few days integrating onto the team you may try to fit in and that may feel superficial compared to feeling a sense of belonging.
Belonging? Being on the team is step one. Being a part of it? That’s an assimilated leader. So how does a new leader become a part of the team?
How your company prioritizes assimilation and how they help assimilate determines success - for the leader and for the organization and their bottom line.
Belonging boosts well-being, performance, retention, and success.
79% of organizations say fostering a sense of belonging is important or very important to their success 1
93% of HR executives recognize that fostering belonging improves performance, engagement, and retention 2
Employees who feel they belong are 3.5 times more likely to contribute fully 3
Employees who feel a strong sense of belonging at work are 3.4 times more likely to be physically healthy, 5.2 times more likely to be socially healthy, and 4.4 times more likely to be mentally healthy 4
How do you move new leaders from fitting in during integration to belonging through assimilation?
Here are 5 examples of assimilation exercises, reflections, and priorities for new managers:
Don't just send them an orientation document outlining your company's mission, vision, and values; connect them to your culture champions and ambassadors so that they’re in the driver’s seat to see how others have lived and breathed them.
In order to lead in context, help them tune into the culture.
Success as a leader is measured not only by what you get done, but also how you get it done. Coach new managers in how to activate their team.
Foster a psychologically-safe workplace where they are (and feel) genuinely valued as their true-faced, authentic self.
Encourage building relationships and building them early. Guide new managers to map out a Stakeholder Web™, remind them to maintain the primary connections of their team, and nurture effective relationships across your organization by inviting them to key meetings.
On the team is a title. A part of the team is a feeling. Which one does your onboarding create?
1 Deloitte’s 2020 Human Capital Trends
2,3 Forbes
4 BenefitsPro
