The Leadership Advantage No One's Talking About
You can throw all the perks and mandatory fun events you want at your team, but if they don’t feel like they belong, it won’t stick.
Organizations constantly wrestle with burnout, disengagement, and the awkward dance of asking employees to return to the office. But what if the real solution isn't logistical? It's emotional.
Belonging, not just being included, but being valued and seen, is the overlooked power move in today’s workplace. And cohesive leaders? They know how to create it.
Employees who feel a strong sense of belonging are 5.3x more likely to be engaged at work. (BetterUp, 2022) High belonging is linked to a 56% increase in job performance, 50% drop in turnover risk, and 75% reduction in sick days. (Harvard Business Review, 2019)
Burnout Isn’t About Workload. It’s About Worth.
The science is clear: burnout has less to do with how much you work and more to do with how connected you feel while doing it.
77% of employees have experienced burnout at their current job. (Deloitte, 2023) Burnout is widespread and most of it is happening right now, not in some previous role. Only 21% of employees are engaged at work globally. (Gallup State of the Global Workplace, 2023) That’s nearly 4 out of 5 people who are checked out, quiet quitting, or actively looking elsewhere.
When employees lack:
- Connection to their team
- Recognition for their contributions
- Support from their leaders
…they start checking out. Quiet quitting. Ghost-resigning. Emotionally absent but physically present.
Sound familiar?
Cohesive Leaders Do This One Thing Better
They build belonging intentionally.
In a Cohesion Culture™, belonging is one of three pillars (alongside value and mutual commitment). It’s not a poster on the wall. It’s a habit. A skill. A choice made daily by leaders who want to keep their best people and bring out their best work.
And it’s not complicated. It just takes effort.
3 Things You Can Start Today
Here’s how you can create real belonging without spending a dime:
🔸Begin meetings with “voice equity.” Before anyone speaks twice, make sure everyone speaks once. It sets the tone for inclusion.
🔸Acknowledge in public. Coach in private. People will remember how you made them feel long after they forget what you said.
🔸Ask this weekly: “What can I do to make work feel more human for you?” You’ll be surprised by what you hear and how quickly trust grows.
Are you building a place people want to be or just a place they get paid to show up?
Your Move:
💬 Leave a comment with one way you build belonging in your team.
🔁 Share this newsletter with a leader who needs to hear it.
Related Articles
