The year 2020 has been one of the toughest years and various leaders were presented with a wide variety of unexpected challenges that people could hardly anticipate that they have to address collectively. The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardren is a wonderful example with exceptional leadership qualities, who successfully combated the COVID 19 pandemic with almost eliminating the COVID 19 cases in the country. So, it might be said the leaders of the society play a vital role in ensuring the normal people feel a sense of belonging if they really want to embrace the changes that the leaders propose to put forth.
Three lessons that promotion of a sense of belonging can make:
1. Communication of shared ownership over the outcome as well as future success:
In order to fight the COVID 19 crisis, Jacinda Adren in one of her speeches addressed to the citizens of her country that the government will do its best, but the people will also have to work collectively in order to stop the spread of COVID 19. She created a vision of shared ownership in order to fight the virus through a messaging platform. The message which she created through the platform, made it quite clear for every New Zealander that success will only depend on each and every person performing their part to execute the plan successfully. So, what basically the Prime Minister has done is promoted a sense of belonging among every inhabitant of the country and that is the only thing that is reflected in converting their goal into reality. So, as a leader, you must let your employees know that their part is important and encourage them to work together.
2. By offering clear views about what you will do and what you expect from others:
Jacinda Ardian clearly expressed that she was depending on the medical experts, scientists as well as business leaders to adopt the best approaches in order to fight the virus in the most efficient way. Simultaneously, she also expressed clearly what she is expecting her fellow citizens to do to stop the spread of the virus in her country. This indicates that from the very beginning you must express clearly what you expect your employees to do, on whom you will be relying for the success of your organization. As most of the employees are working remotely these days, you must be encouraged with a sense of belonging to reduce the feelings of isolation they might be suffering from.
3. Try to be with your employees to let them know what actually they feel like:
Make sure that you are always present by the side of your employees and try to make them understand that you are also like them. They must know that you are aware of what you are expecting of them and the worries as well as stress it can create. If you commit any mistake, never hesitate to apologize. So, with the help of these lessons, the promotion of a sense of belonging can provide your employees with the required confidence and help in working efficiently.
