Emergenetics Associates: Discover Three Activities to Boost Belonging

What words would you use to describe a sense of belonging? 

I recently posed this question to Emergenetics® Associates who attended our quarterly professional development series. The words they shared included: 

• The capacity to trust and be trusted 
• Feeling valued and understood 
• Being heard and acknowledged 

While humans innately crave community, the way each person builds relationships is distinct based on their past experiences, genetic makeup and Thinking and Behavioral preferences, among other influences. 

Understanding these differences is vitally important because creating a sense of belonging is more than a “feel-good” factor for teams. It’s an essential part of performance. 

The Science of Connection 

Socioanalytical theory, from which Emergenetics originated, reveals that humans are motivated by feeling accepted within a group as well as the influence and power we may hold within our social structure. The theory indicates that human behavior is driven by the need to get along with others, get ahead in life and find meaning and purpose in the work we do. 

When connections are strong, it can translate into real business impact. In organizations where employees feel a high sense of belonging, the companies also experience a 56% increase in job performance and a 50% drop in turnover risk. Clearly, there are advantages to ensuring team members feel valued by one another. However, it’s not always easy to create these conditions. 

The Challenges of Belonging 

One obstacle comes from hybrid and remote work settings. With minimal face-to-face interaction, individuals are having greater difficulty sustaining relationships in the way they did in the past, particularly as businesses have often reduced their investments in the team-building activities that were prioritized during the pandemic.  

Microsoft Work Trend Index reported that 59% of hybrid and 56% of remote workers report fewer friendships at work. 55% of hybrid and 50% of remote employees feel lonelier compared to pre-pandemic levels. 

The solution is not to simply require everyone to return to the office. Taking away flexibility can backfire on organizations, and being in the same room does not automatically create affinity between staff members. To create community, it’s vital that leaders honor how our preferences and work styles affect the ways we engage with others and build trust. 

Two of my favorite social neuroscientists – and yes, I do have favorite social neuroscientists – are Drs. Immordino-Yang and Gotlieb from the University of Southern California, who study how the brain interacts with the body as people experience different interactions. 

Their premise is that the central nervous system and our social and cultural development are interconnected. Our brain influences our memory and how we make sense of the world. It allows us to understand the contexts we’re involved in and create mental constructs so that when we find ourselves in a similar social setting, we know how we’ll react. 

For example, if I’m in a situation and my heart begins to beat rapidly while my palms start to sweat, I may assign a feeling like anxiety or fear as the outcome of those chemical triggers in my brain. When I’m in a similar environment in the future, these bodily and emotional responses are likely to surface again. 

To test their theory, Drs. Immordino-Yang and Gotlieb had participants listen to stories designed to elicit admiration and compassion. They saw multiple parts of the brain light up, including the brain stem—which regulates thoughts, feelings, and behaviors—as well as areas tied to gut reactions and the formation of social constructs. 

These mental models and physiological responses shape how we interact with a group, and they can help or hinder team dynamics. Just think about a circumstance when certain behaviors, like putting someone on the spot to express their opinion, may make one colleague feel energized that their opinion matters, while causing stress in another who feels unprepared to respond. 

The Applications to Emergenetics® 

Making connections between this study and Emergenetics, the Attributes can be used as a lens to deconstruct and reconstruct how we build belonging within a team. 

Consider how someone with an Analytical preference may create a mental model by scanning their group environment for the reasoning and rationality of what they’re hearing, compared with the Social Attribute, which will likely be reading the room for the reactions and feelings of others in order to form their own sentiments. 

By understanding how our own preferences shape the way we interpret team relationships, we can spot patterns in our thoughts and reactions and begin to recognize why the interactions and environments that make us feel valued may not have the same effect on others.   

So, how can you bring these insights to your staff?  

3 Activities to Boost Belonging 

#1 – Check In 

Ask teammates to reflect on a time when they truly felt a sense of affinity within a group. Invite them to share what actions, behaviors or environmental factors made that feeling possible and how those actions may connect to their past experiences and Emergenetics Profile.  

#2 – Clear the Semantic Noise 

Using a whiteboard online or chart paper in person, write down the name of each Attribute, including the thirds for the three Behaviors, and ask team members to respond to the question: How would each Attribute define a sense of belonging?  

After everyone has written their thoughts, discuss patterns, commonalities and differences to raise awareness of what connection really looks like from the perspective of the group you are working with.  

#3 – Create a Belonging Map  

Place each teammate’s Profile on chart paper or a whiteboard. Leaning into the concept of a network map, draw lines between team members with shared Thinking Attributes. Quickly, you’ll start to see where multiples colleagues are connected and where some may be disconnected.  

Use this visual to discuss how the preferences of individuals and the collective may be impacting the team’s ability to feel appreciated by one another. 

Creating a sense of belonging requires ongoing and intentional effort to unpack our own mental models about how to best create trust and support the needs of others. With these three activities, you can surface the assumptions teammates may hold and reveal new ways to help staff get along and get ahead together. 

How can Emergenetics support team effectiveness in your organization? Explore our solutions for L&D and HR professionals as well as consultants, or fill out the form below to speak with one of our team members today! 

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