When people unite around a mission, they’re more willing to combine strengths, experiment, and adapt – leading to agility and breakthroughs. Historically, this is the same dynamic that propelled human societies forward. It can also be the secret ingredient in transforming workplaces today.

Thriving companies mirror that societal model – people aligned around a shared purpose, respecting and celebrating diversity as a catalyst for excellence. Of course, that’s easier said than done. Real change takes commitment, a bit of boldness, and a steady plan.

Fortunately, behaviour change science gives us a framework to make it happen. We can’t just tell employees to “connect.” We must create conditions that allow new habits to form and stick.

This path involves four core pillars of connection: Culture, Leaders, Talent, and Life.

Connected culture 

Embed connection into every facet of the workplace: If you want people to flourish, the surrounding culture has to support them. Even the most driven, resilient employees will struggle in an environment that stifles honest communication or rewards zero-sum behaviours. Expecting individuals alone to change isn’t enough – instead, we need to diagnose systemic issues, building joint responsibility at every level to ensure inclusion, respect, and collaboration are woven into the fabric of the daily operations.

Drive connected outcomes that ripple across teams to boost both employee engagement and performance through the following:

• Connection audit: Use data and insights to uncover the organisational barriers to inclusion, and set a clear vision for success. Take ownership of your current situation and where you are heading in order to signal to talent the beliefs they use to feel alignment and belonging.
• Empower change agents: Set the expectation that responsibility is shared throughout the organisation – from front-line employees to senior execs. Show them how inclusion fuels innovation, retention, and tangible financial gains. Create psychologically safe environments where anyone can identify areas for improvement and solutions for change.
• Recognise the impact of leaders: Ensure leaders have the tools, support, coaching and security to model the inclusive behaviours they want to see, even when it’s tough.
• Measure success: Monitor engagement and belonging metrics. Iterate on strategies as you see measurable improvements in performance, innovation, and retention.

Connected leaders

Develop modern, empathetic leaders: It’s no surprise that leaders can make or break employee engagement. A supportive, self-aware manager cultivates a team that’s not just productive but excited to collaborate. 

To develop modern leaders who earn trust and accountability throughout the company take these steps:

• Coach your coaches: Offer practical coaching to internal leaders to address bias, microaggressions, and psychological safety, turning theory into everyday habits. Integrate emotional intelligence into performance goals, showing leaders how empathy can enhance both employee well-being and project outcomes.
• Promote allyship: Equip leaders to champion underrepresented talent and remove systemic obstacles. Real-world simulations or role-play can build confidence and skill.
• Align expectations to performance outcomes: Tie inclusive leadership behaviours to broader organisational objectives and performance reviews, ensuring leaders see the direct link between people success and business success.

Connected talent

Enable all employees to thrive: The best organisations grow talent from everywhere, inclusive of their personal identity. Often, though, outdated systems push gifted individuals to the margins – sometimes without anyone noticing. Your talent thrives when connected to the skills, mindsets, mentors and opportunities they need to grow and fulfil their true potential. 

To empower every employee, especially underrepresented groups consider these tactics: 

• Celebrate the individual: Recognise each person’s unique background and needs, whether that’s race, gender, disability, or any other identity marker. Create a culture where people feel genuinely valued for who they are, beyond any “checkbox” identity. Support this through ongoing dialogue and peer mentoring.
• Empower talent through skills and networks: Provide coaching on networking, political savvy, and career navigation to help employees seize opportunities. 
• Embrace mentorship: Create opportunities to build genuine relationships and skill sharing across diverse groups to build a culture where underrepresented talent experiences more commitment to long-term inclusion.
• Measure and improve outcomes: Track progress among underrepresented groups. Refine your talent strategies based on real-time results and feedback.

Connected life

Help employees successfully integrate life and work: The separation between life and work has never been more blurred. The key to helping people thrive sustainably in today’s business world is to tangibly support them in the key moments where life meets work. How? By recognising individuality, and treating every person according to their needs, not their labels. By giving the right support to people when they need it, we can help every employee make the most of a truly connected life.

This need is not only true for parents and caregivers, it impacts the entire workforce – 73% of people surveyed in the U.S. “reported having some type of current caregiving responsibility.” This may involve caring for children, parents, siblings, other relatives, friends, neighbours, or any combination of these.

Key actions that can help employees navigate life’s ups and downs while staying engaged and productive include:

• Personalised support: Offer targeted resources when employees face caregiving duties or health transitions, recognising each person’s unique circumstances.
• Promote role models: Highlight leaders or peers who openly share how they juggle work-life commitments, showing that balance is more than just a buzzword.
• Reduce burnout and stress: Provide resilience tools for mental well-being, modelling an environment where rest and recovery are valued.
• Continuous dialogue: Encourage regular check-ins between managers and team members to adapt schedules or responsibilities as life situations change.

Connection first, success follows

Real connection – person to person, leader to team, organisation to workforce – is the bedrock of a dynamic workplace. For decades, DE&I has aimed at a similar goal: inclusivity, belonging, and fairness. But by focusing on connection as the central driver, we can remove some of the friction that’s bogged down traditional DE&I efforts and stay true to its core values.

When employees engage meaningfully with one another – sharing diverse perspectives grounded in a common mission – they build an organic sort of inclusivity. Equity then emerges more naturally as barriers come to light and teams address them collectively. The payoff is better decisions, stronger collaboration, and a healthier bottom line.

Will it take effort? Absolutely. Genuine transformation asks us to confront our biases, question our systems, and set aside quick fixes in favour of building durable habits. It challenges us to make both organisational and personal investments in empathy and understanding.

Yet the promise of connection goes well beyond quarterly results. When individuals feel genuinely heard and valued, they bring that positivity into their families and communities, sparking a ripple effect of engagement and empathy. At the deepest level, connection unlocks our shared human potential – creating a workplace, and a world, where we stand a better chance of thriving together.

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