This month’s equity tidbit grounds us on the concept of belonging and how it elevates the way in which we frame our equity work. 

Last month, Lane County participated in GARE’s membership conference. One of the keynote speakers was john a. powell, the director of the Othering & Belonging Institute from Berkeley, CA.  One of the questions he posed was “what if instead of inclusion, we consider belonging?” He invited everyone to think about the subtle differences between these two invitations.

One delivers the message of you are invited and the other of you belong here.  We often consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in our work. At the base of that hierarchy is access to food and shelter, but we often forget about the need to belong, which also sits at this basic level of need. Belonging work is radical work, especially for government but if we were to consider this lens in every aspect of our work, we could build stronger communities and therefore deliver stronger results.

Read more about Belonging work: https://belonging.berkeley.edu/bridging-belonging. 

The process of belonging begins by identifying what is already beautiful and present. What if we centered the human experience as meaningful and worthy?  Let’s uplift the strengths of each person in relation to the collective, in order to achieve a common purpose.  Consider, when leading your next meeting, making room for human connection at the start of every meeting by using check-in questions; it does not have to take more than 5 minutes. 

Check-in question ideas: https://www.edelements.com/blog/the-new-team-habits-fostering-a-culture-of-belonging-through-meeting-check-ins.  

Facilitator tip: After posing a check-in question, consider the size of the group. Less than 10, try a quick verbal share out. More than 10, try having everyone respond in the chat and give everyone a minute to read responses to see how their team is entering the space.  

This month we celebrate our Asian American and Pacific Islander community and our Jewish American community!  We see you, and we appreciate you! 

Latiffe Amado

Equity Manager