Bluerating | December 2023
In any challenging context, a strong sense of belonging is the antidote to fear and to the risk of enduring change instead of riding it.
The sense of belonging is fueled by the feeling of being accepted by the community of reference, a group that shares values and can thus overcome hurdles, take appropriate risks and, most of all, achieve goals otherwise precluded to individuals.
The sense of belonging works as a source of cohesion for financial networks and banks wishing to play a key role in the market.
Indeed, feeling part of a group strengthens the sense of loyalty to the group itself and encourages its members to promote it to third parties; this in turn has a strong impact on the ability to recruit and welcome new colleagues in the team.
Attending a convention organized by financial networks is enough to realize the importance of the sense of belonging and how necessary it is to fuel it continuously.
The authority and respect granted to those taking the stage in the attempt to strengthen the sense of belonging by sharing a strategy and goals are key for a cohesive society.
In fact, the stronger the sense of belonging, the higher the sense of loyalty to an organization and, as a consequence, the ability to maintain old relationship and attract new ones.
The sense of belonging can be interpreted at the level of the organization – I am proud of working for my bank – or at the level of the people who guide it – I trust the management who leads my bank.
In Italy, more importance is given to the people, to the search of a leader who can be a guiding light more than the representative of an organization.
In other countries, specifically in France and in the United States, the sense of belonging is rather connected to society, to the organization, as if the latter transcended people.
This is quite an important difference and can be explained by looking into the history and culture of each country: in fact, being the result of a revolution is very different from being born from a popular referendum.
The same is true of banks and financial networks in case of hostile acquisitions or voluntary mergers.
An analysis of the sense of loyalty to an organization, that is the likelihood of not leaving after one, three or five years, reveals that over the past years, loyalty has decreased, especially in contexts which lack a strong leadership; vice versa, loyalty has grown in the presence of charismatic and visionary leaders.
On the other hand, the correlation between economic performance and sense of belonging has increased drastically over the past ten years.
At the same time, a kind leadership that accompanies people in their careers, nurturing their talents and granting them space for development, has been gaining ground.
Nothing more concrete and monetizable as something so intangible.
Nicola Ronchetti