Once upon a time BC (Before COVID), and back in the day, otherwise known as the 80s, I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar. I had just graduated college and had no idea what I wanted to do for a career, but there was one thing I knew for certain: my life’s passions revolved around my highest value — connection. My modus operandi is and has always been who can I make friends with today. As luck would have it, a group of people from the front office of a downtown Chicago hotel came to my bar for happy hour. They loved me, I loved them, and soon I was no longer a cocktail waitress. That’s how a 25-plus year career in the hospitality/travel industry began.

Like me, it’s quite possible that your highest value is connection. Sure, different story, different cocktail bar, different decade, but it’s probably fair to say many of our journeys began because of our shared passion for connection and serving others. And yet there has never been a time when we’ve felt more disconnected.

We’re living in weird times. We’ve become more connected to platforms and less connected to each other. We’ve been challenged with balancing metrics and humanity, while being overworked, short staffed, burnt out and stressed. We know that many of us lack a sense of belonging; just look at engagement and retention scores, further intensified in our post-pandemic world. So, what will continue to fuel our personal, professional and industry growth when we don’t have the flexibility to offer some of the things people are looking for? I believe it comes down to amplifying the experience of belonging. All human beings need to belong.

When people feel like they can be themselves, they feel valued and appreciated for who they are; they feel more comfortable; and they feel safer. They feel like they matter, and that’s good for us and good for business.

Weird times call for a weird approach, I mean W.E.I.R.D.: Welcoming, Engaging, Integrating, Risk-Taking, and Dynamic. It’s my framework and I’ll give you a little taste here, an amuse bouche if you will.

  • Welcoming: The intentional practice of hospitality towards ourselves and each other. It begins with noticing what I call the “Bullshould” — the space between where we are and where we think we should be and what we think we shouldn’t think or feel as well as noticing how we “Bullshould” others. Noticing gives us a choice to be curious and question the validity of our own narratives and stories.
  • Engaging: We all know this is about presence. I’d like to ask you to retire the words “paying attention” and replace them with “giving attention.” Your presence is the greatest gift you can give to someone. (Ignore that notification and keep reading.)
  • Integrating: This is the not everyone likes pizza rule! I know, unfathomable! Integrating preferences, personalities and points of view and giving everyone a voice at the table amplifies the experience of belonging. It starts with asking questions, listening and asking more questions.
  • Risk-Taking: Taking a risk is a decision we need to make when we want to change something or do something different. If we want our teams to take risks, we need to be willing to go first. It starts with vulnerability. Leading with vulnerability may be your greatest connection to others. It breeds trust and safety! Just ask my sister, Brené!
  • Dynamic: It’s the culmination of welcoming, engaging, integrating and risk-taking. When we point each other back to our own greatness, people and cultures can go with the flow, weather the storms, shift and change — that’s dynamic!

Are you willing to self-reflect to become aware of how you show up for yourself and others?

Are you willing to be W.E.I.R.D. to celebrate the wonderful individuality that connects us all and amplifies the experience of belonging for yourself and your teams?

Are you willing to not only say, “You belong here,” but continually show it with your actions?

OK then! Keep it W.E.I.R.D. friends!