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Discover how leaders can create a culture where every individual feels seen, heard, and valued. This episode dives into the power of mattering, its difference from belonging and inclusion, and actionable leadership behaviors that boost engagement, trust, and psychological safety. Perfect for leaders seeking to enhance organizational culture and inspire meaningful work.
Understanding the Power of Mattering in Leadership Today
In today's fast-paced and complex world, leadership is about creating meaningful connections that inspire and motivate. One of the most profound yet often overlooked concepts in effective leadership is the power of mattering. Mattering refers to the fundamental human need to feel seen, heard, and valued. When leaders cultivate a culture where every individual feels that they truly matter, organizations witness higher engagement, increased motivation, and stronger performance.
Zach Mercurio, author of The Power of Mattering: How Leaders can Create a Culture of Significance says that this concept goes beyond traditional ideas like belonging or inclusion. While belonging makes people feel accepted within a group and inclusion invites participation, mattering ensures that each person feels significant and uniquely valuable to their team and organization. In a world where employees increasingly report feeling invisible or undervalued despite numerous well-being and engagement programs, focusing on mattering addresses a critical gap.
Leaders who understand and apply the principles of mattering unlock the full potential of their people. They create cultures where motivation and meaningful work flourish because individuals know their contributions make a difference. This approach is a timely response to the growing challenges many organizations face with employee disengagement and the urgent need for genuine connection at work and beyond. Understanding and embracing mattering is essential for leaders who want to build resilient, high-performing, and positive organizational cultures today.
What is Mattering and How It Differs from Belonging and Inclusion
Mattering is a deeply human experience that goes beyond just feeling part of a group. At its core, mattering is about feeling that you are significant and make a unique difference to others around you, whether at work, in your community, or in personal relationships. It means knowing that your presence and contributions are needed and valued in a way that no one else can replace.
While mattering is related to concepts like belonging and inclusion, it is fundamentally different. Belonging is the feeling of being welcomed and accepted as a member of a group. It’s like being picked for the team, you are part of the crowd and connected to others. Inclusion takes that a step further by ensuring you have an active and equal role in the group’s activities and decisions, being invited to play in the game.
However, mattering is the sense that the team wouldn’t be complete without you. It’s about the unique impact and value you bring to individuals within that group. For example, you might feel that you belong to a team and are included in meetings, but if no one recognizes your personal struggles or unique strengths, you might not feel that you truly matter. This feeling of mattering involves being seen, heard, and cherished in a way that affirms your individuality and importance.
This distinction is crucial because humans have a primary instinct to matter. When this need is unmet, people may withdraw, feel invisible, or act out in desperation, which can have severe consequences both personally and organizationally. Unlike belonging and inclusion, which focus on group membership and participation, mattering addresses the fundamental psychological need to feel significant and indispensable. Leaders who understand and embrace this difference are better equipped to create cultures where people thrive because they don’t just fit in, they matter.
Leadership Behaviors that Signal Mattering: Avoiding Traps and Showing Authentic Care
True leadership is about making people feel they genuinely matter. Unfortunately, many leaders fall into common traps that unintentionally convey the opposite: that their employees or team members don’t truly matter. Recognizing these pitfalls and adopting authentic behaviors can transform leadership impact immediately.
Common Traps Leaders Fall Into
Transactional Interactions Over Transformational Connections
Leaders often default to transactional communication like checking in only when updates or problems arise. This creates a climate of anxiety or fear because team members feel they are only valued for output, not as individuals. If a surprise call from a leader instills stress rather than comfort, it’s a red flag that mattering isn’t being fostered.
Leaving Care to Chance Instead of Scheduling It
Good intentions don’t translate to meaningful actions without deliberate effort. Many leaders know they should check in and affirm their people but leave it to chance amid packed schedules. Without intentional planning, care and recognition get neglected.
Ignoring Small Gestures and Undervaluing Their Impact
Leaders sometimes overlook the power of small actions like remembering personal details or following up on previous conversations. These seemingly minor deeds are often what make people feel deeply valued and seen.
How to Authentically Show People They Matter
Schedule Time to Connect One-on-One
Carve out regular, brief check-ins focused not on tasks but on how the person is doing. Even 3-minute conversations where you recall a personal detail or ask about current challenges can build a sense of mattering. For example, a leader who writes down notes about team members’ interests or struggles and revisits them creates powerful connections.
Shift Meetings from Update Fests to Human Check-ins
Transform team meetings by starting with a simple “green-yellow-red” emotional check-in: green means all is well, yellow signals some stress, and red signals overload. Leaders can then offer support accordingly. This provides data to truly see how folks are doing rather than assuming all is fine.
Make Affirmation Specific and Vivid
Move beyond generic praise like “good job.” Instead, describe exactly what unique strengths, perspectives, or actions the person brought and the meaningful impact it had. For example, sending pictures of specific work accomplishments or telling stories about their contributions shows that their work is noticed and significant.
Turn Good Intentions into Rituals
Like a supervisor who maintained a “noticing notebook” to track personal notes about each team member for timely follow-ups, create small but consistent habits for showing care. Intentionality combined with action signals that people are remembered.
Prioritize Psychological Safety to Encourage Voice
Encourage open sharing during meetings by fostering a culture where people feel safe to voice concerns without fear of humiliation. Holding quarterly “hidden problems” meetings where team members anonymously share unspoken thoughts allows real issues to surface and be addressed collaboratively, reinforcing that everyone’s perspective matters.
Immediate Action Steps for Leaders
- Before the next team meeting, prepare a personal note about at least one team member’s recent life event or work challenge to mention.
- Start your next meeting with a “green-yellow-red” check-in to gauge team well-being.
- Schedule brief weekly or biweekly one-on-one check-ins solely focused on connection, not just task updates.
- Replace generic compliments with specific affirmations that highlight unique contributions.
- Initiate a “hidden problems” chat in your next meeting to invite anonymous feedback and demonstrate safety and care.
By avoiding transactional traps and embracing these actionable behaviors with intentionality and care, leaders can make each person feel truly significant. This shift not only boosts engagement and performance but also builds a culture where mattering is the norm, not the exception. The result is a thriving, motivated team ready to collaborate and innovate.
Ready to take Noticing and Hearing in the Workplace to the next level?
- To get practical tools and actionable tips that will jumpstart your journey, download the Noticing and Hearing in the Workplace Kick Starter Booklet here.
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- And if you’re looking to elevate your entire C-Suite leadership team, learn how Craig Dowden can help your leaders perform at their highest-level visit https://www.craigdowden.com/executive-mastermind
- For a deeper dive, listen to the full-length episode of the Do Good to Lead Well podcast featuring Wes Adams & Tamara Myles:
Did you like this article on Noticing and Hearing in the Workplace? Does it help you become a better leader? Then check out these articles to help hone those skills even further:
- Leading with Purpose: Core Qualities and Practices for Positive, Inclusive Leadership with Angela Bonfanti
- Leadership in Uncertain Times with Elizabeth Weingarten: How Questions, Vulnerability, and Community Fuel Leadership in Uncertain Times with Elizabeth Weingarten
- Positive Leadership for Innovation and Resilience with Jason Tham: Leading with Authenticity, Agility, and Purpose in a Fast-Changing World
- AI Therapy: Lessons on Vulnerability and Listening: Why Leaders Should Create Judgment-Free Zones Like AI Therapy: Lessons on Vulnerability and Listening
- Lead your team or company in the future with ethical AI practices: AI Driven Leadership Strategies for the Future with Geoff Woods
- Create an environment for Meaningful Work: Exploring the Science and Practice of Meaningful Work with Wes Adams and Tamara Myles
- Reveal and fill blindspots in your daily professional life: Seeing with New Eyes: Martin Dubin on Leadership, Self-Awareness, and Blindspotting
Craig Dowden
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