3 Women Leaders on How to Create a Culture of Belonging

How do we build belonging at work? Feeling like we are connected, supported and respected is a basic human need, and that doesn’t disappear once we walk through the (perhaps virtual) doors of the office.

At our sister brand's July 26 Women in Retail | On the Road event in Dallas, three female retail leaders from the Dallas Mavericks, Fossil Group and Grocery Outlet spoke about the true importance and value of belonging and shared how they're working intentionally to foster a culture of inclusivity, acceptance and trust among their colleagues.

Moderated by Veronica Torres Hazley, the founder of Hey Chica! and the CEO of Torres Hazley Enterprise, the panel featured Layla Kasha, chief marketing and new store growth officer at Grocery Outlet; Iris Diaz, chief marketing officer of the Dallas Mavericks; and Ellie Quartel, senior vice president of digital strategy, e-commerce and marketing at Fossil Group.

Show Up Authentically

"It's very important to show up the way you really are. And sometimes it's not well received," Kasha said. "When you show up authentically and when people that work for you or with you show up authentically, it's OK to be OK with that. It's very difficult for people to hide who they are, hide their personality."

Kasha said ultimately, it's your job to show up and create that space for yourself where you are comfortable being authentic. At Grocery Outlet, where she's been a leader for six years, she said there are brave people that have been willing to say, "Look, this is me and here's how I'm going to show up."

Model What You Want to See in the Workplace 

"For me it's partly being yourself, and it's also partly showing your teams and your colleagues that they can be themselves," Quartel said, adding it's not something that comes easy for her. She once received feedback of being too "stiff" and worked to incorporate some more of her personality into her leadership style -- letting people in on "the chaos," she said.

"Bringing my whole self to work helps other people bring their whole selves to work," she said.

Speak Up When it Matters

"I didn't get to this position by shutting down and not saying anything," Diaz said. "I got here because my voice was very important. I surrounded myself with people who knew how important it was." She credits her success partly to those that made sure they were empowering others behind them to speak up.

"Don't forget: You're speaking up for yourself, but you're speaking up for the people who are behind you too, and the people that are at the table," she said.