What Leaders Notice: Desk Plants & Belonging
Scanning for signs of belonging, and for their absence
“How’s it going so far? Are you happy here?” the Chief of Staff asked me upon entering my team’s section of the office. I paused, unsure of how to respond.
Early in my career, I moved from a very small firm to a very large organization where my new team was actually bigger than the entire firm I had previously worked for. At the moment of this conversation, just a few weeks into my new role, I evaluated the possible range of answers and hesitated over the correct response in this setting.
“I think it’s going well…” I offered.
“Good. I wanted to check in because you haven’t brought in anything to put on your desk,” he clarified before moving on to the next conversation.
Looking around, I had a number of things on my desk, from the typical computer, monitor, and scattering of office supplies to a hefty stack of books and printouts for my new research position. However, what my leader had noticed was that I hadn’t brought in anything to personalize that space. At my last company, this hadn’t been remarked upon but in this environment, I could see the different visual cues that showed ownership and marks of settling in across my coworkers’ desks.
I brought a plant to the office
I showed up the next week with a small Dracaena fragrans plant, seemingly ideal for low light office growing conditions. What I was really showing was that I was in – excited for the role and excited for the opportunity to grow in a broader team.
I hadn’t worked there for long enough to realize that the workspace was actually quite sunny and the plant soon overpowered the rest of my desk. I ended up bringing the plant back home but over nine years later, I still affectionately think of it as my desk plant.
Scanning for what’s missing
That conversation taught me that good leaders scan for signs of belonging, and, just as importantly, for their absence. I incorporate this insight into one of the classes I teach, which is an undergrad introduction to human resources. In this class, we spend much of our time on the strategy behind human resources – which when done well, is deeply woven into the organizational strategy. We talk about cultivating a sense of belonging and employee engagement. Across different industries and job levels, my students share similar stories…the jobs where they felt a sense of ownership, buy-in, and team cohesion are the ones they want to stay and grow in…even when other factors could be more competitive elsewhere.
Sometimes initiatives to increase belonging are easy to see and identify. They might include team gatherings, employee resources groups, mentorship and development programming, cultural celebrations, peer-to-peer recognition, or volunteer opportunities. What my plant story taught me was that visual signs of belonging are important, but a good leader is also scanning for the absence of those signs as well. A new employee who is a month in and hasn’t brought in a family photo or personal mouse pad? A potential turnover risk, and an easy one to miss if you’re not scanning for what’s absent.
Was this sign my direct manager’s issue to spot? Or perhaps even HR? Maybe…but in this instance, the leader at the top of the vertical was scanning for signs of belonging, honed in, and took action. As a new employee, this not only made me pay attention, but also made me realize something critical – the Chief of Staff cared about whether I was going to stick around.
This insight has stayed with me in the years since. As an individual contributor, I thrived in these spaces where I felt engaged and dialed into the work. When I moved from an individual contributor position into management and leadership roles, I practiced looking for signs, both those that were visible and those that were absent, to understand how my team was doing. I extended that lens outward into my matrixed network as well, realizing that strong cross-functional collaboration was the only way to make strategic planning successful in a large organization and that same level of care and coordination could impact a broader network.
Noting the absence of a plant or a family photo on a desk is a little harder in a virtual or hybrid environment these days. The signs of belonging are still critical to consider and it’s still everyone’s job…but they may not be as obvious. Sometimes this looks like a camera off in meetings, not updating the new role on LinkedIn, declining optional meetings…but just as often, these are the result of juggling multiple priorities and navigating a complex external environment. The signs are still there, but they’re harder to see and easier to rationalize away.
My advice? Take the time. See what’s there, and what’s missing. When in doubt, check-in and ask how it’s going.
So, how’s the plant?
Earlier this month, I noticed that my little desk plant – which now grows somewhat sideways and has become less photogenic – grew the first spark of a new stalk. This brought me back to the conversation from almost a decade ago and my learning that signs of belonging and engagement are everywhere, and part of everyone’s job.
We’ll see how it goes, but that little offshoot may just become my new desk plant in my home office as I settle into my new era with Lavorgna Strategy Studio. Helping organizations prepare for the future means paying attention to the signals inside them, not just around them.
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About Strategy Stories
Strategy Stories is the insights vertical of Lavorgna Strategy Studio, a consultancy helping leaders, teams, and organizations prepare and plan for the future through strategic planning and strategic foresight.
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