E54: Dr. Andrea Carter on Designing Belonging as Performance Infrastructure
Sat Jan 31 2026
Dr. Reda Othman sat with Dr. Andrea Carter, organizational scientist and CEO of Belonging First, to explore why belonging is not a “soft” concept—but a measurable leadership system that directly drives performance, trust, and retention. Drawing on large-scale research across industries, Dr. Carter explains how belonging functions as performance infrastructure, shaped by five measurable indicators: comfort, connection, contribution, psychological safety, and well-being.
Throughout the conversation, Dr. Carter shares powerful real-world examples, including findings from Canada’s largest belonging study in the mining sector and her work redesigning a global employee listening system for a multinational organization. She illustrates how organizations can show strong engagement scores while belonging quietly fractures—leading to flawless execution, suppressed critical thinking, and stalled innovation. She also recounts how failure to name broken trust or close feedback loops can rapidly erode culture, even when leaders believe they are “doing the right things.”
This episode is especially valuable for executives, HR leaders, school and district leaders, consultants, and anyone responsible for culture and performance. The conversation is practical, evidence-based, and direct—challenging leaders to stop treating belonging as a side initiative and start designing it intentionally as a core system for sustainable results.
Key Takeaways
1. Understand why belonging predicts retention, innovation, and performance more accurately than engagement alone.
2. Learn the five measurable indicators of belonging and how they function as an integrated system.
3. Recognize early warning signs of cultural breakdown, even when performance metrics still look “fine.”
4. Discover why psychological safety alone is insufficient without comfort, connection, contribution, and well-being.
5. Apply a critical mindset shift: stop optimizing only for short-term results and start building long-term performance infrastructure.
6. Use data as a starting point for conversation—not a blueprint for programs—before launching new initiatives.
7. Repair damaged trust by naming what’s broken, closing feedback loops publicly, and reinforcing shared accountability
More
Dr. Reda Othman sat with Dr. Andrea Carter, organizational scientist and CEO of Belonging First, to explore why belonging is not a “soft” concept—but a measurable leadership system that directly drives performance, trust, and retention. Drawing on large-scale research across industries, Dr. Carter explains how belonging functions as performance infrastructure, shaped by five measurable indicators: comfort, connection, contribution, psychological safety, and well-being. Throughout the conversation, Dr. Carter shares powerful real-world examples, including findings from Canada’s largest belonging study in the mining sector and her work redesigning a global employee listening system for a multinational organization. She illustrates how organizations can show strong engagement scores while belonging quietly fractures—leading to flawless execution, suppressed critical thinking, and stalled innovation. She also recounts how failure to name broken trust or close feedback loops can rapidly erode culture, even when leaders believe they are “doing the right things.” This episode is especially valuable for executives, HR leaders, school and district leaders, consultants, and anyone responsible for culture and performance. The conversation is practical, evidence-based, and direct—challenging leaders to stop treating belonging as a side initiative and start designing it intentionally as a core system for sustainable results. Key Takeaways 1. Understand why belonging predicts retention, innovation, and performance more accurately than engagement alone. 2. Learn the five measurable indicators of belonging and how they function as an integrated system. 3. Recognize early warning signs of cultural breakdown, even when performance metrics still look “fine.” 4. Discover why psychological safety alone is insufficient without comfort, connection, contribution, and well-being. 5. Apply a critical mindset shift: stop optimizing only for short-term results and start building long-term performance infrastructure. 6. Use data as a starting point for conversation—not a blueprint for programs—before launching new initiatives. 7. Repair damaged trust by naming what’s broken, closing feedback loops publicly, and reinforcing shared accountability