Why Do You Show Up?
- Chanel Grenaway
- 16 hours ago
- 2 min read
This week, during a Catalysts’ Circle Braintrust meeting, our check-in question was simple: "Why do you attend the Braintrust?" Simple, but thought provoking.
After the meeting I began reflecting on why I show up for other voluntary meetings and roles. In these spaces, I know my voice is welcomed. I know my experience matters. I show up not because we are all the same, but because our differences are respected and valued. I come to learn, to be challenged and to hear ideas that push my thinking in new directions. I show up knowing I have something to offer.
That feeling is not accidental. Someone built it. And it takes all of us to steward it.
For leadership teams, this is worth sitting with. Retention is often treated as an individual problem or a compensation problem. But people leave, disengage, or stop contributing when they stop feeling like they are valued. When showing up feels like going through the motions.
The same is true for board members. Nomination and governance practices shape who gets invited in, and whether they stay. A board that recruits for diversity but does not cultivate belonging will keep cycling through the same patterns of turnover, disengagement, and under-contribution.
We need to value the important work of cultivating belonging in the workplace and in community. It's often invisible and intangible but it is invaluable to relationship building and collaboration.
Culture does not maintain itself. It is built through consistent, deliberate practice. Through the norms you set. The questions you ask. The way you receive ideas that are different from your own. People show up for the feeling and experience they receive. Get that right, and they will keep coming back.
Chanel Grenaway & Associates Inc. is committed to helping leaders, staff teams and boards build good work cultures that align with their anti-racism and inclusion goals through continuous learning and practice change. Happy to hop on a call with you to see how I might help. Let’s chat.
