Many organizations are quietly scaling back their inclusion initiatives. But here’s the truth: the human needs behind those programs — mattering, belonging and respecting others — aren’t going anywhere.

When learning and development (L&D) teams help build workplaces where everyone can contribute fully, the entire organization feels the difference. Because belonging is about people. People want to feel seen. They want to know their voice counts. They want to work in environments where their identity isn’t a liability but a source of strength.

Yet, back in 2023, EY’s Belonging Barometer revealed that 56% of employees hid aspects of their identity for fear of repercussions. And now, in 2025, even senior leaders are concealing parts of their identity, fearing that those concealed parts could undermine their credibility.

This is a problem. We know that when people can truly be themselves and feel like they belong, they don’t just feel good, they perform better. Research shows employees who feel a strong sense of belonging are more engaged, more innovative and 2.4 times less likely to leave their jobs.

This is about building teams where people bring their best ideas forward, where leaders set high standards for both behavior and output and where differences are harnessed as strengths rather than sources of division.

So how do leaders build these cultures of belonging without fear of being branded “too soft?”

How to Intentionally Build Belonging

Leadership transformation doesn’t need a mandate. It needs momentum and learning leaders already have that! Every coaching session, workshop and conversation is a chance to shape how leaders show up. Right now, the most powerful shift we can influence is helping leaders see that belonging isn’t a side initiative. It’s a core leadership skill. Inclusive practice isn’t soft. It’s smart. It drives accountability, unlocks performance and builds cultures where people thrive.

Capability builders, like yourself, don’t need permission to lead this work. It is already part of your purpose: to elevate leadership effectiveness across the organization.

The opportunity now is to use that influence with greater intention to guide leaders in shaping their own inclusive leadership identity. And that starts by cutting through the noise. Strip away the jargon. Focus on what has always defined great leadership: accountability, respect and unity.

Here are three practical ways to help your leaders build belonging quietly, consistently, and with lasting impact.

1.     From Labels to Lived Reality

Instead of asking leaders to focus on identity categories, help them focus on the people right in front of them. What does it feel like to be part of their team? Who gets heard? Who’s overlooked? Who’s invited to contribute and who isn’t?

These questions are entry points to real, everyday shifts in leadership behavior, not abstract reflections. And this is where L&D has a quiet but powerful influence. You can guide leaders to rotate who speaks first in meetings, offer stretch opportunities to those often left out and rethink how visibility and recognition are distributed across teams.

But your influence doesn’t stop there. Because you’re uniquely positioned across the organization — with access to leaders, systems and strategy — and you don’t need a new initiative to drive change. You are the change. Use your reach to challenge the policies and procedures that shape access, opportunity and advancement. Influence your execs. Partner with human resources (HR) to shift the culture from the inside out.

2.     Culture by Conduct

Culture is reinforced by what leaders consistently tolerate, reward and model. L&D teams have real power to help leaders connect everyday behaviors to long-term impact.

For too long, performance metrics have dominated one-on-ones. But now, behavioral accountability needs equal weight. A high performer who undermines colleagues or creates a culture of fear isn’t a high performer; they’re a risk. In the past, we might’ve let things slide: the eye-roll in a meeting, the passive-aggressive email, the silence when someone’s excluded. But we know better now, and it’s on us to help leaders do better now.

So what does this mean for L&D? It means helping leaders draw the line and hold it. Empower leaders to make it clear that being great at your job doesn’t excuse behavior that damages the team. No more free passes for toxic top performers.

Help leaders build the skills and tools to have the hard conversations and equip them with practices that make behavioral accountability part of performance management. You want people to be recognized not just for what they deliver but for how they show up while delivering it.

3.     Amplify Empathy, Dampen Division

Social division is showing up inside our organizations. And the old fallback of “agree to disagree” doesn’t hold when people feel their identity or values are under threat.

Leaders don’t need to referee every disagreement, but they do need to create environments where people can disagree with respect. That means modeling empathy, curiosity and psychological safety, and making it clear that personal attacks, sarcasm or dismissiveness won’t be tolerated.

L&D can help equip leaders with the mindset, language and confidence to be visible. That might mean helping them reframe disagreement as a learning opportunity, coaching them on how to de-escalate emotionally charged moments or reinforcing the idea that belonging isn’t about avoiding difference. It’s about disagreeing well.

Inclusion and Belonging: Making a Difference in the Face of Decline

References to DEI in annual reports of FTSE 100 companies in the United Kingdom have dipped by over 16% in the last year. But while the dip in DEI mentions is telling, it’s not the story. The real story is whether leaders are willing to lead with conscience rather than convenience.

Be that conscience. L&D practitioners have an opportunity to shape how leaders think, act and lead. The message leaders need to hear is this: if your people don’t feel they belong, you’re not leading. You’re managing decline. And decline is a choice.

Organizationally, you may not control whether formal inclusion initiatives get funded. But you do control whether inclusion is embedded in how leadership is taught, modelled and measured. You have the access, the insight and the influence to make belonging part of the leadership standard, not the exception.