I don't know about you, but as we step further into 2021 it feels like a mix. The return of something familiar is tempered by the accompaniment of reduced expectations and modified hopes.

In the mix are some reminders that COVID-19 heightened awareness that watching online is a more convenient experience for some (maybe even many).

Also in the mix is the surprise of who is returning first and who is still missing.

One thing that seems to still be true is the bedrock desire and need to belong. While the pandemic ebbs and flows, the loneliness epidemic rages on.

If you're not sensing the urgent need to belong, to be known, and the desire to connect, it may be that your belonging needs are already being met and your empathy radar is down.

Top 10 Articles on Engagement and Belonging

These articles aren't the top 10 in the sense of "most popular." They simply are provided to give as much depth as possible on a critical topic.

They are also not arranged in order of importance. The first 5 are more recent (written during 2020). The second 5 were written over the last few years in an attempt to help shape an understanding of engagement and belonging.

I should also point out that I don't really hold these ideas out as unproven theory. Instead, at least in my mind, "these are the facts of the case, and they are undisputed."*

1. MAKE BELONGING THE CENTERPIECE OF YOUR ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY

2. Engagement Is the New Attendance

3. IS THIS PRACTICE PART OF YOUR POST-COVID STRATEGY?

4. Planning Connecting Opportunities? Think Digital First

5. TWO PRACTICES THAT WILL INCREASE ENGAGEMENT

6. Who Designs Your Next Steps? Starry-Eyed Dreamers or Steely-Eyed Pragmatists?

7. Foundational Teaching: Next Steps for EVERYONE

8. Next Steps for Everyone and First Steps for Their Friends

9. How Would You Rate the First Steps Out of Your Auditorium?

10. A Smörgåsbord of Destinations vs Sequential and Tailored Next Steps

*Captain Jack Ross, A Few Good Men