Belonging as a Leadership Strategy: Why Communities Build Stronger Organizations

By May Binstock

Positioning executives and experts at the top

Gratitude in leadership isn’t just about saying thank you. It’s about creating a culture where people feel seen, heard, and valued - where belonging isn’t a perk, but a principle. Throughout my career, I’ve learned that when times are tough, community is what keeps organizations alive. But why wait for a crisis to discover its power? The smartest leaders build community before they need it - and that’s where gratitude becomes a strategic tool.

From a young age, I was drawn to collective purpose. I was that student who organized, volunteered, and led. Later, as a marketing manager at Samsung Electronics, I oversaw corporate social responsibility initiatives that connected employees, customers, brand awareness and causes bigger than themselves. It taught me something fundamental: the more people feel part of something meaningful, the stronger, more innovative, and more resilient they become.

That belief shaped how I approach leadership to this day. In one of my former workplaces, I was asked to help bridge silos between departments that barely collaborated. Instead of another top-down directive, I designed something human: Coffee Breaks - intimate weekly sessions where ten employees would gather to listen to a short presentation by a colleague about something they cared deeply about, connecting it to their work.

Those 45-minute sessions became a quiet revolution. People who barely exchanged Slack messages started collaborating. Teams understood each other’s goals. New initiatives emerged organically. What began as a “small cultural experiment”evolved into a genuine sense of belonging.

The same happened when I founded WIT - Women’s Inclusivity Team, an Employee Resource Group for women in tech. It started as a safe space to discuss challenges unique to women, but quickly grew into a vibrant hub of empowerment. We created WITty Wednesdays, weekly gatherings that featured speakers, workshops, and conversations - from workplace rights and public speaking to wellness and leadership panels.

Each session was more than a talk; it was an act of collective gratitude. Gratitude for each other’s honesty, strength, and shared ambition. Over time, women began showing up differently - bolder, more confident, more willing to take space. The ripple effect reached hiring, retention, and even leadership representation.

Gratitude in leadership can sometimes be misread as softness. But true gratitude is a discipline - a lens that sharpens awareness, not dulls authority. It’s about noticing effort, acknowledging progress, and reinforcing connection. In the language of employer branding, gratitude isn’t a campaign - it’s a culture. And culture, when built intentionally, is the most powerful form of differentiation any organization can have.

Today, I’m still deeply involved in community-building, now serving on the committee of the G-CMO network, a professional community designed to enrich the knowledge and collaboration of senior marketing leaders. Different setting, same principle: when people feel they belong, they contribute more generously, think more creatively, and lead more authentically.

So yes, gratitude belongs in leadership - not as decoration, but as foundation.

Because the truth is, strong communities don’t appear in hard times. They endure in hard times because they were built in good ones. Don’t wait for a crisis to start building your community. Build it today - so that when it matters most, your people already know they belong.

May Binstock is a communications executive and organizational branding expert with over 14 years of experience shaping the public voice of leaders and global brands. A lifelong advocate for community-building and inclusion, she has led initiatives in corporate responsibility, women’s empowerment, and executive positioning. May currently serves on the committee of the G-CMO network, helping senior marketing leaders grow through shared knowledge and collaboration.

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