In our day-to-day work, we encounter countless situations that demand the best from us and from our teams. Often, we have the tools to navigate these situations and experience them as stimulating challenges.
And yet, more often than we would like to admit, a familiar feeling appears: that of living the same day over and over again.
The same complaints.
The same conflicts.
The same problems, again and again.
When this happens, from a systemic perspective, something is immediately activated: curiosity. And with it, different questions:
What is this recurring pattern trying to show me?
What function does this complaint, this conflict, this problem serve within the system?
These questions open the door to a radically different approach: stopping the fight against symptoms and beginning to look at the systemic root of what is happening.
The Principle of Belonging
The Principle of Belonging reminds us of something fundamental: all members of a system have the right to a place within it.
To understand this more clearly, let us imagine any organization: a CEO, an executive team, middle management and employees. All of them are part of the same organizational system.
From a systemic perspective, “having a place” does not simply mean:
- having a contract,
- receiving a salary,
- or appearing on the organizational chart.
It means having:
- a clear function,
- defined responsibilities,
- real tasks,
- and explicit recognition of that place.
When, in an organization of say 50 people, everyone knows what they do and why they are there, the principle of belonging is reasonably respected.
What happens when someone is… but is not?
In my daily work as an executive systemic coach and consultant, I encounter a situation that is more common than it might seem: people who are in the organization but have nothing to do.
Here is a key question: Does this person truly belong to the system?
Even if they are employed, even if they receive a salary, even if they are “still there”, systemically their place is diffuse or non-existent. And when someone does not have a functional place, the system begins to generate symptoms.
This happens frequently in:
- post-acquisition restructurings,
- changes of mission or business model,
- digital transformation processes,
- and in family businesses, where there are often unwritten rules such as “we do not fire people here”, “we are a family and family members stay close”, or “senior employees must be respected no matter what”.
The result is a systemic paradox: people on the payroll who do not truly belong to the system.
What symptoms appear when belonging is violated?
The effects are not subtle. Some well-documented examples include:
- A sense of injustice in the person who wants to work but cannot, accompanied by growing fear for their employability.
- A perception of inequity among other employees who work intensively while someone else “has no place”.
- Increased stress, both for the excluded person and for those carrying a heavier workload.
- Loss of organizational energy through complaints, rumours and demotivation.
- Dysfunctional behaviours such as disengagement, excessive use of social media, interpersonal conflicts or counterproductive actions.
- Impact on corporate image through internal and external conversations.
When one part of the system is excluded, the entire system pays the price.
This is why, in systemic practice, we know that no exclusion remains without consequences. Sooner or later, the system seeks to compensate for what has not been recognized. Working with the Principle of Belonging is not a theoretical luxury. It is a deeply practical way to prevent conflicts, recover organizational energy and restore coherence to the system.
At Metaweaves, we use systemic practice in all our interventions, starting by looking at whether all parts of the system truly have a place. Before intervening, advising or proposing solutions, we observe where the principle of belonging is being violated and what symptoms that exclusion is generating. Because when someone does not belong, the system speaks. And listening to what the system is saying is always the first step of any truly transformative intervention.
If, as you read this, you recognize similar patterns in your organization, your team or your own role, the system may already be speaking. At Metaweaves, we accompany people and organizations in listening to those signals, in restoring a place to what has been excluded, and in intervening from the principles that sustain living and coherent systems. Sometimes, the first step is not to change anything, but to look together.
