Every so often, you come across a conversation that reminds you why you do the work you do. That was my experience recently during a Harvard Business Review webinar featuring Zach Mercurio, author of The Power of Mattering.

Zach’s research and message echoed so much of what we teach at The Expressory. It reinforced that real business growth comes from making people feel genuinely valued. Not just as part of a team. Not just as a customer. But as a human being.

And we’re not talking about big gestures or polished programs. We're talking about the simple, meaningful moments that simply remind someone: you matter here.

This idea of “mattering” isn’t new, but it’s deeply underutilized in most business strategies. That’s why I wanted to write about it. Because the truth is, many of us are already doing some version of this work, but we haven’t always had the language for it. And once you do have the language, it becomes easier to make this a part of how your business operates every day.

Why Mattering In the Workplace is About Survival

Mercurio kicked things off with a powerful reminder: that mattering is a survival instinct. From the moment we’re born, we’re wired to seek connection and significance. Yet as adults in the workplace, too many of us go unseen and unheard. That missing feeling of mattering creates disengagement, burnout and loneliness.

Despite investing billions into DEI programs, perks and even higher wages, performance hasn’t budged. He shared that only 39% of employees feel like someone at work genuinely cares about them. And during the HBR webinar, Mercurio noted, “Almost 8 out of every 10 people feel lonely at work, on a weekly basis.” How then can we expect people to care when they don’t feel like anyone cares for them?

This is further validation of what we’ve discussed in the past in our blog. The Know, Like and Trust approach to developing and growing business is broken in today’s world, unless we add care.

The Difference Between Belonging and Mattering

One of my favorite distinctions Mercurio made was about belonging and mattering. He said, “Belonging is being picked to be on the team. Inclusion is being invited to play in the game. But mattering? Mattering is feeling like the team wouldn’t be complete without you.”

This resonated deeply because, at The Expressory, we help businesses express genuine care and appreciation to the people who make their success possible. And we always say that it’s not about the stuff you give, it’s about how your message makes someone feel. Are you helping the person feel like your world wouldn’t be complete without them? What a wonderful way to think about how to write a message that resonates.

Our Digital Disconnection

Mercurio pointed out that one of the challenges contributing to our loneliness is our reliance on digital tools to try to solve this human problem of loneliness. Companies heard about this challenge and responded by adding more meetings and messages, thinking that would help us feel more connected to our peers. But it didn’t. Why? Because the quality of interaction matters more than the quantity. People don’t need another Slack message, email or Zoom meeting. They need to feel like they matter to someone.

We’ve written about this in our own blogs. Virtual meetings don’t translate to meaningful engagement or relationships. You build the long-term relationships we’re seeking through strategic engagement. In our busy day to day work lives, we need consistent, planned and thoughtful actions to say: I see you. I value you. You matter.

What This Means for Business Leaders

At The Expressory, we use what we call The Expressory Strategic Engagement Methodology™ to help companies implement strategies to recognize and appreciate the people who help their business grow. It’s grounded in social psychology and designed to help you build real, emotionally resonant relationships, not just send nice gifts. What Mercurio’s research confirms is that these touchpoints are far more than feel-good moments and something you should do when you have time. They’re the foundation of performance, retention and loyalty.

People need to feel valued before they can add value. When someone believes their voice matters, they’re more likely to speak up, innovate and contribute. That’s the shift from transaction to transformation.

One story that was shared on the webinar was about a simple practice that a manager implemented to make sure her people always felt like they matter. It’s something that you can easily implement today.

Every Friday, the manager would spend let’s say 30 minutes writing down one thing she observed about everyone on her team. I would argue that you could even expand this to your clients and others who support your company. But once she wrote down the observation, she then went into her calendar and scheduled time to acknowledge each and every one of those things so that it was not lost the next week.

Imagine what type of engagement and retention you would create if you could make people feel that they really matter to you.

Takeaways for Your Engagement Strategy

Here are a few of my favorite practical reminders inspired by Mercurio’s talk and rooted in what we teach:

• Mattering should be an on-going practice. It should become part of your culture. Every day, ask yourself: who on my team hasn’t felt seen lately? Then make sure you acknowledge them, even if for something small.

• Personal relationships matter more than mass connection. Focus on quality, not volume.

• Recognition doesn’t need to be loud or expensive. A simple, thoughtful acknowledgment goes a long way.

• You don’t need more tools. Strategic engagement isn’t about setting up more systems to make sure employees feel valued. It’s about doing what matters at a human level.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve been wondering why your engagement strategies aren’t moving the needle, maybe it’s time to shift your focus from checking boxes to making people feel like they matter. That’s where the magic happens. And if you’re not sure how to start, here at The Expressory, we’ve got the frameworks to help.

Because as Zach said, “People don’t want to be impressive—they want to feel important.” And that, my friend, is something we all have the power to give.