TMA Monthly Briefing - More Than a Membership: Belonging, Trust, and Growth in the TMA

When I walked into my first TMA event, I wasn’t sure what I was searching for — only that after 13 years of working across countries and crises, I’d grown used to standing alone. In the turnaround and restructuring world, we’re often called in at the eleventh hour. We show up with calm, clarity, and control. But behind the role, beneath the suit, lives a quieter question: Where do we go to be understood? To belong?

I joined the Turnaround Management Association (TMA), seeking professional development and a credible platform to meet others in the field. At one of those early events — hosted at London Business School — I followed up with six people I had met. It was a small act of initiative, but one that would unfold into a more profound sense of community. What I didn’t expect was that the TMA would become a professional home — a place where belonging wasn’t just a bonus, but a quiet catalyst for growth.

Research in organisational psychology underscores the importance of belonging. According to Baumeister and Leary (1995), the need to belong is a fundamental human motivation. In professional contexts, this need is met through shared identity, trusted networks, and mutual contribution. The TMA offered all of this — and continues to.