Leadership, Belonging and the Weight of Representation

Being seen as a leader isn't always empowering — sometimes it’s exposing. This piece explores the subtle pressure of representing communities in leadership spaces, especially for women and professionals of colour. A reflective invitation to lead with both impact and self-honour.

The coaching profession holds remarkable potential — not just to support individuals, but to shift systems. And yet, the reality is that executive coaching, as it has traditionally evolved, has served the privileged supporting the privileged.

If we believe in coaching as a tool for deep insight and transformation, we must also ask: Whose voices does it amplify? Whose growth does it centre? And who, quietly, remains on the outside looking in?

Coaching can be a vehicle for equity — but only if we expand its architecture to include those historically excluded from access, voice, and visibility. This is not just a challenge. It’s an invitation. One that sits with each of us who coaches, accredits, commissions, or benefits from this work.

Beyond Visibility

Increased representation does not always translate to justice. The presence of diverse identities in coaching spaces does not guarantee inclusion — especially when leadership structures remain culturally homogenous and when biases continue unspoken.

Change begins with acknowledging the systems that shaped us — and how those systems influence our assumptions, language, and decisions. This is bias work. Not as an exercise in shame, but as a practice of becoming more intentional and more aware.

As coaches, we ask clients to bring awareness and accountability to how they show up in the world. We must do the same.

What Inclusive Coaching Requires

A truly inclusive coaching culture asks us to do more than perform good optics. It asks us to co-create psychologically safe spaces — where power can be named, feedback can be offered without risk, and different lived experiences can be held with care, not defensiveness.

It asks us to acknowledge that real diversity efforts can’t be led or carried solely by those most impacted by exclusion — especially not unpaid or unsupported.

We need structures that make belonging real, not aspirational.

Four Areas to Focus On

1. Representation in Decision-Making

Inclusion must reach governance. Invite diverse voices into the spaces where definitions of success and quality are set — not just where DEIB statements are approved. Measure progress not just by intention, but by impact and trust.

2. Safe Feedback Mechanisms

Without protection, feedback becomes unsafe for those most at risk of bias. We must design systems where individuals can speak without jeopardising their careers, credibility, or wellbeing.

3. Evaluation of DEIB Work

Is our equity work being invested in — or broadcasted? Are we funding real internal culture change, or prioritising external image management? Performative equity doesn’t shift culture — resourced, accountable practice does.

4. Mentorship and Access

Let’s move beyond informal advocacy. What would it look like to structurally invest in underrepresented leadership — through reverse mentoring, rebalanced governance, and community-building initiatives? And are we willing to fund it fairly?

This Work Belongs to All of Us

Equity in coaching isn’t a favour to marginalised groups — it’s a necessary shift in how we understand transformation, leadership, and relational power. It’s also long overdue.

We all have a place in this. Whether you’re just starting to reflect on your identity, or have been advocating for years, your voice matters.

But so does pace. We must ask: How do we grow empathy and systemic awareness among majority groups — without exhausting or tokenising underrepresented individuals?

That question still guides me.

This piece was originally written in 2021, during my time contributing to the EMCC Diversity & Inclusion working group. Some reflections are rooted in that time, but the work continues — as it must. Read original article here

Jasmine Gill EMCC-Accredited Leadership & Executive Coach www.evolvexplore.com