I founded Belonging Pioneers in 2006 with a conviction that still drives me today: every human being deserves a fair crack at work and the opportunity to contribute their best. That means more than getting through the door or being invited to a meeting. It means having your contribution taken seriously, access to opportunities and a real chance to succeed—without having to become someone else to fit in.

What belonging means to me

For me, belonging means knowing that you matter: that you are part of the organisation, your voice counts, and your contribution is valued.

It means being able to ask questions, acknowledge uncertainty and challenge a decision without feeling that your place is at risk. It also means being able to do good work without continually exhausting yourself trying to prove that you deserve to be there.

Belonging is not about everyone being the same or agreeing all the time. The ambition is a working environment where different perspectives can be explored honestly, people are treated fairly and high expectations sit alongside support and respect.

Why the Top Table matters

Our focus is on helping organisations build a culture of belonging, starting at the Top Table: the senior leaders who shape the organisation’s direction and make decisions about people, priorities and resources.

The questions we bring to that table are practical. Whose ideas get heard? Who is trusted with responsibility? Who gets access to development and progression? What happens when someone disagrees?

Our work helps leaders examine the gap between what they intend and what colleagues experience, then act on what they learn. It starts with senior leadership responsibility, but it must reach beyond the executive team.

A fairer experience for everyone

The intention has always been to create a win-win: better opportunities for colleagues from under- represented groups, alongside a better working experience for their majority-group colleagues.

That does not mean assuming everyone faces the same barriers. It means listening across the organisation while paying attention to how identity, background, status and access to influence can shape someone’s experience.

Research and listening are central to our approach. Through surveys, interviews and listening circles, we help organisations understand what supports belonging and what gets in its way. Our research into privilege at work, and conversations through The Privilege Eruption podcast, are part of that continuing enquiry.

From there, we help leaders turn insight into practical action through coaching, development, facilitated conversations and changes to relevant organisational practices. We also support people who feel different or overlooked to strengthen their confidence, influence and contribution, and explore progression upwards or across—not simply adapt themselves to an unchanged environment.

Our next chapter

Now that Belonging Pioneers is part of Purple Brilliance, I’m excited to be working alongside Kathy Morrissey on the next stage of this work.

Kathy brings executive-level experience of leading diverse teams and delivering results in complex organisations, including across functional silos. Together, we are developing our offer to connect the leadership behaviours, relationships and practices that support belonging with the contribution and performance organisations need.

Our refreshed programme, Building a Culture of Belonging: From the Top Table to Everyday Experience, will help leaders understand what belonging looks like, recognise what gets in its way and take practical action. Through online learning, in-person workshops or a Top Table retreat, the focus is on making belonging part of everyday leadership—not simply a topic for discussion. Over the next five years, my ambition is to help more senior teams make belonging a responsibility at the Top Table and a reality for every colleague. Success would mean practical changes in whose voice influences decisions, who has opportunities to progress, and whether people can contribute fully while sustaining their wellbeing.

The aim is not belonging instead of performance. It is to help organisations achieve better, more sustainable results by creating the conditions for people to give their best.

Better results start at the Top Table

If you lead an organisation or team, where is the biggest gap between the belonging you intend and what your colleagues experience? Kathy and I would welcome that conversation.