Editor’s Note:

This post is part of an ongoing series exploring Blue Heron Coaching’s core principles. If you’d like to catch up on earlier entries, you can read:

• There’s Always Enough to Share — on Give Freely
• Think Boldly: A Principle That Helps Founders Rise — on Think Boldly
• The Blueprint for Your Own Becoming — on Serve First

This fourth post explores Include Everyone—what it means to build belonging by design.

We all have these moments in our lives where, in a single decision, everything changes. I had one of those moments back in the day when I was still part of corporate America.

The day started like any other. Up at 5:00 a.m., knock out a workout, shower, and get ready to meet the workday by 8:00. On the calendar was a meeting I had anticipated. One where I would formally decline the role offered to me as part of a broader restructuring effort.

It wasn’t an easy decision. I had poured myself into that organization, believed deeply in its mission, and cared even more about the people I worked alongside. But the role they offered wasn’t aligned – not with my values, not with my vision for leadership, and not with who I knew I was becoming. So I declined.

Because of that decision, my employment ended and everything changed.

But that’s the thing about values. When it comes down to a moment of decision, they’re either real or they’re not.

In that meeting, I claimed my agency. While neither option on the table was ideal, I knew myself well enough to choose the one that honored my core. I’d spent too many years trying to be both excellent and agreeable. Trying to earn trust by working harder, longer, smarter, believing that merit would protect me. In that moment, I saw the truth. It hadn’t.

Call it the straw that broke the camel’s back. Call it an epiphany. But something in me was done.

I had spent decades learning how to navigate the glass ceiling, sidestepping egos, adapting to environments, making it work. I had told myself that if I just kept delivering, someone would eventually say, “Yes, you belong here. You’ve earned the right to be here.” That never happened. And I realized how much of myself I had handed over in service of a system I hadn’t stopped to actually think about.

That was the moment Blue Heron began, although I didn’t know it yet. What I did know was this. I didn’t want to be part of any structure that measured worth based on popularity, compliance, or proximity to power. I didn’t want to shape my life around someone else’s definition of who I was allowed to be.

That’s when the core idea took root. I would build something that included everyone.

Not just in language, but in practice. Not just access to the room, but belonging inside it.

When I say “include everyone,” I’m not talking about slogans or brand values. I’m talking about the design decisions that shape everything we do. I’m talking about pricing that doesn’t assume privilege. Strategies that don’t require someone to already be polished or confident before they’re welcomed in. Tools that are easy to use because too many brilliant people have been left out by systems that made things harder than they needed to be.

We include everyone because I’ve lived the alternative. I’ve worked in rooms where only a few voices mattered. I’ve sat at tables where the cost of staying was silence. And I’ve watched people opt out – not because they lacked ability – but because they couldn’t find the right doorway in.

Blue Heron is here to build better doors.

To be clear, “include everyone” doesn’t mean every offer is for every person. But it does mean every person has a right to clarity, support, and opportunity regardless of where they are in their journeys. We don’t confuse visibility with value. We don’t reward confidence over potential. We don’t ask you to prove you belong. We assume you do.

If I’m honest, I spent too many years outsourcing my sense of belonging to others, waiting for someone else to name me as worthy. I kept hoping that a title, a mentor, or a dotted line would finally affirm what I had worked so hard to prove – I had value. 

But here’s what I know now. Legitimacy isn’t something you’re given. It’s something you claim.

That’s what Blue Heron is designed to help you do. We’re not just offering tools and training. We’re building a culture. One where presence matters and is invited. No masks needed. Where your agency is protected. Where your success is defined by alignment, not assimilation.

That’s why “include everyone” is more than a value. It’s a principle. A design filter. A through-line. One that traces back to the moment I realized I didn’t want to fight for a seat at a table that didn’t reflect who I was. So I left the table. And built my own.

You’re welcome at ours. As you are. Not once you’ve earned it. And bonus – we’ll help you build your own table too. Then you’ll do the same for someone else.

Because that’s what circles of belonging look like.

#FlyAboveSoarBeyond