The Cult of Inclusion: Why Everyone “Must Be Heard” Is Dangerous.

We live in an age of cascading disruptions.
Geopolitical instability is rising, conflicts are spreading, societies are fragmenting, and technological upheavals are reshaping entire industries overnight. Trust in institutions is eroding, and with it, the foundations of collective coherence.

And yet, in leadership and coaching circles, one mantra dominates:

• Everyone must be heard.
• Every perspective validated.
• Every feeling given space.

𝐈𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞. Progressive. Almost sacred.

But in the face of systemic crises, it is not leadership. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 is not group therapy. It is not the endless accommodation of every perspective. It 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 - knowing what matters most, which voices carry real expertise, and where energy must be directed with clarity and speed.

We know from decision science: groups that try to hear everyone equally often paralyze themselves. They circle around familiar views while missing critical signals. High-performing, high-reliability systems - from aviation to surgery - don’t run on consensus. They run on deference to expertise and commitment to resilience.

This obsession with inclusion reflects something real in 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. It is not regression. It marks the 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞: the discovery of individuality, the relativizing of truth, the insistence that all perspectives matter. A necessary passage - but not the destination.

From the vantage point of the 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞, inclusion is recontextualized. The question is no longer, “𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦?” but “𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮, 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 - 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥?“

That is not cruelty. It is clarity. And 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬, 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞.

For this shift, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 - coaches and consultants who themselves hold complexity without being trapped in relativism.

So I ask you:

• Are you able to move beyond the Cult of Inclusion - to lead in a way that is neither authoritarian per ordre du mufti nor naïvely grassroots, but grounded in systemic responsibility and clear discernment?
• And do you have advisors who challenge you from that higher vantage point, or merely reinforce your comfort zone?