We talk a lot about resistance in this work, because it exists. There are leaders that won't engage, there are individuals in teams that that roll their eyes, and there are organisations that are "just not ready."

But in almost a decade of sitting in these rooms, that is rarely what I actually find. What I find, a lot more often, is fear wearing the costume of resistance.

This is the gap I keep running into, in every sector I work in. Not a values gap.

Most organisations I meet are full of people who mean well, including at the top. It's an alignment gap, between what leadership believes is true, what the systems are designed to produce, and what people are actually living day to day.

Anyone who knows me knows the pub life isn’t for me. Sticky floors, noisy crowds, and let’s face it, not a lot of faces that look like mine. It’s never been my vibe.

But back in the day, I went anyway. Not because I wanted to, but because that’s where my colleagues went after work. I didn’t want to be the odd one out, so there I was, sipping my drink, counting the minutes until I could make a graceful exit.