SEPTEMBER 12: The difference between being invited and being heard
Creating workplaces, communities and everyday spaces where everyone feels seen, valued and able to be themselves.
Being invited into a meeting, a conversation or a team is undoubtedly important, but genuine inclusion asks us to go one step further and think about what happens once we are there. Are we simply present, or do we feel that our ideas, experiences and perspectives are genuinely welcomed and given space to influence the conversation?
Sometimes the difference can be found in the smallest moments — whether someone pauses to listen properly, asks a little more about an idea, creates space for a quieter voice, or comes back afterwards to explain what happened as a result of the conversation.
Because being heard does not mean that every idea has to be accepted, but it does mean knowing that your contribution was valued enough to be genuinely considered.
Today, we're looking at how we can move beyond simply inviting people to the table and create workplaces where people know that what they bring to that table truly matters.
Read more on Cultural Calendar Club…
🔔 coming up on The Work Edit:
Rats, carrots and sport!
coming up on Cultural Calendar Club
12 Months of live, inspiring, entertaining talks events, made financially accessible for all organisations
Not yet a member of Cultural Calendar Club? Join today or Contact Us.
Black History Month: The Audacity To Occupy Space: Reimagining Leadership Through an Equity Lens
Tuesday 06 October 2026
12:00 - 13:00
Not yet a member of Cultural Calendar Club? Join today or Contact Us.
This webinar explores the structural and cultural conditions that determine who is seen as a leader, and challenges how institutions define, reward, and retain leadership. It asks what it takes to occupy leadership spaces when they were not designed to be inclusive especially for racially marginalised people and what must change within organisations to make leadership genuinely equitable.
This session is not about ‘inviting’ people into leadership. It’s about interrogating the gatekeeping practices, racialised expectations, and hierarchies of legitimacy that shape who gets to lead and how they are treated when they do.