Planting Seeds for Year-Round Inclusion

Heritage months and commemorative days offer powerful opportunities to pause, learn, and act in solidarity. They spotlight communities, histories, and ongoing struggles that deserve both celebration and deep reflection. However, awareness is just the beginning.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging is not a seasonal activity or a once-a-year reflection. It’s a continuous practice, a muscle we strengthen over time through intentional effort. Just as we commit to ongoing development of our coaching competencies, we can weave DEIB principles into how we show up as coaches, colleagues, and community members. Much like how we grow through practice and feedback in coaching, we can deepen our DEIB commitment by partnering with colleagues to reflect regularly on inclusive practices and have conversations about bias, belonging, and cultural humility that become easier as trust builds and reflection deepens.

Like tending a garden, fostering inclusion asks for patience, consistency, and care. Some days it looks like deep listening. Other days, it’s noticing whose voices aren’t yet in the room, or re-examining our own assumptions. And it's also believing that the small seeds we plant in conversations and community spaces will take root in ways we can’t immediately see.

If you’re looking for places to nurture these practices alongside fellow coaches, I invite you to explore ICFNE’s DEIB Community of Practice and our ongoing book club series. These spaces offer opportunities to learn, reflect, and grow together in community.

I hope to be tending my garden alongside you in the months ahead.

his article originally appeared in the May 2025 edition of the ICF New England DEIB newsletter. You can read the full edition here.