True Diversity feat. Marc McKenna-Coles

Imagine a system where the best ideas rise and the people who deliver them thrive, regardless of who they know, where they started, or how closely they mirror those already in charge. That’s the promise of meritocracy. But without intentional design, that promise remains a myth. Inclusion isn’t a feel-good extra; it’s the operating system that lets meritocracy function as intended.

Merit without inclusion amplifies privilege

In theory, meritocracy rewards excellence. But in practice, it often reinforces the familiar. When we assume conditions are fair from the start, we confuse confidence with competence and polish with potential. Familiarity becomes a stand-in for fit.

Terms like “executive presence” or “strong network” signal success, but often cloak subjective advantage. The result is a system that feels objective while repeatedly selecting from a narrow slice of talent.

Inclusion changes that. It widens access, strips out distortion, and creates environments where more people can contribute at their best. That’s when genuine value starts to show.

Inclusion improves the signal: not just the stats

Think of merit as a signal. Noise is bias, gatekeeping, and fuzzy processes that get in the way. Inclusion turns the noise down.

• Access: Skills-based screening and inclusive outreach ensure the bar is visible, not just high.
• Assessment: Structured interviews, calibrated reviews, and clear criteria reduce halo effects and improve predictive validity.
• Environment: Psychological safety, fair workload distribution, and trust-based working allow talent to show up consistently at its peak.

Building meritocracy by design

Here’s a blueprint for leaders:

• Define value clearly: Co-create examples of excellence with those doing the work.
• Remove friction: Ditch referrals and informal taps on the shoulder in favour of transparent, skills-led pathways.
• Align standards: Calibrate “meets,” “exceeds,” and “potential” across teams.
• Enable performance: Ensure access to growth and create psychological safety.
• Use the data: Track opportunity flow, progression, and impact and act when patterns diverge from intent.

Leadership mindset: From gatekeeping to stewardship

Meritocracy thrives when leaders shift from guarding hierarchies to stewarding fairness.

• Gut feel→ Observable stretch behaviours
• Culture fit→ Culture contribution and role relevance
• Own your development→ Equitable access to growth
• Ad hoc audits→ Transparent, continuous accountability

This isn’t lowering standards; it’s raising the standard of the standard. Specific. Relevant. Consistently applied. Inclusive by design.

Inclusion unlocks performance

In organisations that I have had the privilege of working for, inclusive hiring and leadership development increased ethnic minority representation at senior levels and grew female C-suite representation to over 40%, not by lowering the bar, but by making excellence visible.

Ten moves to build inclusive meritocracy

1. Clarify excellence: Define role-critical behaviours and outcomes with the team.
2. Refocus job criteria: Ditch prestige signals in favour of capabilities and trainable skills.
3. Redesign interviews: Use structured questions and relevant work samples.
4. Expand opportunity flow: Publish stretch projects; rotate access and formalise sponsorship.
5. Calibrate ratings: Require evidence; review across demographics.
6. Reward impact: Recognise outcomes, not just airtime.
7. Train inclusive leaders: Embed fair practices and measure them.
8. Normalise flexibility: Treat it as a performance enabler, not a concession.
9. Democratise decisions: Share criteria early; give constructive feedback.
10. Track the system: Measure access, assessment, advancement, and experience.

What to measure so you know it’s working

• Access: Who applies, advances, and succeeds?
• Assessment quality: Do ratings correlate with outcomes and across teams?
• Opportunity flow: Who gets stretch roles and sponsorship?
• Advancement: Time-in-level and promotion rates across cohorts.
• Experience: Psychological safety, fairness, and belonging—at team level.
• Outcomes: Retention of top talent, innovation, and customer impact.

If results depend on who someone knows or how closely they mirror those already in charge, you’re still listening to static.

Anticipating the pushbacks

• “We don’t have time.” Fast is fragile when talent is misread. Inclusion streamlines judgement through clarity.
• “We hire the best.” Then show it. Homogeneous pipelines and inconsistent assessments suggest your benchmark is too narrow.
• “This feels engineered.” Inclusion is system design, not social engineering. It’s how values become outcomes.

The bottom line

Meritocracy isn’t the absence of bias; it’s the presence of design. Inclusion makes that design real. It expands access, tunes the instruments, and sharpens what leaders listen for. Get that right, and “the best person for the job” stops being a slogan and starts showing up in your results.

Call to Action

If you’re serious about unlocking talent through inclusive meritocracy, don’t just audit your systems, redesign them. Reach out to connect, collaborate, or share what’s working in your world.

Make fairness operational!

If you are a part of an initiative, brand or company that proactively champions diversity and would like to be featured as part of the “True Diversity” series please get in touch with Tony.

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