Not Everyone Deserves a Seat at the Table

“Let’s make sure everyone has a seat at the table.”

It sounds like the right thing to do. Inclusive. Democratic. Respectful. But somewhere along the way, that phrase stopped being a principle and became a reflex. We extended the invitation to every decision, every conversation, every planning session—until we found ourselves with too many people in the room and not enough progress on the board.

When everyone is invited to every table, what we often get isn’t alignment. It’s inertia.

Collaboration Without Boundaries Is Just Chaos

I work with companies who genuinely want to empower their people. These are well-intentioned leaders with good instincts. They believe in listening, collaboration, and shared ownership. But one of the most common dysfunctions we see comes from an overextension of those very values.

Out of a desire to be fair, leaders over-invite. Out of a desire to be inclusive, teams over-communicate. And out of a desire not to leave anyone out, organizations make sure everyone’s “in.”

Here’s what that often looks like:

• A cross-functional initiative starts strong—but soon stalls when every decision requires buy-in from every department.
• A team invites ten people to a kickoff meeting, just to make sure all the bases are covered. Four of them barely speak.
• A product team has to rehash a direction multiple times because someone “wasn’t looped in early enough.”

This is where good intentions quietly morph into organizational drag. Everyone’s been invited. No one wants to make the wrong move. And suddenly, the team that wanted to be inclusive now finds itself paralyzed.

This isn’t theoretical. I've seen it play out in healthcare marketing agencies, SaaS product teams, and complex internal operations groups. And the outcome is nearly always the same: the illusion of collaboration with none of the momentum.

(If that dynamic sounds familiar, this article on small wins explores how micro-movements can build real momentum—even in the mess.)

Empowerment Isn’t About Equal Voice—It’s About Clear Voice

Let’s get something straight: everyone deserves to be heard. But not everyone needs to be in the room where every decision is made.

Real empowerment doesn’t mean every person contributes to every outcome. It means that the right people are empowered to decide—and that others are empowered to trust them.

In healthy, high-performing organizations, there’s a strong understanding of:

• Who owns which decisions.
• When and how input is gathered.
• Where collaboration is helpful vs. where it’s a distraction.

It’s why I like to start with a deceptively simple question: Who decides? You’d be surprised how often that answer is unclear.

When teams know who is accountable—not just involved—they move faster, argue less, and focus more. Clarity doesn’t make people feel excluded. It helps them feel safe. They’re no longer guessing when to weigh in, second-guessing whether decisions will stick, or worrying that everything’s up for grabs all the time.

The Design Sprint Case Study: Fewer Voices, Sharper Focus

This clarity shows up powerfully in Design Sprints, where tight timeframes force tight focus. When I run a sprint, I'm ruthless about who gets a seat at the table. I don’t invite people to be polite. I invite them because they play a direct role in either shaping the problem or owning the solution.

The result? In just five days, teams that have been spinning for months often land on breakthrough insights. Not because they had the most voices in the room—but because they had the right ones.

A client once told me, “That’s the first time we actually made a decision in under a week.” The reason? We stopped trying to build consensus and started building clarity.

Inclusion and Involvement Are Not the Same

There’s a difference between being part of a team and being part of every decision that team makes.
One creates connection. The other creates chaos.

Inclusion should never be performative. If someone is at the table, it should be because they have a meaningful role to play—not just because we’re afraid of leaving them out.

The most inclusive teams aren’t the ones where everyone weighs in all the time. They’re the ones where everyone knows:

• Their voice matters—when it’s time to use it.
• Their role is valued—whether or not they’re in the room.
• Their teammates can be trusted—to lead when it’s their turn.

You don’t build that kind of team by flattening every decision or inviting everyone to every table. You build it by creating a culture where clarity, trust, and autonomy are the norm.

That’s the foundation of an empowered culture. That’s what moves the needle.

One Last Thought

If you’re hesitating to leave someone out, ask yourself:
Are you protecting them—or are you protecting yourself from the discomfort of leadership?

When everyone has a seat at every table, no one owns the outcome. But when we create purposeful roles and clear boundaries, teams get sharper, faster, and more confident.

Not everyone needs to be in the room.
But everyone deserves a team that knows how to move forward.