Everyone is Different, but Everyone Has a Purpose
This weekend, I watched my son’s U16 basketball team play. It was one of those crisp Saturday mornings where you start out thinking you’re just there to support but end up learning something profound.
What struck me wasn’t the scoreboard. It was the team itself.
A truly intersectional, diverse group of young people — different races, religions, heights, backgrounds, and personalities — coming together with one shared purpose: to give their best, work as a team, and grow, whatever the result.
On the surface, they couldn’t have been more different.
One player fast and fiery, another calm and strategic.
One quietly observant, another loud and encouraging.
Different accents, faiths, and family stories. Yet when the whistle blew, all those differences didn’t divide they defined the team. Each brought something unique that made the whole stronger.
It reminded me that in organisations, just like in sport, real teamwork doesn’t erase difference — it celebrates and channels it.
We often talk about “diversity” in terms of representation, but its real power lies in purposeful inclusion — when everyone’s difference has meaning, and when shared purpose gives those differences a common direction.
In workplaces, we’re constantly balancing the individuality of people with the collective goals of the team. And the best cultures — the ones where people thrive, learn, and innovate — are those that create space for both.
Learning happens when we’re open to other perspectives — especially those shaped by different life experiences, beliefs, or worldviews.
Culture grows when people feel seen, respected, and valued for who they are — not in spite of it.
Teams succeed when every person knows why they’re there, how they contribute, and that their voice matters.
What I saw on that basketball court was inclusion in motion — not a workshop, not a statement, but a lived experience. Teenagers of every background working hard for something bigger than themselves, cheering each other on, learning together, and finding joy in collective effort.Everyone got a high five coming off/on the court, sharing in the team spirit.
It was a reminder that purpose is the great equaliser.
When people are united by purpose, difference becomes strength.
And in a world that often focuses on what divides us race, religion, politics, generation there’s something powerful about seeing what connects us: the desire to belong, to grow, and to contribute to something meaningful.
That’s what great teams do. Whether on the court, in the office, or in life they remind us that everyone is different, but everyone has a purpose.