How to Be an Ally at work and Support your Internal Network

It is important that your workplace has a diverse and inclusive culture. Whether you identify with a particular protected characteristic or not is irrelevant and we can all do a little bit more each day to help create a truely inclusive workplace that we want to work in and that our colleagues want to work in.

While it is important that the drive for a diverse and inclusive workplace culture comes from the top, there are lots of things that we can do on an individual and everyday basis to help be an ally at work and support our internal network, peers and other colleagues.

An ally is someone who is not a member of an underrepresented or minority group (often associated with a protected characteristic) that takes action to support that group and individuals within that group in their workplace.

Here are some examples of ways that we can all be a supportive ally to our network:

01 Sponsor a Colleague

Sponsorship can be really powerful.

A sponsor can provide advice to colleagues, but their primary role is to develop their colleagues and prime them for promotion by helping them to develop the skills they need and to open up doors to opportunities.

While it can be useful to have be in a more senior role to actively sponsor someone and make an impact. This can be done at any level.

You can help your colleague building their reputation by giving them credit and/or a shout out. Additionally, you can help open up opportunities by putting their name forward, or suggesting that they join the team on a project.

Further Reading: Sponsorship

02 Champion your colleagues

While sponsorship tends to happen within the workplace and in an internal setting. Championship tends to be acting as an ally by championing your colleagues externally (and publically).

This might be recommending them to a client or contact within your network. This might be putting them forward for a speaking opportunity or asking them to write or co-author a thought-leadership piece. It might be inviting them along to your next networking event. It might be recommending them for an external opportunity.

Another simple way to do this is to show support online (such as on social media) but celebrating their achievements with them and sharing them with your network.

Further Reading: Offer Someone You Know A Speaking Opportunity

03 Support your colleagues by helping them to communicate their views

In some workplaces, your underrepresented or minority colleagues may find it difficult to get themselves heard, or to get themselves in front of the right people. In addition to sponsorship and championing your colleagues another simple thing that you can do is to help them be heard.

This might be in the form of empowering others to speak. For example by giving everyone a fair opportunity to speak in a meeting.

Alternatively, it might be by repeating what they have said and giving them the credit due to help them get heard and/or re-emphasise their contribution.

Finally, it might be by inviting individuals from underrepresented or minority groups to take on roles on internal committees to ensure proper representation and help them get their views heard in the workplace.

Further Reading: Listen without Interruption

04 Support your colleagues by learning

A great way to support others is to be an ally that seeks to learn as much as possible about the challenges and prejudices faced by their colleagues from underrepresented or minority groups.

Do your research and take the opportunity to listen and learn about the challenges they are facing.

Take the time to learn more by reading publications or social media by and about underrepresented or minority groups within your industry. You can also ask your colleagues about their experiences if they are happy to be open about it.

Further Reading: Be Curious and ask “Why”

05 Support your colleagues by calling out wrong behaviour

If you witness bad behaviour in the workplace such as offensive comments or jokes, bullying or suppression techniques. Call it out and/or speak up about it.

Take action if you see anyone in your workplace being bullied or harassed. An easy way to do this is to simply insert yourself into a conversation with a comment such as, “Hi! What are you discussing?” and then check in with the individual privately afterwards and ask if they are ok and if they want you to say something (or support them in another way).

06 Support your colleagues by listening to them

Finally, support your colleagues by listening to them. Listen to your colleagues and trust them. Just because you have not seen or experienced something doesn’t mean that it did not/does not happen. People from underrepresented or minority groups may face bias and discrimination. They may face unacceptable behaviour. If a colleague has opened up to you about something that is personal – support them by listening to them and trusting/believing them.

You can be a supportive ally by being a confidant, a trusted colleague for someone to talk openly to. Simply talking to someone who is willing to just listen and trust them can make a huge difference to someone.

Further Reading: Why is Active Listening So Important and how to be better?