Workshops can be used to develop understanding, advocate more-inclusive behaviors, and highlight the benefits of a more-inclusive culture. And they give colleagues greater confidence to challenge negative behavior when they see it.

But creating an active allyship culture isn't really about workshops, policies and initiatives.

Sometimes it's the simple things that make the biggest difference and allow people to feel comfortable and accepted as part of a diverse and inclusive workplace. Using appropriate language and understanding terminologies both go a long way toward making people feel welcomed, and help to promote a sense of genuine belonging.

Active Ally Influencers

While it's important for allies to exist throughout an organization, allyship can be particularly influential when it's adopted by people at senior levels. This is about putting people at the heart of the business.

Without the right workplace culture, if people feel they can't be themselves, they'll lack confidence and become less motivated. They may feel unable to do their best work, and be uneasy about using personal experiences to develop creative solutions.

Coach Mike Barzacchini believes allyship is an undervalued leadership skill. He says, "Being an ally as a leader creates confidence, builds trust, and helps your colleagues and your team create a more human culture."

How to Be an Active Ally

On an individual level, being an active ally means demonstrating support when it's needed in both formal and informal ways.

Listening to individuals' day-to-day experiences of discrimination allows for better appreciation of the challenges and bias experienced.

That can help you to relate with empathy, and allow those who've been discriminated against to feel seen and heard.

Microaggression, Massive Impact

Somewhat counterintuitively, perhaps, blatant discrimination can be relatively straightforward to deal with. We see it, others see it, and we can challenge it for what it is. On the other hand, so-called "microaggressions" can be much trickier to call out.

These are the intentional or unintentional commonplace behaviors and language that communicate hostile, derogatory or negative attitudes toward particular groups.

We may worry that if we call out such "microaggressions" we'll be accused of being overly sensitive, or the comments will be passed off as a joke or banter.

We may be concerned that we'll get into an argument, or that it will affect our relationships with colleagues, and this stops us speaking up. These are all natural concerns, so how do we overcome them?

Wrong Steps, Right Direction

It's helpful to remember that, as an active ally, we may not always get it right. We may not always say the right thing, in the right way, at the right time. But what we can do is be committed to continuously listening and learning.

We can be committed to remaining respectful, diplomatic, empathic, and assertive. And know that people are forgiving of our mistakes when they know we're being genuinely supportive and authentic, and that we've "got their backs."

So, if you want to be an active ally, what should you do?

• Be an active and visible ally.
• Use your voice to actively promote equity for all.
• Never be a bystander to harassment or bullying, bias, or negative language.
• Challenge inappropriate behavior.
• Celebrate the uniqueness and diversity of your colleagues.

Being an active ally could be the most important role you ever have.

What's Next?

Allyship is an important skill to develop. See our interview with Emily Ladau, Demystifying Disability, for a good overview of what it means to be an ally and how to do it, especially within a disability context.  

Along with being an ally, check out our article on Finding Your Allies. And for tips on allyship in specific contexts, see our article Neurodiversity in the Workplace and our Expert Interview Our Separate Ways: Black and White Women and the Struggle for Professional Identity.

Tip of the Week

Visualize Your Goals

By Melanie Bell, Mind Tools Content Editor

It’s easier to do something when you can imagine it.

Visualization is a technique that many athletes use to picture themselves achieving the outcomes they want. But you don’t need to be playing in the World Cup to use this powerful tool!  

Try out these steps to visualize yourself achieving your next goal.

1. Decide what you want.

Choose a single goal and focus on it. For example, if you have an important meeting to lead, you could visualize yourself leading it skillfully.   

2. Picture the scene.

Imagine yourself in a scenario where you’ve achieved this goal. Use your senses to envision it as clearly as possible. What do you see, hear, feel, smell, taste? If you don’t see pictures in your mind, use other ways of imagining your goal, such as focusing on the ideas.

3. Imagine each step toward the outcome.

What do you need to do to achieve this goal? Break it down into steps, then imagine yourself doing each step. For example, leading the meeting could involve preparing the agenda, going through your talking points, and facilitating group discussions.

4. Visualize regularly.

This is a skill that takes practice, like anything else. Some people visualize every day. If you have a week before the meeting, try using visualization techniques up until the day you lead it.  

For more detail on how to use visualization techniques, see our article on Visualization.

Pain Points Podcast

Diversity is an asset for organizations. But how do we create a workplace that’s inclusive and supportive for all team members?   

This week on “Pain Points,” learn about what inclusion means and how you can model it in practice. Don't miss the latest episode of our “Pain Points” podcast!

Subscribe Today.

News Roundup

This Week's Global Workplace Insights

Asking Smarter Questions

One important skill that business leaders usually aren’t trained in is how to ask smart questions. Harvard Business Review suggests five techniques for doing so.

With increasing use of AI at work, prompting has become a skill – and essentially, it involves the ability to craft queries that will get useful information and results. Working with people also relies on asking the right questions.

HBR’s article summarizes a three-year project of researching effective inquiry with executives. Key questioning techniques include clarifying purpose, asking speculative “What if?” questions, and asking about process, interpretation and emotions.

Bringing Play Into Work

Employed adults spent 70 percent of their time at work, which makes the quality of their work environment and relationships important for wellbeing. 

As Dr Stuart Brown of the National Institute for Play has found, depression and anxiety can be caused by a “play deficit” in adults as well as children. A recent article on BusinessMatters explores the role of play in the workplace and the benefits of bringing more fun to the office.  

Advice includes incorporating more social interaction, being playful in spite of discomfort, bringing more physical flexibility into the office (such as moveable furniture), making onsite work more appealing, and building purpose into collaboration.  

For more thoughts on making work fun, see our Expert Interview with Leslie Yerkes.  

See you next week for more member-exclusive content and insight from the Mind Tools team!