Feeling left out at work? Finding YOUR Allies...

A “How to” guide. Part 2: Finding Founding Members and a Sponsor.

Hopefully by now you’ve found and read your company’s policy on setting up an ERG or affinity group.  If you missed the first article, you can find it below.

Let’s talk about Allyship?

From the Harvard Business Review article “7 Ways to Practice Active Allyship” I have an excerpt. 

“Allyship is a lifelong process of building and nurturing supportive relationships with underrepresented, marginalized, or discriminated individuals or groups with the aim of advancing inclusion. It is through this process that we overcome our fears of engaging with DEI. Allyship is about progress, not perfection. Allyship is active, not passive. It requires frequent and consistent behaviors. Allyship is not performative. It’s about lifting others and creating platforms for them so that their voices are heard. Allyship is not about fixing others.” 

As a result, we have to turn this around and remember we are the underrepresented minority in boardrooms.  We are the oppressed class in the workplace.  So, we need to remind our colleagues of their unconscious or conscious bias against us.  We do that by setting the example as Christians and by choosing allies for our leadership roles that are truly supportive.

You may say, “Well, what if my group gets hijacked by the allies?”  I say, well, Jesus said we are to engage with those who are not believers.  In the mission statement and proposal phase (next article), I’ll help you with mission statements that will protect your values, our values, from being co-opted.  For now, focus on finding other strong Christian’s in your workplace to be your founding members.  And find an executive to do the same. 

These next steps are key to successfully organizing your workplace ERG / affinity group for like minded Christians.  We’ll find the allies later, but for now, find your Christian family members.

---

Your homework this week

Get to work on finding your Allies including leveraging some tips on finding your supportive executive sponsor below under step 4.  Hopefully you or another potential member will have some ideas.

Step 3: Gauge employee interest

Before you set out to create an ERG, you need to ensure you have enough employee interest to make your efforts worthwhile. To get buy in, suggest you approach likeminded friends / known Christian’s in your organization.  You could also gauge interest for founding a new group using an employee pulse survey or asking for a show of hands during a company all-hands meeting.

Step 4: Get executive buy-in

Once you know your employees are interested in creating an ERG, you’ll need to secure executive buy-in to ensure the new group is successful. To obtain executive buy-in, you’re going to need a director level or higher individual in your organization who is like minded.  To find this individual if you do not have direct interactions with executive committee members, you need only look toward their LinkedIn.  Typically, you’ll find them following a Republican lawmaker or evangelical preacher.  Generally, if an executive you work with follows a handful of conservative or Christian commentators, you can bet they will support you.  And if you’re not sure, say a prayer and let God guide you to the right person to support you.

Come back over the next few weeks where I’ll walk you three the remaining steps and provide you some templates, “How to’s” and advice so that you too, can be part of a group of likeminded colleagues at your workplace.

A preview of the next steps in the process:

5.       Define the group’s mission.

6.       Recruit members.

7.       Host a Kick-off meeting; and,

8.       Maintain organizational support.

References:

1. Tanenbaum Report on Religious ERGs.

2. Harvard Business Review article on Allyship.