ACTIONABLE ALLIES

Many organizational leaders recognize the importance of recruiting, retaining, and promoting talented colleagues with diverse identities, whether that means women, people of color, LGBTQ+ folks, or diversity of other kinds. Beyond talent management, many individuals feel strong personal alignment with values underlying DEI initiatives, such as justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Yet often professionals are not sure how to put their values into action, especially at the office.

WHO ACTIONABLE ALLIES IS FOR

Does your team or organization…

• Want to build all colleagues as inclusive leaders?

• Aspire to put your values into action?

• Already offer women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ colleagues specific leadership development support, and want something especially for men, white or straight colleagues?

• Want to learn how to act effectively as allies to one another, across social differences of all kinds?

• Need help to address sensitive topics of personal identity while maintaining helpful professional boundaries?

• Feel worried about saying the wrong thing, and so avoid saying anything, even when you sense bias in effect?

• Hope to create a culture where colleagues of all identities can make their greatest contribution and flourish?

Self-doubts and ethical worries get in the way of our living out values and our good intentions, especially at the workplace. Many well-meaning colleagues want to be allies but need to gain some knowledge, acquire some skills, and do some practice in order to be ready to put their intentions into action. Organizations and teams of every size and composition sometimes need guidance and practice to create conditions for diverse team members to flourish so everyone can make their unique creative contribution.

WHAT YOU GAIN

Actionable Allies builds capabilities in allyship, a crucial dimension of inclusive leadership. Participants become more ready to act in the moment amidst fast-flying social dynamics.

• Build a culture of inclusivity and create conditions for diverse talent to thrive

• Focus on allyship as a primary mode of inclusive leadership

• Turn your personal commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion into more effective and impactful leadership in action

Participants come away with greater self-awareness, intercultural competence, empathy, and practical know-how for acting effectively in common real-world scenarios. Growing as inclusive leaders fills critical skill gaps in uniquely human capacities needed today more than ever.

What happens if you don't make your allyship actionable?

• You risk amplifying bias, discrimination, and exclusion

• You risk complicity in acts of social harm that degrade team performance and well-being

• You risk missing chances to create conditions for yourself and colleagues to want to work together and bring out the best each has to offer

• You risk missing opportunities to create mutual understanding, connection, care, kindness, and justice

• You risk diminishing your personal integrity by not embodying your own values

HOW IT WORKS

Program foundations

• Builds on the cultural resources of your organizational values

• Grounded in the scholarly research on leadership and intercultural development

• Applies concepts to practical scenarios relevant to your organization

• Customizable focus on allyship of different varieties, e.g., men as allies to women, white allies to people of color, straight allies to LGBTQ+ folks, etc.

Typical components

• Four to five facilitated large group sessions of 1.5 to 2 hrs each, delivered over ~2 months

• Individual assessment of intercultural development and 1-1 debrief/ coaching session of 25-50 minutes for each participant

• Cohort size of 10 to 100 participants

• Structured small Leadership Practice Group sessions for more practical application and community building, with or without facilitator