Being an Ally Requires Speaking Up

Cathie Leimbach • May 17, 2022

"Courage matters more than niceness", says Austin Channing-Brown. She speaks up for justice, for diversity, equity, and inclusion.  She believes that everyone has someone to offer and that all of us deserve to have opportunities to feel valued and appreciated.  She believes that it is our responsibility to help others be positioned to contribute to the world around them rather than being continually sidelined, marginalized, and battered.


However, in our society today there is unspoken and spoken pressure to just get along - to just keep quiet and not rock the boat.  Yet, when we turn a blind eye to inappropriate behaviors in our homes, workplaces, and communities, we are allowing people to be hurt and our culture to erode.  As Channing-Brown says, "Speaking up for others, for orderly meetings, for the bullying to stop, is disrupting the 'safe' norm".  When we turn a blind eye to disrespectful words and hurtful behaviors, we may be maintaining social and physical safety at the moment, but our tolerance silently gives others permission to continue, and even increase, their negative actions.


It's not okay to put up with ineffective and disrespectful behavior.  Yet, it takes courage to go against the norm and do what is right.  Being 'nice' is often not being kind.  People are often described as nice when they are agreeable; they are stuck in neutral and don't offend or argue.  On the other hand, being kind is showing that you care about others, that you have their best interests in mind and you support them towards a more fulfilling life.  


In her book, Radical Candor, Kim Scott shares that due to having a 'nice' culture she had to close her small business.  Nobody in her company spoke up when an employee did not do their work well; rather than offend the underperformer, they redid the work.  Not having tough conversations with a pleasant employee wasted everyone's time, became frustrating for all, and prevented the business from being viable. 


Channing-Brown encourages everyone to be allies in making a difference in organizational and community diversity.  Marginalized people generally don't have the connections and resources to influence systemic change. Causes led by one person rarely make meaningful headway towards changes in organizational systems in government, businesses and non-profits, neighborhoods or families.  Allies are needed in the cause.  Society will benefit from strong allyship.  (This is a new word for me, too.) 


"Allyship is a life-long process of building supportive associations and relationships based on trust, consistency, and accountability with marginalized individuals and groups. An ally actively promotes and aspires to advance a culture of inclusion through intentional, positive, and conscious efforts."  Do you care enough about living in a strong, vibrant community to practice allyship in your organization or community?  Do you have the courage to speak up even when it means upsetting the unspoken norm?


When you see someone being marginalized due to race, gender, education, economic status, disability, life experience, etc., I encourage all of us to have the courage to speak up for them.  Go to bat for them to be considered and supported.  When you see someone speaking up for the marginalized, support them.  Speak up in the moment.  Go beyond words and take action.  Ask others to join the cause of creating organizations and communities where all people have opportunities to have a meaningful life.

Why Engagement Isn’t About Perks

By Cathie Leimbach • February 10, 2026
When engagement drops, many organizations reach for perks—rewards, programs, or incentives. These can create a short lift, but they rarely solve the real issue. Engagement starts with expectations. Most people want to do good work. What gets in the way isn’t motivation—it’s uncertainty. When priorities shift, roles feel unclear, or success means different things to different leaders, people disengage quietly. Leaders often don’t realize they’re contributing to this. Vague direction, inconsistent follow-through, or assuming “they already know” leaves teams guessing. Over time, guessing turns into frustration—and frustration turns into disengagement. Strong engagement cultures focus on leadership basics: Clear priorities Shared definitions of success Aligned expectations Consistent reinforcement When expectations are clear, people move with confidence. They take ownership, collaborate better, and stay engaged because they know where they’re headed. Perks can support engagement—but only after clarity is in place. 👉 Read our full article on Why Engagement Starts With Expectations to turn clarity into a real advantage.

How Could You Create a 5-10% Productivity Shift? 

By Cathie Leimbach • February 3, 2026
When it comes to improvement at work, the focus is often on big changes. But frequently, it’s small shifts that quietly create big results. Productivity rarely improves without strong leadership practices. So, what if better leadership increased productivity by just 5-10%? That could mean: Less rework Faster decisions More follow-through Less firefighting More output — without more people That’s not wishful thinking. When leadership improves, absenteeism and turnover drop. Work flows more smoothly. Results, and the bottom line, improve. When leaders get clearer, communicate better, and follow through more consistently, friction fades. People know what matters. Decisions move faster. Energy shifts from fixing problems to getting real work done. Organizations that invest in leadership development often see: Higher output Lower turnover Better use of talent Stronger momentum The real shift happens when leaders stop asking, “ Should we invest in leadership ?” and start asking, “ What is it costing us not to ?” 👉 Join our 60-minute Leadership Conversation to see what a 10–15% shift could mean for your organization.