Taking a “Leap”: How Workplace Allyship Initiatives Shape Leader Anxiety, Allyship, and Power Dynamics That Contribute to Workplace Inequality

Abstract

A rise in racism, racial violence, and hate crimes has catalyzed the implementation of workplace allyship initiatives as a mechanism for creating equity and inclusion in organizations. Yet, these allyship initiatives can evoke leader anxiety because they make power dynamics salient. Extant allyship literature has not considered the implications of leader anxiety for allyship and power dynamics that contribute to inequality in the workplace. Thus, in this paper, I reveal how allyship initiatives may trigger different types of leader anxiety (i.e., preventive, promotive, and mixed preventive–promotive) and motivate different leader allyship actions, which I refer to as “LEAP” behavior. As a conceptual framework, LEAP categorizes four broad allyship actions theorized in prior research: Locating oneself, Engaging in discussions, Asking probing questions, and Providing support. LEAP also acknowledges nuances in leader anxiety that can lead to different types of LEAP behavior (i.e., restricted, responsive, or radical). Lastly, I posit that leaders’ LEAP behavior can reinforce power imbalances, challenge power imbalances, or change power structures in the workplace. Ultimately, this paper contributes a more nuanced conceptualization of leader allyship behavior to the allyship literature, and provides a foundation for identifying strategies for increasing equity and inclusion in the workplace.

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