Activating Champions

One of the most powerful investments you can make in your culture change work is identifying and developing internal champions. These employees are genuinely committed to advancing a culture of belonging and are positioned to lead that work from the inside. This should be a deliberate part of your overall strategy, supported by your Workplace Culture and Belonging Consultant.

What does an internal champion look like?

Not everyone will have the capacity or desire to take on a formal internal leadership role in this work, and that is completely okay. Internal champions are those who have specifically expressed interest in coordinating and advancing culture and inclusion efforts within your organization. When you find them, engage them early, often, and with genuine appreciation. They are your ambassadors and your most valuable change leaders.

A healthy champion structure is a diverse one. Actively recruit and encourage employees from all backgrounds to step into visible roles in this work. Not as allies who observe from the sidelines, but as genuine co-owners of the effort, doing their share of the coordination, the facilitation, the follow-through, and yes, the uncomfortable conversations. When the work is shared across the full spectrum of your team, the outcome becomes more sustainable and more effective for everyone.

Recognize and celebrate your internal champions. 
Acknowledge them openly as valued partners, not volunteers doing extra work. And if you look around your champion team and see that the burden is falling unevenly, identify it and address it.
Do not assume which employees will automatically want to lead this work.
For those who do choose to, be deeply intentional about how they are appreciated, compensated, and protected from burnout. This work carries real emotional weight for people whose own experiences are often the subject of the conversation.
Actively invite employees from all backgrounds to share the load.
Make it a clear organizational expectation is that culture and inclusion work is everyone's responsibility. Leadership should model this visibly and consistently.
Provide meaningful incentives for all champions. Developing an internal champion is a two-way investment.
Recognize contributions in tangible, meaningful ways — for every member of the team, regardless of background.
Establish clear expectations, goals, and success metrics together.
Work transparently with your champions and your Workplace Culture and Belonging Consultant to develop realistic timelines and measurable benchmarks. Revisit and refine these regularly.
Give champions the tools they need to succeed.
Bring in your consultant for training, facilitation, and skill-building. Create pathways for champions to deepen their expertise over time, including train-the-trainer opportunities.
Stay connected.
Check in with your internal champions regularly. Your organization’s leaders should meet directly with champions to hear their feedback and demonstrate genuine, visible investment in the work.
Make space for evaluation, celebration, and honest adaptation.
Celebrate wins. Honor the effort. And be willing to look clearly at whether the work is being shared equitably and course correct when it is not. Culture change is an ongoing journey, not a destination.