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Choose Who to Work With
Once you identify the influencers in your work place, you’ll face the question of whether or not those influencers will make good allies. In some work environments, you may be dealing with people who aren’t immediately sympathetic to your needs. In other organizations, you may be able to approach managers and other influencers directly. In either case, starting with the people who are already aware of the situation you’re working to improve is the best option.
You’ll need to recruit your allies: not everyone will always see situations as you do. That means building a solid working relationship first is generally a good start. Most people aren’t comfortable sticking up for strangers — which means you have to make the effort to be a part of your organization on a social level. Build trust with your fellow employees, so that they’re willing to act on your behalf.
Having some documentation of the situation you’re dealing with may also be necessary to convince some allies to back you up. Especially if you’re dealing with a situation your allies have not faced, they may not understand the facts without some evidence. Having to prove something like harassment or wage discrimination is unfair, but necessary.