Who Gets to Say No?
ERG leaders are often asked to help.
A leader wants the ERG's perspective on an upcoming initiative. Another team sees an opportunity to collaborate. Someone would like support for an event or input on a communication. The requests usually make sense, particularly when the ERG has built enough trust and visibility that people across the organization value its involvement.
Being asked can be a sign that the ERG is becoming more integrated into the organization. It can also create a complicated dynamic for the people leading it.
Many ERG leaders are doing this work alongside the responsibilities of their formal roles. Their available time is limited, but the boundaries around ERG work can be surprisingly difficult to define. A request may be closely connected to the group's mission and still require more capacity than its leaders have available.
That becomes harder when the request comes from someone with organizational authority.
Saying yes can feel easier than explaining why the ERG cannot participate. Leaders may also feel a responsibility to represent their community whenever an opportunity arises. Over time, a series of reasonable requests can consume a significant amount of the group's attention and begin influencing where its energy goes.
This is where clarity about purpose becomes particularly useful. An ERG with a shared understanding of what it exists to do has something against which new opportunities can be considered. Leaders can look at whether a request serves members, advances an established priority, or requires expertise and capacity the group can reasonably provide.
Capacity deserves to be part of that consideration.
An initiative can be worthwhile and still arrive at the wrong time. A collaboration can align beautifully with the ERG's purpose while asking too much of the people responsible for making it happen. Declining or modifying a request does not erase its value.
There is also an organizational question here. As ERGs become more established, other parts of the business may increasingly seek their perspectives and involvement. That can be a meaningful development, but it requires attention to how that contribution is supported. Volunteer leaders cannot become an unlimited source of insight, labor, or representation simply because their perspective is valuable.
ERG leaders need enough agency to make thoughtful decisions about where their group's time goes. That includes deciding when to participate fully, when a smaller contribution is appropriate, and when the ERG does not have the capacity to take something on.
An ERG's calendar reveals its priorities, but so do the requests its leaders choose to accept.
A small next step
Look at the last few requests your ERG received from elsewhere in the organization. How did you decide which ones deserved your time?