10 Tactics to Get Middle Managers to Support ERGs

Motivation, ability, and system

Middle managers do not block ERG engagement for one reason. They usually block it for one of three: motivation, ability, or system.

Each problem requires a different playbook. A manager who does not understand why ERGs matter needs a different solution than a manager who supports ERGs in theory but has no idea what that support should look like in practice. Both are different from a manager who operates inside a company system that quietly rewards productivity while making ERG support feel like a distraction.

This article focuses on the first two: motivation and ability.

The problem of no direct authority

Before getting into the tactics, it is important to name the thing that makes this work so difficult. Most People Ops, DEI, and ERG Program Managers do not directly manage the middle managers blocking ERG momentum. Those managers usually do not report to them. Their behavior can’t always be mandated. ERG support may not be included in their performance goals. And when they ignore the ERG calendar, there may not be a clean accountability lever to pull.

On paper, they may not have to listen at all.

But that does not mean there is no leverage. It just means the leverage is more subtle. People Ops, DEI, and ERG Program Managers often have influence over the environment those managers operate in:

Where the real leverage lives

• the defaults
• the language
• the templates
• the communication channels
• the expectations
• the friction points that make one behavior easier than another

A manager may not be ordered to support ERGs, but the environment can be designed so supporting ERGs becomes the easiest, clearest, lowest-risk thing to do. The goal is to make the supportive behavior the path of least resistance.

That is the real work when there is responsibility without authority.

When managers are not motivated

You can’t order a manager to support ERGs. But you can make supporting them the path of least resistance.

When managers are not motivated to support ERGs, the goal is not to shame them into caring. That rarely works, and in many cases, there is no authority to enforce it anyway.

The goal is to connect ERG support to what managers already care about:

What managers already care about

• team performance
• talent development
• retention
• trust
• leadership readiness
• employee engagement

This is not about changing their priorities. It is about showing them that ERG support already serves the priorities they have. That is a pitch, not an order. And when there is no direct authority, the pitch matters.

ERGs are often framed as culture spaces. They are not framed often enough as talent development spaces. That is a missed opportunity.

Frame ERGs as leadership labs

ERG leadership and participation can reveal skills that may never show up in someone’s day-to-day role:

• facilitation
• public speaking
• project management
• stakeholder management
• budgeting
• community building
• strategic planning
• cross-functional collaboration

The manager-facing message should be simple: ERGs are not just employee communities. They are leadership labs. That is a much stronger message than asking managers to “let employees attend ERG events.”

A lot of companies say ERG leadership is a development opportunity, but they do not teach managers how to recognize, reinforce, or reward that development. So the claim sounds good, but the system behind it stays weak.

The practical move here is to reframe ERG involvement in every piece of communication that reaches managers. Instead of describing ERG involvement only as participation, describe it as skill-building. Name the specific competencies the way the company would for any other stretch assignment. Managers are not being told what to do. They are being handed a more useful lens.

In The Progress Principle, Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer argue that meaningful progress is one of the strongest drivers of motivation at work.

Employees often join ERGs when they are looking for something their daily role may not fully provide:

• connection
• growth
• visibility
• belonging
• confidence
• community
• a place to contribute beyond their job description

Managers need to understand that ERGs can create meaningful progress for employees. An employee may build confidence by speaking at an ERG event. Someone may find a mentor through a program. An ERG leader may gain leadership experience by planning a campaign. A team member may feel seen during a moment when they were close to disengaging.

That matters to managers because employee engagement is not abstract. It shows up in:

• retention
• energy
• trust
• willingness to contribute

People Ops, DEI, and ERG Program Managers are often closer to engagement and retention data than the average manager. That creates an opportunity to connect the dots. When sharing an ERG story, attach it to an outcome a manager actually cares about. For example: “Over the past two years, this department’s attrition has dropped as engagement in ERGs has risen.”

That is not assigning work to managers. It is translating ERG activity into their language.

This idea connects closely to Leading from the Middle by Scott Mautz. If middle managers are expected to support ERGs, start by acknowledging the pressure they are already under.

Do not start with a guilt trip. Start with reality.

A stronger message sounds like this: “We know managers are balancing deadlines, workload, morale, performance goals, and business needs. This is not about adding another job to your plate. It is about giving you a clearer way to support engagement without having to figure it out from scratch.”

That one shift lowers defensiveness.

When there is no direct authority, tone matters. A People team that opens with “We know your plate is full” will usually get a different response than one that opens with “Managers need to step up.” The goal is not to let managers off the hook. The goal is to make the ask easier to receive.

If managers are skeptical, executive statements alone will not always move them. Managers often pay closer attention to what their peers are doing.

Middle managers watch each other. If they see other managers supporting ERGs in practical, low-drama ways, it reduces perceived risk and makes the behavior easier to copy.

Instead of only saying, “Managers should support ERGs,” show them what support looks like in real life: “Here are three managers who are doing this well, and here is exactly what they do.”

• They mention ERG events in weekly team meetings.
• They help employees plan coverage for major events.
• They ask team members what they learned after attending a session.
• They recognize ERG leadership as skill-building during development conversations.

The goal is to make good behavior visible and replicable.

Peer proof is one of the strongest tools available to someone without authority because it does not come from People Ops, DEI, or the ERG Program Manager. It comes from managers’ actual peers.

The job is to find the managers already doing this well and put a spotlight on them. You are not the authority in the room. You are the person curating which examples the room sees.

Managers are more likely to support what they can see. That means ERG reporting has to go beyond attendance numbers.

Attendance can show interest, but it does not prove value on its own.

Better reporting shows outcomes:

• employees who joined mentoring after attending an ERG event
• ERG leaders who developed facilitation skills
• cross-functional relationships created through ERG involvement
• employees who felt more confident speaking up after participating
• correlations between ERG engagement and broader company engagement scores

If the only ERG data managers ever see is a calendar of events, they will keep thinking of ERGs as events. Show them evidence of movement.

The reporting is often one of the most controllable levers. People Ops, DEI, and ERG Program Managers may not be able to force a manager to care, but they can change what gets measured and broadcast.

Change what managers see, and it starts to change what they believe ERGs are for.

Ability problems are different. A manager may support ERGs in theory but not know how to support them in practice.

This is where companies accidentally create failure. They tell managers to “support ERGs” without defining what support actually means. So each manager fills in the blank differently.

• One manager thinks support means approving event attendance.
• Another thinks it means staying out of the way.
• Another thinks it means supporting ERGs only when the team is not busy.

That inconsistency creates a messy employee experience.

The good news is that ability problems are usually easier to fix than motivation problems. Power is not required to solve a clarity problem. What is required are:

• tools
• defaults
• scripts
• decision rules

And building those is squarely within the work.

Do not ask for permanent buy-in right away. Ask for a pilot.

For example: “For the next 90 days, managers are being asked to test three ERG support behaviors: share one ERG opportunity with your team each month, ask employees about ERG-related development during 1:1s when relevant, and help employees plan coverage when they want to attend major ERG events.”

A pilot works because it feels more like an invitation than a mandate. That matters when there is no direct authority.

“Try this for 90 days and share what you think” is easier to accept than “Do this permanently.” It lowers the stakes, creates a defined test period, and gives the organization a chance to learn what actually works.

In Switch, Chip Heath and Dan Heath explain that if a behavior depends on someone remembering, caring, and manually choosing it every time, it will eventually break down under pressure. That is why support has to become easier, not just more encouraged.

The next set of tactics lives in that lane.

Unclear Attendance Policies

An employee sees an ERG lunch-and-learn but has no idea whether attending counts as work time, so they skip it rather than ask. The solution is to get one sentence of clarity approved by someone with the authority to approve it. For example: “ERG events during work hours are approved work time.” Once approved, that sentence should show up everywhere managers and employees already look:

• the ERG page
• event invites
• manager newsletters
• onboarding materials
• ERG FAQs

Awkward Permission Dynamics

Sometimes employees feel like they have to ask their manager for permission to attend an ERG event, which makes participation feel like a favor. That dynamic can be softened through better employee-facing language. Instead of telling employees to “ask your manager,” ERG communications can say, “Add the event to your calendar and give your manager a heads-up so coverage can be planned if needed.” That shift matters. When the norm changes on the employee side, managers receive a notification instead of a permission request.

Dismissive Comments

A manager says, “Must be nice to have time for that,” and the message lands that ERG participation is not real work. Those comments cannot always be policed in the moment, but managers can be given better language before the moment happens. For example: “Glad you’re going. Tell me what you take away.” Most dismissiveness is reflex, not malice. Give managers a better reflex, and many will use it.

No Guidance on Workload Conflicts

An ERG call and a deadline collide. The employee has no guidance, so the ERG loses by default. This is where a simple decision rule helps: “If an ERG commitment collides with a deadline, flag it early and plan coverage.” That does not solve every conflict, but it gives managers and employees a shared starting point. A clear rule is easier than improvising every time.

No Coverage Planning

An ERG lead cannot run an event because no one covers their queue, so ERG leadership piles on top of their regular job until they burn out. The fix is not just telling managers to “support coverage.” That is still too vague. Build a simple backfill template into the ERG event toolkit. The ERG lead can bring the manager a clear plan that answers:

• What needs to be covered?
• When?
• By whom?
• What can wait?

No Clarity on Whether ERG Leadership Counts as Development

Someone chairs an ERG for two years. They manage budgets, events, volunteers, executive presentations, and cross-functional relationships. Then none of it shows up in their performance or development conversation. That teaches employees that ERG leadership is a hobby. This is one of the highest-leverage inhibitors to remove. ERG leadership should be named as a development experience in the systems that already exist. The ERG Program Manager may not control promotion decisions, but they can make sure the evidence is in the room.

The throughline is simple: even without authority over managers, there is still influence over the environment managers operate in. That includes the defaults, the language, the templates, and the friction.

Before adding another ERG event, ask what is currently making participation harder than it needs to be. Then shrink that barrier. That is often the fastest way to turn manager support from an aspiration into a repeatable behavior.