Being a good ally in the hardest of times

It’s virtually impossible to stand by and watch Ukrainian families being torn apart as women and children flee with nothing more than a bag, while their fathers, husbands, sons and brothers stay behind. The mixed emotions of gratitude for our safety with the guilt that we are in the fortunate position of being able to carry on our daily lives is profound. And it is easy to feel helpless, but we are not helpless, we can, of course, always choose how we respond and behave. I’m sure I’m not alone in finding myself looking back to two years ago, which was the last time I felt a similar deep dread and helplessness. I was reminded that I wrote a post then that rings true today, the sentiment is simple: actions speak louder than words.??

This comforted me because it reminded me of the actions I CAN take, beyond the obvious to be a good ally to those who need it most.??

?Donating to the cause??

Of course, our first act of kindness might be to donate either financially or by giving much needed items like clothes, nappies and Nurofen. Four huge trucks have left our business estate and there are multiple personal missions going on in towns all over the country. For longer term solutions it’s warming to see the number of spare rooms being offered up to welcome the fleeing families.?

There are many other ways to help if you’d prefer the donation to go directly into a Ukrainian’s hands, bypassing charity overheads, from booking Airbnb’s in Ukraine? where the money can go directly to the Airbnb owner or buying from Ukrainian online shop owners. There are many great articles being published on the meaningful ways we can all help, I really like this one.??

Using our super strengths??

My expertise is communication and leadership, hence this article, but we all have different skills and special areas of knowledge or experience that we might be able to use positively to support those around us. I particularly work with Internal Comms professionals, so we wrote some tips for communicating with the workforce.??

Listening and showing empathy??

A phrase we used a lot during the early stages of Covid was ‘we might be in the same storm but we’re in different boats’, and it really rings true here. While the true impact of this conflict is being felt in Ukraine, the aftershocks are much wider.?

This is a time for listening without judgement to how those around you are feeling, noticing changes in their emotions or sensitivity. Until you listen you don’t know how people are connected to the situation. Could a colleague’s family member be directly impacted? Could this conflict be bringing up an old memory for your key supplier? Have empathy for the boats those around you are paddling.?

Ditching the propaganda??

As a communications expert, I’m passionate about unravelling stories, understanding facts, getting to the brutal truth and making sure stories get shared in a way that’s fair and makes sense. At times like this, facts can get muddled up in hidden agendas and it’s hard for people to follow the real story. It’s such a shame that many of the images being circulated have been revealed to be fake, photoshopped, or from many years ago, an important reminder to use a variety of good information sources so that you’re getting the right facts, this article shares some trustworthy sources and you can also see any misinformation here.??

Compassion for all??

A few days after the 9/11 tragedy, Balbir Singh Sodhi was shot dead in Arizona, his only crime being to wear a turban as part of his Sikh faith. The current situation is a conflict between two governments, the innocent citizens of both Ukraine and Russia deserve our complete compassion. It’s an important time to remind ourselves what it takes to be a good ally so we can show our support to both communities caught up in this situation.??

Boycotting and Buycotting??

Above and beyond the financial sanctions put in place globally, as consumers we also have a lot of power to make our own sanctions, either by avoiding buying products (boycotting) or by proactively buying products (buycotting) to show our support.??

It does undoubtedly feel like as citizens around the world, carrying on our daily lives, we feel impotent to help so many in such huge need of support, but perhaps all these small differences we can make can add up, and make a big difference.??