1. What do we mean by
“Advocacy” and
“Leadership”?
2. • Leadership is the ability to lead. The key word
here is ‘ability’. And in my opinion we all have
abilities to varying degrees, our unique
composition making us unique people, and also
leaders with varying capabilities. advocacy is
taking action and being accountable for oneself in
creating a better life.
• The act of leadership is the ability to empower
others to achieve a collective set of goals for a
progressive future.
3. • Two particular definitions are one way in which to explain
advocacy and leadership, but they can take many different
forms. Leadership and advocacy often go together and can
be used effectively to accomplish a set of tasks. In addition,
the development of self-determination skills is a central
requirement in both good advocacy and leadership skills.
These skills are acquired through experience and not given
from birth. Knowledge of advocacy and leadership can be
valuable tools as one strives for more independence. The
creation of a strong foundation starts with the family,
education, peers, and other experiences to develop those
necessary skills. The goal in all of these is to develop the
child’s own strong capacity to self-advocate and to become
a leader, based upon their own experiences.
• The skills of a leader include communication, integrity,
ability to build relationships, innovation, awareness and
driving change. I am confident that the new generation of
professionals can find examples when they are been some
or all of those things. The adventure lies in translating
ability to career success.
4. So what does it mean
to be a future leader?
• It is quite simple- it means taking charge of your
career right from the onset to nurture the qualities a
leader has. This would allow you to prepare for
progression to more challenging roles with more
responsibility and opportunities to demonstrate your
calibre as you move up.
5. • Top three tips to position yourself as Future Leader
are:
• Be self-aware.
• Think teamwork.
• Be curious.
6. Be self-aware.
Start with acknowledging your talents and abilities, and what
you enjoy doing. No skill is wasted. Throughout your career you
will hear the term ‘transferable skills’. Transferable skills are
innate skills developed throughout life and can be applied to
professional situations.
7. Think teamwork.
• (from playing sports), writing skills (from blogging),
influencing skills (from student union experience)- make your
own personal list. Find your community. Identify other Future
Leaders and find ways of sharing your experience and journey
with each other. Peer support makes the journey easier and
more interesting, enhancing your opportunities to learn.
Identify a role model who inspires you and identify what their
leadership traits you admire. Ask for a mentor- they can be
your sounding board and source of guidance when things
seem unclear.
8. Be curious.
• A successful professional is always learning and a great leader
is looks ways to implement new learning. Similar to
transferable skills, you may be able to apply your learning in
different ways. Learn
9. • Leaders must learn how to be consistent and effective
advocates for their staff in order to cultivate quality
relationships that will increase engagement and
performance levels.
10. • Advocacy is a skill that goes beyond communication and the
way we express ourselves can go a long way to making sure
our message is heard. Advocacy skills are strengthened when
we take the time to reflect on personal, internal, and external
barriers and gradually build from low-stakes to high-stakes
audiences. For beginners and young speakers, advocacy can
be challenging for those who think that their perspective is
not as valuable or as important as others. Leaders have a
social responsibility to help people who may feel silenced or
may even silence themselves.
11. Advocacy is at the heart of leadership and needs to be communicated with
heart.
As with many forms of public speaking, advocacy is less effective when the
message is purely for the benefit of the speaker and fails to account for the
need to build community around an issue. Advocacy should not be
analogous with venting, but instead be a persuasive technique used
intentionally to create a catalyst for personal or societal change. Ultimately,
the most authentic advocacy is when a speaker has the ability to inspire
others to be part of solving problems together.
