In my experience, some of the most impactful leaders are those who leverage their positions to serve as strong advocates for everyone on their team. To advocate as a leader, however, it is important to understand how advocacy differs from other forms of support, the do's and don'ts of engaging in advocacy as a leader and how advocacy stands to serve your entire organization.
Mentors, Champions And Advocates
Advocate leaders don’t just strive to have an impact on individual members of their team. Their aim is to transform their entire organizational culture. This is also what makes advocate leaders different from both mentors and champions.
Mentorship can take many forms, but in keeping with Lisa Ehrich’s insights into the topic, at its best, mentoring is developmental, has learning as its focus and aims to help an individual glean insights from their personal experience.
Champions, on the other hand, take a personal interest in an individual’s career by opening doors, making introductions and recommending individuals for stretch assignments and positions.
In a sense, advocates, who often also serve as mentors or champions, go one step further. Rather than simply helping individuals better navigate an organization or championing them within this context, advocates seek to change the conditions under which all team members work.
As an example, consider how an advocate leader might address systemic gender inequalities in the workplace. Rather than simply help individual women succeed, an advocate leader would work to identify the conditions that are creating a culture of inequality in the organization and then work to actively change the culture, resulting in a broader transformational change.
Best Practices For Serving As A Leader Advocate
Do:
Let team members know you have their back. Simply identifying as an advocate and letting your team members know that you see yourself as their advocate is a powerful way to begin serving as a change agent.
Be patient.
Advocacy isn’t a one-and-done deal. Because it is about organizational change, the process is iterative, and it is likely to take time to see the full impact of your advocacy work.
Encourage team members to advocate for themselves and each other.
In addition to serving as an advocate, encourage others to advocate for themselves and for their team members. Model best practices in advocacy to help drive this work.
Don’t:
Assume you know who needs an advocate.
Naturally, you might assume that a certain individual or demographic needs and wants your advocacy. Rather than assume, initiate a listening tour. You might be surprised to find out who actually needs your advocacy and would most welcome it.
Advocate for only one demographic of team members. Effective advocate leaders don’t simply advocate for a single person or demographic. They are prepared to serve as an advocate for any member of their team who is invested in the organization’s short- and long-term success.
Use advocacy to boost your own reputation.
Don’t approach advocacy as another key performance indicator (KPI). Advocacy isn’t about you as a leader. It’s about developing a culture in which everyone can thrive.
Leader Advocates Spearhead Cultures Of Advocacy
Leader advocates not only impact individuals on their teams. I’ve observed that strong leader advocates ultimately impact their entire institution culture. This largely reflects the fact that advocacy, when done well, is contagious. Employees who see advocacy in action and benefit from it are far more inclined to become advocates themselves. As a result, organizations driven by advocate leaders also tend to be more inclusive, diverse and equitable environments in which to work and develop on the job.
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