The Five Most Valuable Things to Focus on in Your Year-End Advocacy Review - Episode 28

You're listening to the nonprofit power podcast. In today's episode, we share. Where the five. the five. most valuable things to focus. On. In your year end advocate. Advocacy review. So. Stay tuned. If you want to have real and powerful influence over the money and policy decisions that impact your organization and the people you serve, then you're in the right place. I'm Cath Patrick, and I've helped dozens of progressive non profit leaders take their organizations to new and higher levels of impact and success by building powerful influence with the decision makers that matter. It is possible to get a critical mass of the money and policy decision makers in your world to be as invested in your success as you are, to have them seeking you out as an equal partner, and to have them opportunities and resources to you. This podcast will help you do just that. Welcome to the Nonprofit Power Podcast. Hey everybody. Kath Patrick here. Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of the nonprofit power podcast. I'm so glad you're here for today's episode. Episode. As the end of the year approaches, it's time to take stock of many things. one of the most valuable year-end reviews can be your advocacy review. If you focus on the right things. Yes. Hey there folks. Welcome to the nonprofit power podcast. I'm your host cath Patrick. You've been out there working on your advocacy goals all through 2023. Maybe you feel like you've made a ton of progress, maybe you don't have a sense of whether you've made any progress. Regardless of where you are in your sense of how much progress you've made. One of the things that is useful to realize is that with advocacy in particular, A lot of the time, we kind of just keep our heads down. And we're doing the work. And we don't pause to to celebrate the progress we're making and the wins that we're having along the way. it's so important to do that because often we have really big goals, which is awesome. But those big goals can sometimes take a while to achieve, and we can get discouraged if we don't notice the progress. So one of the most important things we can do from time to time is to pause and really notice that progress and celebrate it. part of what that does is it helps us realize that we are making important progress. And that helps motivate us to keep going and to keep working toward that big ambitious goal. The end of the year is always a great time for this because it's a time when we're in a reflective mood anyway. so let's make a point of reflecting on our advocacy work and identifying all the ways in which we achieved wins and were able to move closer to our goals. It's helpful to start with a review of what your advocacy goals were for the year. And if you were working from an advocacy plan, then just go back to that to review the goals. If you weren't operating from a written plan, not to worry. just write down what your main advocacy goals or objectives were during the year. And generally speaking, because this is what advocacy is, your goals were very likely around influencing decisions of some kind about money and or policy. And for each of those decisions, there's the thing that you want at the end, the ultimate goal. There's the decision-making systems and structures around that. And then there's the decision makers within those systems and structures that you need to influence in order to get the thing that you want. So you're going to look at those universal elements of all advocacy when you do your review. Now you could focus on a lot of different things in doing an advocacy review. but I want you to focus on the stuff that's really going to help you. And it might not be the things you think. You could torment yourself and go through every action item in your advocacy plan and check to see whether you did that. And that might be valuable just for a kind of, where am I at and what else do I need to put on my list for the new year and that kind of thing. But for the purpose of a year-end review that's really going to help you in ways that are bigger than to do lists, You want to focus on five particular things. And the first of those is to take a look at what did we learn? Learning is a win all by itself. Assuming you then make use of what you learned. But learning is huge. And we often discount that. we kind of feel like, oh, well, I learned some more information. Great, but I'm still, I'm working on the real goal here. Not at all. Every time you learn something new that helps you I get closer to that ultimate advocacy goal, that's a win. And you should be celebrating that. Because it's going to make your job easier. It's going to let you be more effective. So some questions to ask yourself, to dig a little deeper into what did we learn, are things like. What did we learn about how systems work about how decision-making is structured? Or other critical information about how to influence the decision making process in whatever arena that's related to this goal. and that's why I laid out that universal set of factors, is that it doesn't matter whether you're dealing with elected officials or administrative bodies or a for profit entity that you're looking to partner with, or a foundation or a funder. It doesn't matter. It they've all got decision-making structures and they've all got decision makers. And you need to influence the decision makers in order to get the thing you want. So that's just universal. But every time you learn something more about how those systems and structures work, that's valuable because that helps you be more pinpointed and effective in wielding your influence. So, what did you learn about that? Another question to ask yourself is what did we learn about our decision makers that we were able to use to improve our connection with them? And this might be something you learned through research or something you learned while interacting with them, either way. And related to that. What connections were we able to make over things that were personal between two human beings? And what insights did we gain from that? this does come from the interaction with the decision maker. It's what happens when the two of you are being humans together and you're learning about each other. What did we learn about what messaging works with which decision makers? This is huge. Because every time you're engaging one-on-one or in a group with decision makers, you're always looking for what's landing, what's not. What did you learn about that? And then obviously the question that knits that all together about all of that learning, is over the course of the year how were we able to use what we learned to move us closer to our goal? If you don't do any other year end review except this, that will be immensely valuable. Just to take stock of what you've learned and how you were able to use it. I promise you that there's way more on that list then you probably are noticing in the day to day. But when you stop and gather it all up and say, wow, oh my gosh, we learned a lot and it's made us so much more effective. And maybe there'll be some things that you learned, but you haven't yet had a chance to apply. That's totally fine. It's worth making note of those too. Okay, so you start there. The next big category of questions to ask yourself is around your strategic relationships. So obviously part of the process, most of the time, Of influencing decision makers is to build a relationship with them. For the strategic relationships that were connected to this goal, what progress did we make in building those relationships? And get specific here. Don't just say like, oh, well we made progress. Name it. Delineate it. what changed? How has the relationship become stronger? More influential. More collaborative. How has the decision-maker become more engaged? How have we built and strengthened those relationships? And what is the evidence of that strength? What are they doing that's different? And that leads me to the next thing. What wins uh, large or small did we get from those relationships? Now that could be depending on where you are in the relationship development process, that could be anything from, we finally got in the door to meet with somebody that we've been trying to connect with for a long time. If you hadn't been able to do that and then you were, that as a win. It's the first step in building that relationship. It could be they came to visit our program and got really inspired by someone they met or something they saw or something they did while they were there. It could be that they did something concrete for you, whether it was to give you valuable advice or to take action to move your policy or funding further ahead. Whatever it is, it could be large or small. It doesn't matter. But what were the wins that you got in each of your key strategic relationships? Again, These add up when you start putting them all down on paper and taking a look at them together. The next big area is messaging. And we talk all the time about how important strategic messaging is and how much more influence you will be able to have when you get your messaging dialed in. So the two key questions here are, How are we able to tailor our messaging in ways that moved us closer to our goal. So you might want to look at this by specific decision-makers or by categories, or by a goal area. It really kind of depends on the context of that goal and where you started. But your messaging ideally has been evolving throughout the year, each time you learn something new. Whether you learn something new about a decision maker, and that allows you to tailor your messaging more tightly to that person. Or progress has been made in the relationship and so your messaging shifts to reflect that. Or it could be that you simply fixed messaging that wasn't working. That you noticed in an encounter with a decision-maker that they leaned in at certain points and they kind of checked out at others. And you used what you learned about the areas of messaging they were checking out on, and you fixed it. And you turned it into messaging that causes them to lean in. Take a look at that and see, what were we able to do that tightened up our messaging, made it more effective, moved us closer to our goal. Okay. And are there things about that fine tuning that we can apply in other places? Can we leverage some shifts in our messaging that we're effective in one arena, can we leverage that in another? The last two things on this list are more internal than external. Cause this is really important too. A big category to take a look at is team. your advocacy team, whether it's formal or informal. And ask yourselves, what did we do really well as an advocacy team? What were the things that we worked on, where we were really clicking and humming and communicating well with one another and sharing information and building on each other's work and moving us all forward. whatever you did that had you feeling like, yeah, we are really humming. We are an A team. We are great together. What were those things that made you feel really good about being part of this team and about working together? And as a team being greater than the sum of the parts. And what were the kinds of things that made us want to support one another and to help the team succeed? And all of those things, first of all, are wins to be celebrated. But they're also things to take note of and say, let's do more of that going forward. And then the final thing is your personal growth as an advocate and as a leader. This is the area that we most often overlook, we don't give enough time and attention to. And it's probably the single most important ingredient for our success. I left it for last so that I could really highlight it for you. And encourage you to spend real time on this. And I'm talking about personal growth across of course advocacy skills and knowledge. But also actions and behaviors and habits. And ways of being, of identity. These kinds of growth are often the most challenging work, but they're also the most rewarding and they will buy you the most results. Bar none. All the other things that I talked about so far are really important. But at the core of all of it is your growth, your strength, your capacity as a leader and as an advocate, So your year end review for this piece is to reflect on the ways in which you personally were able to grow as a leader. As an engager of decision makers. And as a powerfully influential advocate. Certainly that includes developing skills and knowledge. Take stock of what skills and knowledge did you develop this year that helped you become a more effective leader and advocate? And that might include public speaking skills, it might include active listening might include message development. There's all kinds of advocacy related skills that are critical and there's no point on those skill continuums where you're done. There's always more to learn. So reflect on the growth you were able to achieve on those and other skills in the context of leadership and advocacy, and celebrate that. Take the time to pat yourself on the back and say, wow, I really grew. I've changed. I am stronger as an advocate. I am stronger as a leader. Because of these skills and knowledge that I've acquired in the course of this year and doing this work. And by the way, we learn more from doing the work than we do from anywhere else. The next area of personal growth to take a look at is actions, behaviors, and habits. what new actions, behaviors, or habits did you adopt in the course of this year that had a positive impact on your effectiveness as an advocate and as a leader? They might be small. They might be tiny changes, tiny shifts, or they might be big. It doesn't matter. What matters is the growth. And then a fun question to always ask yourself is what was the scariest thing you did? And how did it help you grow? Because we've all got stuff that feels a little uncomfortable or a lot uncomfortable, takes us maybe way outside our comfort zone. And it's when we step into those challenges and do it anyway, in spite of the fact that it scares the bejeebers out of us. That's when we grow by leaps and bounds. So I think it's always very valuable to ask what was the scariest leap I took in the context of leadership and advocacy, or maybe in some other contexts that helped you grow in a way that affects your work in this context. And then the last thing. Is around ways of being and the identity you're operating from. And I just have one question here, which is, what did you do to move closer to operating from the identity of a powerfully influential leader a hundred percent of the time? And again, this might be a tiny shift. Or a really big breakthrough. Doesn't matter. The size and scope of the growth is not as important as the fact of it's taking place. And there's so many reasons to take stock of our personal growth. First of all, it just feels good. It's nice to look back over the year and go, wow. I I grew, and this is really cool. I'm doing some things, I'm operating in some new ways that people respond to me differently. When I step into a room now they react to me a little bit differently. When I step into a room with decision makers, they see a peer walking in the door. Whatever it is, whatever the shifts have been. So it feels good to recognize yourself for that. But it also helps us reground in the reality that how we're being, how we're operating, has more to do with our success than anything else. I believe that this is particularly true in the context of advocacy and in wielding powerful influence with decision makers. That the identity you're operating from, the sense of personal power, matters. Immensely. And we all have settings in which we feel a hundred percent in that personal power. And we all have settings where we don't. And so we know what each of those feels like. So just take the time to assess, where were some areas where I got stronger in that identity of a powerfully influential leader? And what shifted as a result? All of your wins taken together. In what you learned. In how you moved forward in your strategic relationships. In how you increased your effectiveness of your messaging. How your team did great and worked together beautifully. And how you personally grew as a leader and as a powerfully influential advocate. All of those things together are fantastic list of wins. Take the time to celebrate them. Celebrate with your team. Celebrate internally. Particularly for your personal growth and what you've been able to achieve. celebrating all the wins, not just the big ones, but every little win along the way, is part of what keeps us going. Advocacy is tough challenging work. And it not our only job if you're operating as a leader in a direct service, nonprofit, you have so much else on your plate in addition to advocacy. So celebrating the wins. realizing how much those little wins add up over the course of a year. Helps you stay in the work and helps keep you motivated to do more. To be even more powerfully effective and to go forward as an individual leader and as a member of a team. To reach higher and keep advocating for the ultimate results that you know are necessary. Thanks for listening and I'll see you in the next episode.