Self-advocacy: Improve your life by speaking up

You need to understand yourself in the context of your role within the larger group. This means having a good understanding of the organization’s values, rules, rights, and resources. For instance, look at your organization’s mission and your team’s role in fulfilling that mission.

Ask yourself:

• How do I serve the team and thereby serve the organization as a whole?
• What are my responsibilities to the organization, and what are the organization’s responsibilities to me?
• Do our values and talents match?
• Can I serve the organization?
• Does my work for the organization benefit me? 

• Develop a robust and direct line of communication with your manager. Your manager is in the best position to advocate on your behalf. They know both you and the organization. I
• Join — and lead — organizations that are there to support you and others, within and outside of your organization.
• Be an ally and advocate for others. Speaking up for others is often less angst-inducing than speaking up for ourselves.
• Continue developing yourself, building relationships with others, and being aware of opportunities and resources within your field inside and outside your present organization.

Make sure to take the following steps: prepare, consult, draft, and state your case.

• To prepare, start by documenting your concerns in detail.
• Do your research. Which laws govern the issue on a federal, state, and local level? What do the governing rules of your organization state about the situation?
• Consult your support network for their feedback and input. 
• Begin to draft a solution.
• Reach out to your network to get their feedback.
• Now you are ready to state your case with clarity and confidence.

• You empower yourself and others by practicing and honing self-advocacy skills. In doing so, you build a psychologically safe and inclusive environment where other people are more apt to share their ideas and flourish.
• You take control of your own life.
• You become better at decision making.
• You become better able to hear the perspectives of others that you hadn’t previously considered.
• You become an effective problem solver. You know how to research the problem at hand and how to consider multiple perspectives.