The Gift of a Transformative Culture

It truly feels like yesterday.

I remember the heat and the humidity. I can still hear the crack of rifles and the uniform stomp of boots as our company crossed the parade ground, drilling on display for friends and families.

Within the Marine Corps, there’s a common cadence for public events – a predictable run of show. But there are also slight variations on those themes depending on the occasion. The common script gives us a baseline, a set of shared experiences that allow us to relate to each other regardless of rank, time of service, or length of tenure. Every Marine has memories of these rituals.

It’s hard for me to fathom that my own memories of that first experience – my graduation from Officer Candidate School (OCS) and commissioning – were formed 14 years ago today. I can’t believe it’s been that long.

Therein lies the power of those culminating moments; the ones that represent all the work that came before and the promise of what the transformation can mean in the years ahead. Those moments, when done right, become so vividly engrained in your memory they become timeless. I’m understandably biased, but I think the Marine Corps has cornered the market on creating a culture that imbues those moments with the significance they deserve.

I’m confident in that claim because the largest part of Marine Corps training is just that: culture building.

Much more than the physical, technical and tactical training, Marine Corps courses of education are about culture. It’s the secret sauce that’s often overshadowed by those clean dress blues and the gruff reputations. Contrary to perception, that training isn’t all about breaking someone down – it’s about welcoming them in.

Culture – what the Marines will often refer to as Esprit de Corps – is so much more than catch phrases and mission statements. That unit driven spirit deepens a graduate’s well of fortitude. Culture checks your ego and reinforces your spine all at the same time.

But how do we do it? Mostly storytelling.

Marines going through any of their various schoolhouses spend a significant amount of time hearing, and recounting, stories. From Medal of Honor citations to the life experiences of their instructors, the culture of camaraderie is woven into every day of your training through those stories. And there is no way to escape their infectious nature.

I still remember a day at OCS when one of our physical training sessions included war stories told at intervals along that day’s obstacle course. Just as vividly, I recall a time when our instructors “dropped rank” for a moment on a rainy afternoon. Late into the 10 weeks of Officer Candidate School this seemed like a true gift. What did he do? He told us about his time in Iraq.

This moment of open dialogue was particularly important as our OCS class was part of a surge effort to expand the force in response to the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. He wanted us to know what we could expect as future leaders.

He didn’t waste our time by just sharing stories of triumph. He opened up about memories of things he messed up along the way. He shared loss, and pain. And he cracked the door for us on another aspect of our Corps’ culture to us that day. By his own actions he was welcoming us into his family: one where amongst our brothers and sisters, we can be truly, uniquely vulnerable.

Thinking back on that hot August day in 2007, and crossing that parade deck, I find myself more grateful now than ever for the experience of OCS, and all that came thereafter. My time in uniform was short – but those four years were immensely powerful. And every time I hear another Marine’s stories, it takes me back just a little bit to those shared experiences and that culture. What a gift.

The Pesky Problems of a Crisis Mindset

“If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.”

Some Marine Officer, sometime

I honestly can’t remember just when I heard this USMC truism, but it’s one of those that I encountered repeatedly in uniform. It may not be fully fair, but I’m going to accredit this one to my former Commanding Officer. For some reason, it just sounds like him.

As I’m coming up on the 14th anniversary of my commissioning as a Second Lieutenant, I find myself reflecting on my time in service. It happens like this every year. And I’d venture a guess that most Marines go through a similar retrospection.

It’s a cultural nuance of the Marine Corps. We view our time in uniform as a transformation. The pace of operations, the training schedule, the professional development all contribute to a pressure cooker environment. Regardless of the length of our tenure, that environment grants us a gift: formative lessons that may have taken each of us a lifetime to learn otherwise.

For me, one of those early lessons revolved around that line about priorities. It was a hard learned lesson on how to communicate, respond, and manage workload all wrapped up in that neat little package. It became a mantra of mine; and a primary weapon against adopting a crisis mindset.

Crisis mindsets cripple us – especially in the advocacy world. Those mindsets drive us to a reactionary posture, compelling us to play conservatively and expend resources on tactics and miss opportunities to think strategically.

We see it most clearly manifested in the rush to disavow and distance anytime there’s a new social kerfuffle. Candidates, corporations and social media influencers alike scramble to react and be included in the story – or to avoid being swept away in it.

But I think it’s past time we normalize not reacting to every bit of news – and controversy – that comes about.

Candidates, corporations, advocacy organizations and individuals alike don’t need to comment on, or take advantage of, every crisis. Doing so shortens our horizon, and prevents us from capturing an infinite mindset. We become hyper focused on winning the moment in a vain attempt to remain relevant, and may just lose our ability to stay credible in the long game.

More directly, it’s unrealistic. You have your lane, your speciality. Outside of that realm you’re simply guessing. In moments of crisis we all want to be the hero, but none of us is equipped to meet every moment. You don’t need that pressure, so release yourself from it. When it is your time, you’ll know.

So, avoid the pesky problems of a crisis mindset. Practice restraint, save your energy for your clear and undeniable priorities. Make room for yourself to become brilliant in those priorities. Then, when the real problems do reach your doorstep it won’t be such a crisis.

3 Steps to Keeping a Level Head in Politics

Despite my best efforts, I still get worked up from time to time. I get heated, frustrated, and perturbed by the day-to-day in politics. Those are the moments when, just months later, I’ll find myself looking back and wondering why? Why did I let it get to me?

I had one of those retrospective moments yesterday as I worked through the development of a particular policy floating around at the federal level. Weeks ago, it was dominating all of my conversation, and today it seems unlikely at best. While in some regards that’s a positive development, I regret getting worked up over an eventual nothing burger.

So, with this recent shortcoming in mind, I thought I’d share some proven tricks that work for me when I’m getting worked over by politics. Whether it’s the result of a tense election, or an issue getting beyond your control, I think these will help you get back on the path to a level head.

1. Take a Step Back

You have to unplug. I listened in on a Clubhouse discussion about this yesterday and found myself nodding along to the moderator’s comments when she said: “Is the afternoon news really going to be all that different from the next morning’s news?”

Her point was larger than the substance of the media we consume on a daily basis. Especially in politics, even the casual passerby has a desire to feel “in the know.” It’s perfectly natural. But in the age of instant information, we stumble into the trap of wanting to be first far more often and at a truly breakneck pace.

On Day Zero of your road to recovery you have to take a step back. Start by turning off the news for a week. Consume print media instead – and I do mean print. Slow your intake, and allow yourself to rest from the cycle.

2. Find a Way to Serve Someone Else

The surest way to find success is to help others find their own. By opting toward serving others, you’re willfully placing your own mentality into a bigger picture.

Our daily work, much like our daily media consumption, can prevent us from taking in all that’s happening around us. We naturally struggle to empathize with others because of these silos we construct in our daily routines.

Find an organization that speaks to your interests and plug into their mission. Even 30 minutes of research and participation in someone else’s mission can go a long way in easing the frustrations that surround and flow through your own issues. At the same time, that work could yield a future partner on your own initiatives.

3. Spend Time with your Just Cause

Too often, politics is boiled down to winning and losing – a vote, an election, a court decision. But participatory politics isn’t about always winning (you won’t), it’s about staying in the game (you can).

I wrote about this a while back and shared some thoughts inspired by the work of Simon Sinek on developing a just cause. You can find that post here.

But in short, you have to break out of the tactical win/lose mentality and get back to strategy. Reconnecting with your own just cause will jumpstart the accountability process you’ll need to get back to center.

But I’m curious, do you find yourself in periods of frustration derived from the nitty gritty of advocacy work? If so, what tricks do you have up your sleeve to recover your own level headedness? I hope you’ll drop a comment below to let me know what you think!

The Indispensable Senator from Ohio

The seeds of history making statesmanship are planted in late January. At least that’s my latest theory.

On January 25th, 2021 US Senator Rob Portman announced he would retire at the end of his current term. While the political class jumped straight to discussions of potential successors, they missed Portman’s transition from Senator to Statesman. Now, six months down the line, they’re trumpeting him as the irreplaceable, indispensable figure in the bi-partisan infrastructure negotiations.

“It’s much more comfortable to stay on the right and the left and be negative. What takes courage is to find that middle ground and embrace the fact that our job here is not to simply express our points of view through our partisan rhetoric. Our job is to actually get beyond that and accomplish something.”

US Senator Rob Portman

A politician with no office to pursue has nothing to lose, and every ounce of legacy to gain if they commit to service above self. Rob Portman is the latest in a string of legacy building American statesmen with notable ties to January.

Keeping it in the Senate for another recent example, January 2018 saw John McCain take a stand against his own party’s sitting President to defend the integrity of a free Press. By the time of his passing, just months later, McCain’s long service to his country and maverick approach to politics prompted public acclaim and memorialization rivaled by few but Presidents.

In January of 1991, President George HW Bush initiated Operation Desert Storm with a clear goal to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. His statesman moment? The conscious restraint, firmly resolved in the early moments of the conflict, to not invade Iraq and depose Saddam Hussein. By that singular moment of pause, ’41 avoided a predictable power vacuum and resultant quagmire.

Then there’s FDR, who in January, 1941 asked Congress to take their first steps toward actively supporting the allied cause through the Lend-Lease program. That agreement set the stage for America to assume an economic war footing which would prove the deciding factor of the Second World War.

Of course we also have a connection for, arguably, our greatest President. When Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 it did more than create a strategic wartime advantage, it set a course for the war to serve the highest of moral causes.

And lest we forget the oft overlooked second President, John Adams, who on January 20th 1801 nominated John Marshall to serve as Chief Justice. Even though Adams was on his way out of office, this appointment would guide the work of the court for more than 30 years and establish some of our most closely held legal precedents, and cementing Adams as one of the furthest reaching legacy builders in our history.

I doubt Rob Portman was thinking about all of this history on that chilly day in January. But I’m sure he knew he was becoming the ultimate free agent, able to assume an immense responsibility without the looming pressure of an election. What can I say? I like when it’s Ohio Against the World.

History will be the ultimate judge of the work the 117th Congress accomplishes through this latest spending package. While I’m sure both sides will leverage all $1.2 trillion of it into attack ads and fundraising mailers in the months ahead, the record will show only one Senator from Cincinnati was positioned to advance it as far as it has come.

Now just imagine if he had a few more free agent Januaries in him.

“I Want You to be Wildly Successful”

Has anyone ever told you that?

That statement has been running through my mind the last few days. I heard those words from an organizational leader once as I was entering a new role. Predictably that well chosen phrase fortified me. How freeing to be told, from the opening bell, to pursue change, growth and advancement aggressively?

I’ve written about career transitions a few times recently – spurred on by the success of friends and colleagues who are taking on new challenges and striding into new career territories. I’m deeply proud of them, and I hope they hear those same sentiments on day one.

That goes doubly so for those entering into advocacy roles. You see, I believe in worthy rivals. I want organizations to pursue the very best, most ethical, and committed talent possible in advocacy roles. I believe that level of competition will drive us all to be better day in and day out.

But what about the organizations who can’t afford that too talent? Well that’s why I’m here every week, for free!

Just about a year ago I started toying with the idea behind this blog. I was reading The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek and working to capture the essence of my own just cause. Over the course of August 2020, I came to the realization that we could do something about the state of our public discourse. By demystifying the advocacy and lobbying world, we could empower individuals and groups to genuinely compete and advance more thoughtful dialogue.

Now, nearing the first anniversary of this little community, I find myself committed to your massive success more than ever. I’ve been able to put the words in this blog into action as it’s helped me rethink how I train my own teams. I’ve had the opportunity to share those lessons with other groups as well. And you know what? It feels great.

More than ever, I want you to be wildly successful for your own causes. I want you to have a brilliance in the basics that makes you an agent of change, a force for good. Even when we find ourselves on opposing sides, those skills will drive us all be a little bit better. And that’s worth all the effort of the past year.

So, I’m happy to say it again. I want you to be WILDLY successful. I want your causes and organizations to have a seat at the table. And I hope to play a role in making that possible for you. Just ask me how!

Yes, You Can Be Too Scripted

“I just don’t know what to say. Can you write it out for me?”

No.

That should be the unequivocal, unwavering answer from any grassroots manager. No, we should never – under any circumstances – write out a script for our volunteers. Why?

Advocacy isn’t a performance art. In its purest form, advocacy is simply honest, open conversation. Having been across the table from so many interest groups, the most successful in the long run were those who didn’t over-prepare their advocates, opting instead to let their volunteers’ stories speak for themselves.

Let’s turn the mirror around for a bit. Think about Presidential debates. Which style appeals to you more as a listener: the traditional debate model or the town hall? I’d venture to say the lion’s share of us prefer the latter. Town hall formats add a touch of reality to the equation. Instead of talking points spewed in response to questions known in advance, candidates are expected to respond on the fly. They can prepare for the topics, even have a few good one-liners. But in the end, they have to respond to real people, in an environment of imperfect information.

While this may introduce a bit of drama so sorely missing from the traditional debate format, I think the fullness of its appeal is derived from the humanization of the participants. We see candidates at that level in such a manicured production on most days, that the unknown factors of a town hall present us a new, more realistic, perspective.

Just like the constituents they serve, staffers and elected officials are human. They crave genuine human interaction. They’ll see through your prepared talking points. They don’t want a debate, they want a town hall. So, I say, don’t put the barrier up in the first place. Whether you’re a first time advocate or a bit more seasoned, fight the temptation to rely too heavily on “talkers”.

Here’s what you need instead:

1. Realistic Practice Sessions – ask your advocacy team to set aside time for some good old-fashioned role playing. Build a scenario based on your issues, have someone play the role of staffer/elected official, and get comfortable with telling your story. And to experience the timing of your comments…

2. Build a Structure for Your Meeting – have a plan for who will talk when in a meeting. Understand how introductions will happen, who will transition to the issue, which participant will tell an impact story, and who will deliver the ask. A minimal structure will help your team develop a more conversational flow with each other and the target. And when the target asks questions…

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Say “I’m Not Sure.” – You’ve heard this from me too many times to count by now, but there is no expectation that you should be an expert on every aspect of a political issue. You only have to be an expert on your own life, and how the issue affects you. But when you get a technical question in response? Do what you’d do in any other social situation: let them know you want to help them find an answer and will work with them to do so. It’s as simple as saying “I’m not sure right now, but I’m going to dig into that and get back with you within the next week.”

Scripts are great on stage, not at the advocacy table. You don’t need that crutch. If you commit to these three tactics, embrace your own humanity and tell a story you’re going to leave a greater impact on your target.

It’s time to ditch the script. You can be too prepared, too manicured. Quit being afraid to show your humanity. It’s sorely missed in modern politics.

Three Steps for Hosting Better Meetings

In the past several weeks, I’ve seen a theme developing on LinkedIn discussion channels. Folks are pointing out the problem with colleagues, especially leaders, taking pride in how busy they are. Here’s a particular piece making the rounds. Maybe you’re caught in this cycle too, rushing from meeting to meeting, compressing every moment of your schedule (and often into your off-work hours) into collaborations, reports, and sharing sessions.

The problem seems to have compounded in the COVID era. Over the last sixteen months I’ve certainly found myself comparing weekly schedules to determine if I’ve taken up enough real estate on my calendar with calls, chats, touch bases or whatever else you want to call them. The state of toxic busy-ness has infected every aspect of business.

As we continue to transition, maybe it’s time to revisit some positive meeting habits we’ve lost in the scrum of the last year and a half. I happen to think these will translate to any industry, but I find them immensely helpful in the advocacy world. A little bit of structure, properly applied to a quick meeting, will actually prioritize your priorities and allow you to, maybe just maybe, get a few minutes back in your life.

Start by Stating the Question

This one was especially poignant for me in the past couple of weeks. While I was experiencing great conversations around a few key topics in my work, it was painfully obvious that often nobody seemed to have a clear handle on the specific questions we were trying to answer.

This boils down to a basic concept in leadership and communication: capturing the “why”.

If you, and the others in your meeting don’t have a clear understanding of what question your committee or team is trying to answer, how can you effectively guide the discussion to a meaningful conclusion? Sure, most of us still get a great agenda ahead of a big idea session – but do we know the actual objectives before us?

In trying to address this in my own meetings, I often build the meaningful actions/questions into the agenda. I’ll list the topic area, key experts who will speak to the topic, and then directly state the question we are trying to answer (e.g. Does the board support funding this research, and at what level?) This may seem incredibly basic, but especially with volunteer organizations, where leaders are seen as stewards, stating the issue and possible results will prevent the indecision and inaction. When you start with the why, the what and the how become attainable.

If it’s a 30 Minute Meeting, it Can (probably) Be a 15 Minute Meeting

You know what? When people know you value their time, they’re probably going to value yours.

I picked this concept up from an old Marine Corps connection. He was insistent that our staff meetings were too long by half – every week. So what did he do? He started scheduling for half the time they’d been originally. Yeah, he just did it.

And you know what? Nobody questioned it. Almost overnight, we cut the chit chat, the unnecessary speculative discussions, and got right to the meat of the issues in front of us. He got precious minutes back in his calendar, we covered the most important issues in the room, and we all got a little more back in our own workday as well.

Stunning.

Have an Entrance Strategy

This last tip is about as simplistic as it comes: have a plan for introductions.

I get it, we all want to be recognized for our participation and contribution to the discussion. We also want to know who is in the room with us as that may inform how we respond to given topics. But, surely there’s a better way than the round robin approach we’ve seen in COVID (and for the love of all things holy don’t get me started on the popcorn method).

Here’s a bold suggestion. If you’re the meeting lead, take it on yourself to introduce the participants and their connection to the issue at hand. Not only will you contain the flow of information, you’ll also be establishing a personal connection to each attendee, and that’s just good manners.

Best applied for smaller meetings, this approach takes the guesswork, the dreaded ums and uhs, and miscues out of the equation. When you make those connections to the issues up front, and manage how they are delivered, you are once again prioritizing the priorities of your meeting.

A pinch of planning like this will deliver a pound of returns. Three minutes here, and five minutes there add up. Quickly. Establishing a clear why, setting a tighter timeline, and having a plan for the pleasantries may just help you crack that code on your own busy-ness.

What other strategies are you trying to implement to improve your own meeting productivity? How are you helping get those precious moments back into your life?

So You Don’t Know the Issues

We’ve been talking about the basic hurdles preventing people from participating in advocacy. Today, Abe Jacob is back to share some thoughts and recommendations from his experiences. Feeling like you don’t understand the issues well enough? Check out this post!

Abe Jacob is a Government Relations professional in Columbus, Ohio. Connect with him on LinkedIn

Traditional news outlets aren’t the only avenues for us to hear the latest on how our elected leaders are impacting our lives. With notification settings on our phones and the abundance of “Breaking News” alerts when it’s only someone doing their job, political fatigue is an overwhelming reality. When that exhaustive number of headlines is tossed your way, combined with the added commentary brought on by social media, it’s no wonder many believe they don’t understand the issues of the day let alone want to be involved in it.

First off, I get it and I hear you! 

If you know there’s a part of you that wants to get engaged, but no clue where begin, start by turning off your phone and television. Seriously, there is nothing on those devices that is going to give you initial clarity on the things that mean the most to you. Whether it’s the arts, nature, athletics, music, or even shopping, there are things we do in our everyday lives that bring us happiness. Some issues are very much on the surface of your daily life like childcare and your commute home on the roads paid for with your tax dollars. These very things can be impacted by our law makers on all levels of government and with the help of technology, being brought up to speed is easier than you might think.

Various associations and non-profit advocacy groups schedule annual lobbying days at the statehouse to engage legislators on a specific issue and remind them of its importance. As a former aide, there were many meetings I covered on behalf of my member due to scheduling conflicts. I recall the Alzheimer’s Association’s annual lobby day where their advocates dressed in purple to symbolize Alzheimer’s awareness and met with us to champion efforts that go towards helping those battling and loved ones impacted by the disease. 

The caregivers, family members, and friends shared their stories with sincere motives towards bringing added awareness, urging leaders to support research and assist caregivers that provide the day-to-day services to those with the disease. It’s one thing to send a pre-written email to legislators to try and persuade them on a topic, but I know firsthand that life experiences grab the attention of legislators and are often the reason they change their mind. 

It isn’t uncommon for the general public to use their social media resources to tap into various avenues of advocacy. Social media is used in all levels of the government advocacy and serves as a source of instant information. The kicker is determining whether the information on the specific topic is commentary, campaign rhetoric, or fact based.

A quick way to determine which of those categories the content falls into is by looking for the following:

• Who is their audience? Determine if they only say positive things about one political party while disparaging the other.

• Are they using statistics from reputable sources? If you are wanting to advocate for a healthcare issue, notice if they are referencing agencies like the Center for Disease Control or the Food and Drug Administration. 

• Are they doing the work? It is one thing to advocate for a topic, but it is another thing for a group or organization to put the work into identifying what is happening in government both on the offense and defense of the issue. If you are interested in helping the environment, the entity should be sharing precise information on what is happening in government. Examples would be updates to rules made by the US Environmental Protection Agency or the US Department of Interior. Most states have similar agencies overseeing the environment on the state level. 

As you begin dipping your toe into advocacy, don’t be discouraged by feeling that you are not fully versed on the subject matter. Your passion and time are the basics needed to make meaningful change and, frankly, put you far ahead of those who are content with the status quo.

While some basic training can help you get off on the right foot, lobbying is not a science. The issues and the elected leaders change regularly and is why having advocates with a natural passion can sometimes lead to meaningful change in the lives of so many.

Climate Policy and American Exceptionalism: ‘Lead by Example’ is the Wrong Argument

Americans are competitors. It’s in our national DNA. That’s why I’m convinced President Biden’s administration is faltering when they argue ‘leading by example’ in the discussion of climate solutions.

For better or worse, our national conscience is often driven by a finite, winner-take-all mindset driven by the way we talk about the issues and challenges of the day. You don’t have to dig far back into our history for proof. But since I’m a space nerd, let’s just look at the 1960s as an example. Were we “leading by example” in the space race? No, we were looking to wipe the floor with those commies. We chose to go to the moon “not because [it was] easy, but because [it was] hard” – and I’d argue because we believed we could do it better than anyone else.

Fast forward to the 2021 climate change debate. Are we appealing to the average American’s competitive spirit? Not in the least – or at least not effectively. Worse yet, we aren’t hearing a narrative that challenges other countries to compete with us either. Why do broad swaths of Americans disdain the current climate debate? Many of us may just think we’re the only ones on the hook. This leads to an inevitable question: But what about the emerging economies?

In hearing administration officials discuss some of their goals recently, I heard a consistent refrain: we’re going to lead other nations down the path of righteousness by being an example. Ok, that’s fine and dandy. But is it the right message to pique our sense of national exceptionalism?

Gone, it seems, is the narrative of moonshots. We’re not dreaming big. We’re peddling fear without an opportunity for competitive heroism.

This may not be the observation you’re looking to hear in the climate space. In a perfect world, wouldn’t we wish to appeal simply to the rationality of the cause? If climate change poses the existential threat so many fear, why would it take more than simple logic to spur action? If we’re being honest, the answers are simply “no” and “because.”

When the current administration gets serious about climate change, you’ll know because they’ll change the narrative. They’ll become storytellers. They’ll place everyday Americans into the role of heroes, serve as a guide, and challenge them to be all that they can be. Until then, we’ll hear lofty goals.

I’m no climate change denier. Humanity has an obligation to steward this one planet we currently call home. But real change won’t come solely through government intervention – it has to come from a place of inspiration that swells the pride of average Americans. Not everyone wanted to go to the moon, but we certainly wanted to win. It’s time to change the narrative.

Try this on for size: We choose to innovate. We choose to be the best in the world at bettering the world. And we’ll prove, once again, that Americans will be second to none. This is a time for American greatness; and our land, our water, our air will stand as the envy of the world.

No Need for 10,000 Hours

I’m a fan of Malcolm Gladwell. His storytelling style, both through his written works and his podcast Revisionist History, resonates with me. Are you familiar with his work? Even if you’ve never read one of his books, you may hold a passing awareness of a concept he laid out in the book Outliers.

10,000 hours. That’s the estimate, now a relatively accepted belief, of how many hours it takes to attain expertise in a specialty. Ten thousand hours – five working years – seems like quite the undertaking.

Now imagine someone asks you to participate in politics and government advocacy. The vast majority of us don’t spend more than a few minutes per year thinking about how we will vote in an election, let alone how to talk to our representatives. And if you ask me, I think this is the root of the hangup we so often hear from those we try to activate: “I don’t have the time.”

Sure, that prospect may be thinking about the physical time it will take to sign a letter, make a phone call, or even participate in a lobbying day. But I think it’s a bit of a logical leap for us to assume that as the primary time-based reason for someone to avoid participation.

Advocacy organizations have adopted new technologies over the decades. Form letters became form faxes became form emails became text activations became social media blitzes…Over the course of a generation, the game has become so streamlined that one can feel included in the advocacy process if they do so little as like a post on their preferred social media network.

And even though I’ve discussed the short term nature of those advocacy methods in previous posts, they do play a role in advancing someone into a higher level of advocacy engagement. But when our prospective advocates are telling us they “don’t have the time,” I think it’s representative of something much deeper: they don’t want to feel inexpert to the task.

Advocacy organizations have a duty to remind would-be advocates of this basic fact: they aren’t expected to become policy, process or politics experts. Rather, their participation in advocacy efforts is valuable precisely because they are expert at something else.

This is a high hurdle. Go stand in the rotunda of the US Capitol and try to feel “empowered” if you don’t know the basics of the process. The atmosphere in that environments is more than intimidating, it’s humbling. I think we can forgive our prospects their desire to become a little more skilled. But how do we get them to take the first step?

I’ve written a lot about storytelling. It’s time for you to adopt this mantra: we are here to help you with the process, but you’re here because your story will change minds – the only thing we need you to master is your own story. The beauty of placing your own twist on that recruiting line is simple: it happens to be the truth.

A paid lobbyist, a grassroots manager, or an association executive may have experience in process – but those we serve are the folks living the issue and it’s complexity. Whether they’ve put 10,000 hours into learning politics or not, we know they’ve done that and much more while working through their own life’s challenges. Take the burden of “politics” out of the equation, double down on storytelling, and watch your most hesitant prospects turn into skilled advocates.