Become a Better Advocate: Have Hard Conversations

“How do we get our leaders to stop fighting and start working?” I cannot begin to tell you how many times I’ve been asked that question. Even working for centrist members of Congress, that sentiment came up nearly every week I was on the job. For almost a decade. I can tell you since IContinue reading “Become a Better Advocate: Have Hard Conversations”

Success in Advocacy: The Power Behind Your Personal Brand

Focus on serving your issue in a genuine way, with warmth and purpose and you will find your audience.

Success in Advocacy: Clear is Greater than Clever

Being too clever can shut the conversation down long before we ever finish talking

Success in Advocacy: “Just be Human”

These are the basics, the fundamentals, any advocate needs to find long term success. Basically, just be human.

Success in Advocacy: Right-sizing your wins

… no matter what happens on the battlegrounds of politics, successful advocates have to bring their causes forward in the reality of governance.

Success in Advocacy: Balancing the Three P’s

Getting advocacy right looks a lot more like flowing between each of these three pillars and finding where we are lacking in a given moment. It looks a lot more like surrounding ourselves with people who think differently than we do. And it looks a lot more like adjusting our strategies in real time as we continually receive feedback from the process…

Let me tell you about Sue

Much of what it takes to be a successful advocate is learning just how to reassess and move to the next mission when your efforts come to a halt. That’s probably also the most frustrating lesson to learn. And I have to talk about it a lot. In fact, I have a case study inContinue reading “Let me tell you about Sue”

Why You ALWAYS Need an “Ask”

The stories I could tell you. Over 8.5 years working for members of Congress, there were a LOT of constituent meetings. These were opportunities for concerned citizens to engage directly with their elected representative – or that representative’s staff – to share a slice of what was happening back in the district. Sometimes they wereContinue reading “Why You ALWAYS Need an “Ask””

“Do You Really Believe this Sh!t?”

The easiest people in the world to dismiss are those who don’t show up.