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Find Your Advocate


Career Toolbox Tip: Find Your Advocate

By Daryl M Williams

I’ve fielded some excellent questions along the lines of:
·         “Why aren’t I advancing, moving up, being promoted?”
·         “What should I be doing?”
Now, I can give a simple answer and this is a blog post so perhaps something microwavable would be best as opposed to a seven course meal but I still want to offer something useful. Here are some thoughts I have on this topic I am increasingly hearing.

·         Find out where you stand in the organization?
o   Have you worked in the same role for four plus years? You might be typecast. http://goo.gl/IWeRH
o   Do you have a bad attitude? How would you know?       
§  Do people run SCREAMING the other way when you approach?
§  Do you generally not speak to anyone even when spoken to?
o   Are your peers getting the coveted assignments such as projects, reports, meetings with the executive leaders?

This is only a small test to determine how you may be viewed in your organization and if some of these are true, you need to find an advocate who can help you get the best of what you offer. Organizations are often a large group of multiple cliques and understanding this can benefit you.

Back to your advocate!

Your advocate may be the Project Lead on a team who you worked with months ago and highly recommended your work. It could be a supervisor in your department or a recruiter or Director or one of your peers but at the risk of sounding elitist or snobby, your advocate should be influential.
1.       dictionary.reference.com/browse/advocateCached - Similar
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Advocate definition, to speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly: He advocated higher salaries for teachers.

Your advocate can assist in getting you on project teams allowing you to show a new audience how valuable and brilliant you are. Setting the stage for you to steal the show and earn additional opportunities. Your advocate can be a male or female, young or old, in your department or out but in an ideal world they will be willing to speak up on your behalf and support you and your potential candidacy.

How do you find one?

They don’t grow on trees but what I have done is made it a point to pay attention. Who requests I accompany them to lunch or seeks out my advice or offers me helpful tips on things such as the company culture? In my experience, my advocates have typically been a level or two or three above me and not always in my department. They are visible enough to be seen and high enough up the ladder to be influential. I’ve made it my goal to learn from them AND assist them when I can making it a mutually beneficial relationship.



Daryl M Williams, MBA, M.S., is an adjunct professor, teaching Career Planning and Management as well as being a Career Coach. He is passionate about providing information to assist friends, family, students, alums, and even frenemies (really) in professional development and uses his management experience in Fortune 500, non-profit and private corporations to inform his decisions. Feel free to connect via LinkedIn.

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