I recently had a conversation with a friend who commented that I am informed and speak passionately about a number of issues. They lamented that why don’t I actually work on those issues? I am reminded of the core lesson from The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller: “What’s the ONE Thing you can do … that such by doing it everything else would be easier or unnecessary?” Since we’ve been doing some reflection in the previous posts, this conversation lead to a reflection on the essence of focused advocacy and it’s role in leadership.

I care passionately about so many different topics, but I can’t effectively advocate change in all of them.  I am not a master or expert at many of those issues. The scale required to impact each issue I have a concern about is beyond scattering my efforts with little bits across all of them. So, I find that my passion is best served to help you execute on getting you to be more effective at your advocacy journey.  Let me scale change in the world by elevating people beyond Servant Leadership into Advocacy Leadership.

Challenge of distributed focus

No one is one-dimensional.  Even the most hyper-focused person I’ve ever met has had skills and interests beyond their specialty.  There are then also a few select “Renaissance People” who are lucky enough, gifted enough, privileged enough to become masters across multiple domains throughout their life. None of those people try to do it together, all at once. Some will say they are excellent at multi-tasking.  Cognitive science has proven that no-one is actually multi-tasking, they are actually task-switching, and that task-switching has a cost, a tax, on the ability to perform at their best.

That tax can make it harder to get things done.  It can make the cost of trying to do “all-the-things” eventually get to the point that you don’t have the resources needed to complete any goals for all the different interests. The impact on each separate interest could be insignificant on the influence of the larger issue at hand.

This is not to say that you can’t contribute or should be unaware of the full horizon of issues and concerns.  Just like I still practice “everyday advocacy” by maintaining boundaries around racist, classist, able-ist, homo- and trans-phobic behavior in the spaces I frequent. I don’t make that my One Thing. It does not cost me much to speak up and help shape the spaces I inhabit. I just can’t go all-in on all of the issues.

Power of focus

You may find that you have multiple skills or tools that you bring to bear when working on a project. Excellent! There is a higher-order singularity that is the one thing in this case. You may even find that you are better at this than others in your field because of the breadth of experience earned through a well-lived life. All of that is empowered through the lens of the singular focus of the one goal. There is a vital advantage to having the means to synthesize what you have learned through prior experiences and apply those lessons into new and innovative ways.

Leveraging your toolkit of skills, abilities and experiences is not the same as spreading yourself too thin.  When you have one thing to do at any given time, you can then leverage your entire toolkit to be as effective at that goal as possible. Like a magnifying glass, you can take those things and apply them towards your one goal.  Are you concerned about homelessness or the environment or Veteran’s affairs? Whatever it might be, and as fine-tuned as your vision of your future might look.  Pick that and go for it. 

Finding your thing

I’ve already recommended one book that speaks to this directly, but sometimes you need to take a step back in order to even know what direction to go.  There are two (2) key tools I’ve used that have helped me in the past.  Chronologically, the first I picked up was through the Mankind Project, is finding my life mission. This then allows me a lens by which I can evaluate who I work with and what I work on. I use the metric of “Is their mission complementary to mine?” This doesn’t mean they are perfectly in alignment, but can they work together and enhance each other.  The other, I picked up through Simon Sinek’s book Find Your Why. This gives you a way of finding your life’s purpose and beliefs.

These two tools can help guide you when you are lost. The mission is a North Star for when you are lost or when presented with a confusing situation. Just ask yourself, “What choice would help further my mission?” It may not be the perfect answer, but it will never be the wrong one. Then the purpose statement can tell you why you do what you do. It can provide a belief that is the foundation of whatever you might choose to do.  That foundation is not WHAT or even HOW, but why do you get up in the morning. 

How does this apply to being an advocate leader? It can provide you insight into your motivations and provide a clear vision of what the world will look like and how you want to act as you move forward in your advancing leadership path.  From here, your beliefs and your mission will highlight the key issue that you will want to tackle. Even if your passion shifts over time, your consistent path of mission + purpose can help guide that refining process.

Conclusion

In finding that one issue that resonates deeply with you, you harness the power to make a real difference. Let’s discover what that is for you. So, reach out. Tell me, what is your ONE issue? What is holding you back from making an impact to change the world around your one thing? Leave a comment or swing by the Discord community and let’s make an impact.