Part 1:

In a previous post, I made reference to the advocate leader as a bridge between the subject that you are advocating for, and those who have the ability to make decisions affecting that subject. In this way, you are smack in the middle of some challenging dynamics that require the courage to engage and finesse to handle well. Many of those I see engaging in these kind of conversations on-line and in person are not always conscious of the power dynamics involved, so let’s talk about the power dynamics at play in these situations.  As I’m writing this, it’s getting very long so let’s split this up and over the series talk about the subtle and not-so-subtle effects at play and when we’re done give you the knowledge to navigate them effectively.

Section 1: Understanding Power Dynamics in Advocacy

No one in any situation that calls for advocacy is at an even playing field when it comes to power.  Generally each player in the triad that I describe in the previous post has some degree of power, even if it’s not obvious on the surface.  I speak of the direct power position of the target audience with the authority to decide the outcome of efforts with regards to the context of the advocacy conversation. There are also less obvious powers at play. 

When we talk about the three roles in the advocacy bridge, we can use some specific use cases to help differentiate some examples of the use of power.

Expertise

Let’s start with a key point of leverage of Expertise. This is the power provided by experience, education, and mastery for the relevant topic or topics at play. This is not an appeal to authority, that is in a different section. For example, in medical, veterinary, or legal situations, the advocate is the doctor or lawyer speaking for their client. The flow of information and power is not always obvious.

• In legal battles, the lawyer, armed with expertise, becomes the advocate. They wield their knowledge to persuade judges and juries, often facing equally knowledgeable opposing counsel.  Using their experience and knowledge to formulate a convincing case in favor of their client. As the subject of advocacy, you as the client, hope to win through the combined actions of your lawyer.
•  In your average medical case though you are both the client and the target audience.  The doctor speaking to you about your health also has years of experience and schooling in their area of specialty to provide you sound advice on how to move forward.  However, in this dual role, you have to hope the doctor is working in your best interest as the subject so you can live a healthier life or tackle the health crisis at hand.  Sometimes that’s not always the case as doctors are only human, and have their own agendas at play. 
• Finally in pediatrics and veterinary medicine, we’re back to a more traditional advocacy approach where the target audience is the parent of the subject, be that a child or animal. They have the best interest of the subject at heart. The challenge becomes when there might be a difference in resources or philosophy on what might be best for the child or animal involved. 

Persuasion

In our previous examples, with expertise and education comes the weight of that to provide backing to their persuasive tools. However, in more everyday situations, the power of persuasion itself can be a particularly key tool. Building a toolkit of bridging perspectives (see 4 Quadrants and Expanding Perspectives ) allows you to connect with the target audience to the subject and in the long run they will hopefully make decisions in a way that improves everyone’s life experience. This is where listening to, and engaging with both sides becomes key.  You are a multiplier for those who need it by being the voice for the voice-less or overlooked. Through that voice, connecting to the target audience who hopefully will receive your message as it speaks to values they hold dear. There are ethical implications to raw persuasion as a power tool that we will touch on in a later post.

Position aka Relation

Our initial examples do hold a degree of positional power, but the position, relation to everyone involved, is purely professional.  Positional or relational power can be the most intimate manifestation.  How we relate to each other can have staggering influence on how the target audience might react to any advocacy message. Are you the boss? Are you leading up to your boss or someone with superior authority to you? How about talking within your own friend group or family? When working within these close organizational structures, the audience may already be willing to hear you because you carry emotional weight with them. Though the opposite may also be true. 

This can be especially problematic with generational divides that the authority of a parent or guardian to child dynamic could bias the conversation when that dynamic no longer has significance when the child grows to be their own adult and/or may bring expertise to the table that the audience does not share but is unwilling to give up the privilege of their prior dynamic.

This leads me to the other manifestation of positional power. It becomes systemic over time. It brings along with it that historical privilege of expectation.  At least in some of the other forms, one can appeal to expertise or bring forth a persuasive argument.  In this case, there is a logical fallacy of appealing to authority.  Just because I have authority over you (power due to my position), doesn’t mean I’m always right. Additionally, just because something is traditional, or classically the right thing, doesn’t mean it’s the appropriate answer moving forward. Remember, being in a position of power and privilege, equity can feel like oppression because the powerful may feel like they are loosing that influence.

Stakeholders

By default, we can imagine there is a grade of power across the three stakeholders in the advocacy bridge. The subject can be voiceless and directly actor-less when finding themselves in a bad situation.  For things like environmental movements, or animals in veterinary care, we can try to use science and data to deduce what the subject needs, but otherwise, they have no direct voice by which they can ask for what they want or need. 

Next, as an advocate, you have some innate power. By having the courage to be a voice for the subject, that provides you a degree of power beyond the voiceless, or the underserved.  As I’ve mentioned before, it starts with taking a stand, living by your values and speaking up when you can. 

Finally, the target audience often has the most power.  They are the ones who can enact change in the situation at hand.  When we think of obvious answers based on some of the above modes of power of who those might be, we get a clear list of power holders:

• Boss at work
• Political leaders
• Judge/juries in legal matters
• Elder members of your family or friend group
• Able-bodied when concerning matters of accessibility

Again, nothing here is surprising, but just making these identifications can help know where we stand when moving through challenging situations. It gets more complicated when the bridge the same person or entity embodies multiple roles within the bridge.  Our political leaders are supposed to be advocates for the body politic, not for themselves and special interests.  You boss at work should be looking out for you and their whole team, not just the bottom line of the business. You family should consider what’s best for you and the family at large, not just what might be tradition, or what they’re being told at church, or where ever they might be getting contradictory messages.

Part 1 Conclusion

That’s enough to hopefully whet your palette for what will come in the weeks ahead.  We’ll over the role the advocate leader has within the power dynamics.  Not just the bridge but using the position you might have to influence change. It may require some self-empowerment first, but hopefully, you can look around and see how some of the types of power may already be accessible to you when you might otherwise have felt at a loss.  Feel free to swing by the discord server to discuss these ideas with others and provide feedback on what you’ve read so far. As you reflect on these types of power, consider which ones you’ve encountered in your advocacy journey. How have they shaped your experiences?