I’ve been coaching a senior nurse in the NHS. She has been given feedback that she needs to advocate her point of view more often in senior management meetings, so that they know that she is capable of contributing the perspective that only she is uniquely able to bring to the table due to her experience. That’s an example of advocacy.
I coach many leaders though, who advocate all the time, not empowering or enabling others to put their point of view forward. They don’t realise that strong advocacy squashes others’ confidence to advocate.
So we have another yin and yang of leadership to contend with. How do we advocate when necessary and inquire when necessary?
One example where inquiry would be more beneficial than advocacy is when your team member comes and asks what to do. Take a moment to read this previous post about asking vs telling to understand why it’s important to inquire at these junctures. Go on, it’ll only take you 5 minutes, then you can come back and reflect on what you heard.
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What do you notice about your own advocacy and inquiry in relation to your people? How much space do you give them to do the thinking? To find their own solutions? To grow their own capacity?
Yes, there will be times when advocacy is more useful, such as when you have a completely new team member who needs you (or someone else on the team) to teach them about the policies and processes for their role. But those occasions get fewer and fewer as a person grasps the fundamentals of the role.
Yes, there are times when there is only one way to go, so advocacy is right in this situation too. But how many times are there when that is truly the case in our complex and changing world?
Yes, there are times when you have received a mandate from above. That can sometimes be hard to advocate for if you don’t agree with it but that’s part and parcel of being a middle manager.
But mostly, inquiring into what others think, how they would resolve something, how their experience would shape the way forward – that’s the space to occupy most of the time. You’ll be growing a succession pipeline behind you, which will allow you to take on more challenging work for yourself.
And yes, this works just as well virtually as it does face-to-face. I had these kinds of inquiring conversations for years with a member of my team who I never met until after we stopped working together (at her wedding in Delhi…but that’s another story). So please don’t use the virtual barrier as an excuse.
Here’s my infographic explaining the impact of an ask don’t tell/coach approach to leadership, I hope you find it useful.
