What does advocacy mean as a core value?
Advocacy as a core value means speaking up for people who have less power or no say, so their interests count in the decisions that affect them.
Advocacy begins with noticing who isn’t in the room. You’re the one who asks how a decision will land for the night shift, who writes the letter for a relative who can’t face the council, or who raises a junior colleague’s idea in the meeting they weren’t invited to. If it’s a core value, staying silent while someone without a voice gets overlooked feels like taking part. You use whatever standing you have to make sure their interests are heard.
What does advocacy look like in practice?
- You name the people a decision will affect who aren’t there to speak for themselves.
- You put your own credibility behind someone with less power than you.
- You go with a friend or relative to an appointment so they’re taken seriously.
- You push an issue up the chain when it has been quietly dropped.
- You ask the person you’re speaking for what they actually want before you speak.
When is advocacy overplayed?
The risk with advocacy is speaking over the very people it’s meant to serve. You assume you know what they need, turn their situation into your cause, or pick fights where a quiet word would have worked better. It can also make you tiring to work with if every issue becomes a battle. The mature form amplifies other people’s voices and chooses its moments. It helps to ask the people you champion how they’d describe your help, and to notice where their answer differs from yours.
Often confused with
Advocacy vs Justice
Justice is about what’s right being done in general. Advocacy is personal and specific: speaking up for particular people who can’t speak for themselves.
Advocacy vs Courage
Courage is acting despite fear. Advocacy often needs courage, but its focus is on making sure someone else’s interests are heard.
Advocacy vs Support
Support is being there for someone. Advocacy faces outward, representing them to the people who have power over their situation.
Questions to sit with
- Whose interests are regularly missing from the decisions you’re part of?
- When did you last stay quiet about something you’d normally challenge on someone’s behalf, and what held you back?
- How do you know the people you speak up for want you to?
More values in Care
Looking out for others, especially those in need.
About the author
Matt Rutherford is a Career and Leadership Coach. The Values Finder is the same exercise he uses with his coaching clients. He also writes Stuff that MattRs, a weekly newsletter with practical ideas to help you think clearer and work better.
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