When people consider advocacy, they often picture individuals or groups actively supporting a cause, promoting specific ideas, and working to bring about change. The word that first comes to my mind is passion. Passion fuels the commitment and dedication of advocates to their causes, inspiring them to act and make a difference in the world. However, passion alone cannot effectively bring about meaningful change; it must be accompanied by effective action to make a positive difference in our communities and beyond.

And what do we need to drive effective action? Executive functioning! Executive functioning refers to a set of cognitive skills that enable individuals to plan, organize, prioritize, strategize, and execute tasks effectively. These skills provide the foundation necessary for planning and implementing advocacy efforts. Below are a few of the executive functioning skills that are important for effective advocacy.

1. Initiation and Intentionality: This is where passion really helps! Initiation and passion help us identify problems and come up with great ideas, but where do we go from there? Advocates need to have clear goals, values, and objectives guiding their efforts. Without intentionality, passion remains dormant and fails to translate into tangible results or impact.

2. Goal Setting and Prioritization: An intention may never turn to action if there are not goal posts, and advocates must prioritize objectives based on their importance, feasibility, and potential impact. Executive functioning skills help advocates create action plans and stay organized by evaluating various goals, determining their relevance to the cause, outlining strategies, allocating resources, and establishing timelines for action. This process is key for both individuals and state associations engaging in advocacy. NASP has several resources to help, including the ATS and GPR Committees and their guide to creating a state policy platform.

3. Strategic Thinking and Planning: Advocacy often involves navigating complex social, political, and institutional landscapes. Advocates must think strategically, anticipate challenges, and devise creative solutions to overcome obstacles. Strong executive functioning skills support advocates in analyzing situations, generating alternatives, and making informed decisions to advance their cause. This requires identifying those who support our efforts, as well as who are opposed to them, to better devise strategies to advance our positions. NASP's updated Policy Playbook and new Power Mapping Resource can guide you through this process and should be used to help create your strategic plan.

4. Flexibility and Adaptability: Advocacy efforts may encounter unexpected setbacks, changes in circumstances, or evolving priorities. Effective advocates demonstrate flexibility and adaptability in response to new information or challenges, and they remain resilient in the face of adversity. As school psychologists, we practice this executive functioning skill every single day (and it is one of the reasons why Gumby is our mascot!), but it is critical to practice this in our advocacy efforts to keep us from getting stuck in ineffective advocacy practices. Advocacy takes time, often longer than we like, but it is important to embrace the spirit of advocacy-change-in our own strategies and tactics.

5. Time Management and Self-Regulation: Advocacy requires effective time management and self-regulation to balance competing demands, meet deadlines, and sustain long-term commitment. Advocates must allocate time wisely, monitor progress, and resist distractions or procrastination. There will always be new problems, but if we get distracted, we will never complete anything! Executive functioning skills help advocates manage their time efficiently, stay focused on their goals, and maintain motivation throughout the advocacy process. In summary, while passion is a powerful driving force in advocacy, it is not enough. It must be accompanied by intentionality, action, strategic planning, and resilience to bring about meaningful change in the world. Executive functioning skills help advocates manage their time efficiently, stay focused on their goals, and maintain motivation throughout the advocacy process.

Advocacy Executive Functioning Check-In: Use these questions to evaluate your executive functioning skills and analyze what is working for you and your state association and what skills still need development. Do you:    

• Have sufficient energy and passion to initiate advocacy activities?
• Initiate activities with thoughtful intention?
• Clearly define the problems you are addressing?
• Identify specific advocacy goals?
• Have advocacy goals that reflect and advance the association's strategic goals?
• Prioritize goals based on importance, feasibility, and potential impact?
• Create an action plan?
• Plan your strategy with specific attainable and measurable tasks?
• Allocate sufficient resources in support of advocacy initiatives?
• Create a schedule of your activities with a realistic timeline?
• Identify and create plans to overcome potential obstacles?
• Remain open to change?
• Change course and shift your problem-solving approach when a situation calls for it?
• Maintain focus on your goals, resisting distraction caused by competing agendas?
• Keep to your timeline?
• Monitor your progress and celebrate victories big and small?