Hey, it's Rachel Cook, your modern mentor. Are you striving for something at work,

maybe a promotion or a leave of absence, or maybe a leadership opportunity, but you're not sure

how to make it happen? You may need to head down the path of self-advocacy. And today,

I'm here to share my tips for being your own best advocate at work.

A client of mine, Jesse, was recently promoted into a big job, ginormous, actually, as she

herself describes it. She's excited, committed, you know, all the things. But she's anxious that

she doesn't have all the tools and resources

that she needs to be effective. Have you asked for what you need to be successful? I asked her.

She literally LOL-O-Led. That would sound like an admission that I'm not ready for or capable of

nailing this job, she said. So I told her, it's time to talk about

self-advocacy. So we did. We covered the what, why, and how of being your own best

advocate in a few simple steps that I'm going to share with you today. Because maybe there's

something you want, a promotion, a spot at a conference, a leave of absence, a speaking opportunity, whatever it is,

let's talk about how you can be your own best advocate. What is self-advocacy? For me, it's the simple

act of knowing what you need or want, why you need or want it, and then taking proactive

steps in service of making it happen.

And why is it important? In short, because the world can't read your mind and it doesn't share

your interior knowledge, your feelings, your instincts, or experiences. So when a new client

calls me and asks if I can design a custom program and deliver it next week,

I have to remember that client isn't thoughtless or inconsiderate.

They just don't know what it takes to design a custom program.

And I need to educate them, articulate a need for more time, through self-advocacy.

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