There is an existing relationship among the concepts of social change, leadership and advocacy. For example, advocacy and good leadership can influence social change. According to a paper written by TACSO (2016), power (or influence) is multidimensional and dynamic and great individuals transform ‘power’ into leadership in order to move people in one common direction. People who influence others, then create advocacies based on current social issues. They promote policies that address these concerns in order to improve the system in general. Advocacies are also called interventions by some because they are intended to impact the lives of people. Advocacies are the result of a year’s worth of research.
Some advocacies, for example, women empowerment is rooted from everyday encounters that fuel people’s desire to change the ‘wrong’ they observe. Social change therefore is the fruit of godly leadership and a strong advocate. Despite the difficulties being encountered by attempting to change the landscape of society, there are still many brave people who wish to change society. In order to effectively promote change, a good leader must have a clear message (or stand) regarding a specific issue. For example, a leader will make a strong stand against domestic violence, then she will create an advocacy anchored in empowering victims to speak up and legally sue their abusers. In order for the advocacy to be successful, there must a series of strategies such as an awareness campaign, talks and seminars.
Once people see the benefit of the advocacy they will follow the lead and soon change will be seen. It is therefore important for a leader to be charismatic, so that people will follow him. He must have good public speaking skills in order to move people.
Reference:
TASCO (2016). Advocacy and Policy Influencing for Social Change. European Union
