IABC Advocacy Commons

Although the New Orleans conference already seems like just a distant memory, the enthusiasm and excitement are still very much with us. We handed out hundreds of badge ribbons and cards to attendees, many of whom were truly excited to learn about the Advocacy initiative and want to get involved.

So what’s next? Here’s what I reported to the Executive Board:

We’ve taken some important first steps by conceptualizing the “flying squad” to help IABC speak out on issues relevant to what we do and our involvement in ISO 26000. The latter is only the first step taken by the Social Responsibility subcommittee, which is exploring a variety of other opportunities for IABC, its chapters and its members to leverage our skills to make a difference in the world around us.

But there’s so much more to do… and this past year showed us that a single working group simply can’t get its arms around the huge array of possibilities we need to explore. Every time we identify another idea, two more appear.

So, having witnessed the great success of our Social Responsibility subcommittee’s work, and using it as a model, we’re creating a number of additional subcommittees, each of which will focus on one subset of Advocacy, do some brainstorming and creative thinking to identify opportunities for us, and develop proposals that we can act on.

Here is a list (in no special order) of the other subcommittees, with their working titles, which we’re now setting up (more will undoubtedly follow) :

• Promoting Our Profession — A primary objective of Advocacy is to build awareness of the communications profession and communicate the value we add to virtually any organization or endeavor. How can we do it most effectively? Would advertising work? Speeches? Articles? If our ultimate goal is “getting a seat at the table,” what should we do?
• Ethics — We have a strong code of ethics. But how can we leverage it to business and other audiences as a model global standard of professional conduct?
• Education — It’s often said that communicators don’t know enough about business… and that business leaders don’t know enough about communication. How can we change that? Can we influence colleges and universities to broaden their curricula? Are there other ways? And, in the process, can we build our student memberships to give them an entrée into our own network of learning, interaction and professional development? (This group will include both educators and practitioners.)
• Building Bridges — It seems that everyone has their own horror stories about working with Legal, HR, IT and other organizational functions. (And they most likely have their own stories about us!) How can we tear down the barriers, build understanding and forge closer working relationships with these and other groups?
• Accreditation — Working together with IABC’s Accreditation Council, identify ways to promote the ABC designation as part of our Advocacy efforts. Do the “right” people know about — and understand — the value of Accredited Business Communicators? Does it require greater prominence in the business and organization worlds?

Does something there “jump out” at you — something you’re especially interested in or passionate about? Or maybe an area in which you’ve had some experience?

If you answered “yes,” then we want (and need) you!

A (sub)committee is only as good as the people who serve on it. That’s why we’re looking for people who…

• are genuinely interested in one of these areas,
• can do some creative, out-of-the-box thinking to help identify opportunities and ways to develop them,
• are willing to make the commitment needed to get the job done, and
• are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

If you’re interested — or know someone else who might be — please let us know. Send an email to iabc.advocacy at gmail dot com and we’ll get back to you.

One of our guiding principles for the Advocacy initiative has been that it shouldn’t reflect the thinking of just a handful of people. Whether you serve on a subcommittee… participate in our discussion here… or become more actively involved in IABC’s programs and activities, you have a golden opportunity to help influence our direction… to add value… and to help make a difference in IABC and in our profession.

What do you think? Are we heading in the right direction?

We want to hear from you!

Edited 23.7.07 with changes underscored to clarify my original copy.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 18th, 2007 at 10:08 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.