SWOT: The first tool in your Advocacy Apparatus

Happy Friday, everybody! The first tool I'd like to introduce to you to add to your personal Advocacy Apparatus is the SWOT. Many of you may already be familiar with this, but a refresher is always helpful.

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats. Businesses use this acronym/tool when working to achieve goals, launch new programs, implement strategies or policies, etc. We have turned this into a personal goal setting worksheet for you to use around your advocacy mission.

Start with the question, "what do I want to change or achieve?" and work from there.

Strengths - What are you good at? What strengths can you bring to the table? Weaknesses - What can you work on? Or, what skills or information do you need that you do not yet possess? Opportunities - What or who can help you? Are there other organizations or coalitions focused on your subject area? What choices do you have? Threats - What is standing in your way? Are you strapped for time or energy? Are you afraid to take the next steps? Why might this be?

Exploring these areas is really helpful in understanding yourself! If anything, maybe you'll learn something new or have a sense of what direction you want to go in! If you need any help as you are going through this process, simply reach out via the 'Contact' section of my website or in the comments box of this post. We are all here to support each other! Let's go!