: Leadership and Advocacy Essay title: Learning about leadership and advocacy from X: Community advocate for Drug and Alcohol addiction services Please write essay using the questions below and references provided plus additional references in relation to transformational leadership. I have also added the transcript interview with the person. This is the second part of the essay in reference to order item 82596226. I have put an example of what the paper should ideally look like below for your reference 1. Clearly state the purpose of the paper is to examine leadership qualities required to be an effective advocate or to lead an advocacy campaign. 2. Describe the interview, the relationship of the participant to the advocacy activity (Participant has worked in the area of drugs and alcohol addiction in Australia) And (The advocacy activity was-Advocacy and Leadership in Supporting Regional Communities Affected by Alcohol and Substance Misuse) 3. Analyse the interview using Thematic analysis (Look for advocacy and leadership themes in the responses of the participant. This is where you will use coding to understand the themes emerging from your interview) 4. Analyse the interview using Leadership theory/literature to (Charismatic leadership, Transformational leadership, servant leadership) determine the leadership qualities that are linked to effective advocacy strategies. 5. Summarise the strategies that the participant has used in relation to advocacy and leadership (Look for advocacy and leadership themes in the responses of the participant. This is where you will use coding to understand the themes emerging from your interview) 6. Reflect on the process of the task and what you learnt about leadership and advocacy. Advocacy transcript of semi structured interview 1. What is your approach to advocacy? To advocate for change by motivating and inspiring people, building relationships that are based on trust and honesty. Ensure that the client has knowledge and ability to make informed decisions. Present all options to the client and find out what their preference is. If there appears to be an alternative option with a better outcome, discuss the pros and cons with the client. If the client is not agreeing with the practitioner eg doctor, find out why to start with, then discuss with the doctor to understand viewpoint. Discuss the clients choices with the doctor. Find the best. outcome with the most likely best results for the client. If a client is adamant that they wish to do something that opposes the practitioner, then advocate on their behalf as it is their choice, and they are entitled to make their own health choices. And document the hell out of everything!!! 2. What do you think contributes to the increase of drug and alcohol use in regional Australia? Low socioeconomic status, does not affect day to day activities such as work etc. Community accessibility (someone always has or/knows someone that has alcohol) Poor health knowledge a forever vicious circle that has been happening for generation. Lack of programs and education targeted at ASTI population. Boredom, alcoholism in particular is often accepted as part of who someone is. Fear of the healthcare system means support is not accessed as often. Alcohol is often not frowned upon as much with a community. Alcohol and drugs are often used to medicate conditions such as pain or mental health issues as they are less likely to engage with medical services to receive appropriate treatment. 3. What has been your experience of working in this sector? I Worked as a graduate in remote New South Wales which had a population, of 900 people. 97% were indigenous, it was classed as a dry town which meant there were limits placed by the NSW government on alcohol purchases. I worked within an involuntary drug and alcohol treatment unit for 5 years. This was a place of last resort for clients who had severe alcohol and drug dependency and had tried all other options. I have also worked in mental health units (MICU, Acute, subacute) worked in remote Qld on palm island-D & A issues very evident in this population. 4. Do you think there should be more advocacy within this area? Absolutely. However, it needs to be done in a culturally appropriate manner or it will not succeed. 5. How do you think we should progress in this area? Educate with culturally appropriate knowledge from a young age and continue through. Educate Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people on what inpatient treatments are. Have staff from Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander (ATSI) backgrounds involved in treatment programs. Need to look at programs that keep people on the country. Understand that there would need to be a larger community shift in order, to see significant change, particular towards alcohol. Acknowledge that dry communities are never actually dry, and that there still needs to be ongoing programs and support in these areas. Communities need to be supported and motivated to become leaders to inspire change. Promote their communities and establish funding in to get more staff into rural, remote areas as this is where there is a complete lack of support. Pictures!!!! Remember how low the literacy levels are in this population group. Use images to get messages across!!! References AASW. (2010). Code of ethics. Retrieved from: Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77-101. Chanyasulkit, C. (2020). Successful Public Health Advocacy. Spring Briefs in Public Health. Cox, L. E., Tice, C. J., & Long, D. D. (2017). Introduction to Social Work: An Advocacy-Based Profession. Sage Publications. Greenleaf, R. K. (1970). The servant as leader. Greenleaf Publishing Center. Greenslade, L., McAuliffe, D., & Chenoweth, L. (2015). Social workers’ experiences of covert workplace activism. Australian Social Work, 68(4), 422-437. Jones, L. & Bennett, C. (2012). Leadership in health and social care: An introduction for emerging leaders. England: Lantern Publishing Limited. Koprowska, J. (2020). Communication and Interpersonal Skills in Social Work. Sage. Mosley, J. (2008). Policy advocacy and lobbying in human services organisations. In R. Patti (Eds), The handbook of human services management (pp. 457-472). Sage. Neuman, W. (2013). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Pearson. Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership theory and practice. Sage. Peters, . (2017). Defining social work leadership: A theoretical and conceptual review and analysis. Journal of Social Work Practice. Greater use of drug and alcohol treatment services in regional and remote areas, and many people travel over an hour to receive them. (2019, March 16). Premium Official News. Transformational leadership This is an example of what the paper should look like Essay title: Learning about leadership and advocacy from X: Community advocate for ——– Leadership and Advocacy Introduction This research explores the relationship between leadership qualities and skills and effective advocacy. A case study is used to better understand the question in a real-life context, considering the social issue of the wellbeing and resilience of people and outback communities in —– Queensland. Analysis of the interview suggested a connection between the leadership style and the advocacy strategies adopted. The advocacy strategies adopted by X are consistent with the values and moral of her servant and authentic leadership style. However, further research is required to better understand the influence that leadership approaches have on advocacy strategies. I conclude that the authentic and servant leadership embodied by X is grounded in her significant experience working in and long-term connection and understanding of —– Queensland communities. Advocacy from this type of local leader is required to help decision-makers who do not live in or understand these communities to make funding and policy decisions that effectively support the wellbeing and resilience of these individuals and communities. Overview of the social issue This report explores advocacy and leadership in relation to the wellbeing and resilience of people and communities in —- Queensland. —– Queensland covers approximately 23 per cent of the land area of Queensland, and is comprised of seven local government areas: Barcaldine Regional Council; Barcoo Shire Council; Blackall-Tambo Regional Council; Boulia Shire Council; Diamantina Shire Council; Longreach Regional Council and Winton Shire Council. Approximately 10,500 people live in this region, and the 17 towns across the area have populations that range from 44 to just under 3000 (Queensland Reconstruction Authority, 2020; Kelly and Phelps, 2019). All areas in —- Queensland are classified as very remote (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2020), meaning they have very little accessibility of goods, services and opportunities for social interaction (Department of Health and Aged Care, 2001). Communities in —– Queensland are dealing with the social and economic impacts of prolonged drought. All areas in the region are currently fully drought-declared (Queensland Government, 2020). The current prolonged drought has not only had a significant impact on individuals, families and businesses involved in agriculture, but the overall economic and social wellbeing of the dispersed communities in central west Queensland. The economies in —- Queensland have experienced significant decline since 2011, with businesses reporting significant loss in revenue resulting in cuts to staff (Paton, 2017). Fewer jobs is resulting in outmigration with a significant number of people leaving the region, which consequently results in a cut in services available in these communities (Kelly, 2018). Methodology I have adopted a qualitative methodology for this project because the research is seeking to develop a more in depth understanding of advocacy and leadership as a social phenomenon in a real-life context. The research uses a qualitative case study to explore and primarily better understand the relationship between advocacy and leadership from the perspective of someone who is actively engaged as an advocate for the social issue in question (as outlined above) (Timonen & Foley, 2018; Rowley, 2002; Bendassolli, 2013). The subject of the case study is X. X is a —- with — years working in ——- western Queensland. X has qualifications and experience in X, rural and remote health, community services coordination and management. Ms Williams is Chair of the —-and a member of the —-. X is also an active volunteer and is involved in many community activities and ventures. I met X in her role as —– as this is where I work. I selected X to be the subject of this case study because of her significant experience working in —– Queensland communities, her experience advocating for individuals and communities, and her passion and commitment to this cause, which I witnessed in her role as Board Chair. A 30-minute interview was completed with X. Consent for the interview was sought and is included at Appendix 3. This was a semi-structured interview, allowing X to have scope to focus her responses on the issues and experiences determined to be important from her own perspective (Liamputtong, 2019). The interview itself flowed like a structured conversation, allowing the participant to guide the direction, and for discussion of interesting subjects that arose as the interview unfolded (Liamputtong, 2019). This method allowed me as the researcher to gain an understanding of XS experiences from her own perspective. The interview guide is included at Appendix 1. I transcribed the interview and then reviewed the transcript, coding for similar concepts that arose from the discussion (transcript included at Appendix 2). These themes were then reviewed against research on leadership and advocacy theory, and the codes were refined against the key concepts arising from the literature. The nature of the research is exploratory and descriptive (Neuman, 2013). This is because the research aims to use existing theory about the relationship between advocacy and leadership to better understand and describe these theories in a real-world context. The research is not explanatory, and does not attempt to definitely answer why there is a relationship between advocacy and leadership or why certain leadership qualities or advocacy strategies are necessary or effective. On reflection, providing a copy of the interview guide to the participant before the interview had advantages and disadvantages. While this allowed the participant to be very prepared for the interview, it felt as though the guide may have acted to make the interview overly structured, as the participant seemed to demonstrate a need to cover all information in relation to all questions included in the guide. As the researcher, I felt this meant there was less time to explore some interesting points that arose and the interview felt somewhat rushed. Findings Some clear themes emerged in the analysis of the interview. These will be discussed in relation to leadership models and skills. This will then be considered against the advocacy strategies described by X as effective and ineffective. It is important to note that X fulfils many roles in the community. She is both a formal leader through her professional roles as —- representative on the —–, and an informal leader through her community volunteering (Jones & Bennett, 2012). Therefore, the context for XS leadership is —- Queensland communities, rather than a particular organisation. The personal qualities and skills that emerged as key themes in the interview are strongly aligned with servant leadership. A servant leader is simply described as a servant first, to make sure that other peoples highest priority needs are being served (Greenleaf, 1970). Northouse (2013) argues that servant leaders are concerned about the more vulnerable people in society and as a leader aims to shift power to these people who are being led. X refers to service as her primary motivator as a leader, for example: I just want to make a difference in the world, for it to be a better place. Servant leaders demonstrate strong moral behaviour towards their followers (Northouse, 2013). This is reflected in the interview. X make several references to prioritising the needs of the people she is serving over her own needs, or an institutions needs. For example, in discussing the reason for leaving her role as a —–, X states I left because working for — when you were in a social services role, they just havent got a clue what youre doing I couldnt stand the —-s values and they treated people. Self-awareness is another trait of a servant leader that emerges as a strong theme in the interview (Spears, 2010). For example, X states Ive tried to learn and develop. Thats been big in me as well if you look at a leadership role, to try and listen and understand and look at the other side of the story and work out what people are doing. Another model that is reflected in XS discussion of leadership is authentic leadership. Northouse (2013) notes that authentic leadership is an emerging area of leadership theory. Authentic leadership is about legitimacy and whether leadership is genuine or real (Northouse, 2013). Authentic leadership emphasises a leaders life experiences and the meaning he or she attaches to those experiences (Northouse, 2013). In the interview, X talks at length about her experience in various professional roles across different communities in —–. X refers to this as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that have shaped her into the leader she is now. X refers to her connections and experiences in —- Queensland as the foundation of her leadership approach. X states having a huge understanding my whole life of rural and remote —–, which is like being an emergency crisis worker, a social worker, you know like everything. There are three key advocacy strategies that X refers to in the interview. These are: building relationships and political capital; emphatically framing the issues and developing coalitions. Chanayasulkit (2020) discusses the importance of public advocates forming relationships with politicians and decision-makers. Canayasulkit (2020) argues that once relationships are formed decision-makers will turn to an advocate when something is needed such as information, authority or a validation. Chanayasulkit (2020) describes this as political capital that advocates can provide or trade with decision-makers. This is evident in XS description of her advocacy strategies. For example, X describes how she began meeting with politicians and decision-makers who travelled to —- Queensland communities. Due to her experience, X is able to act as an authority on health and wellbeing matters for people in these communities. In addition X can either provide or connect the decision-makers to people who provide an important source of information about matters impacting these communities. This can be considered political capital and makes X an important contact for these decision-makers. This provides X with the opportunity to use these meeting to advocate for the wellbeing of people in these communities. In describing the impact of one of these meetings, X states they still talk about their trip to —– and how valuable it was to them. Framing an issue for decision-makers emerged from the interview as a key advocacy strategy. Mosely (2008) argues frames are important because they provide direction about how to think about a problem. X discusses how her experience working on the ground providing support to people in crisis highlighted to her that services were not working well together to meet peoples needs. In addition, X observed that funding was being provided to organisations with such strict eligibility criteria and scope that these services werent able to respond to emerging needs. X states that following absolute frustration at what she was seeing happen in service delivery, she developed a repertoire of terrible stories that she then told decision-makers that meant you cant deny the system is flawed and you need to try to do something to change it. These stories framed problems from a person-centred perspective, to demonstrate the diverse needs and challenges faced by people in remote outback communities. In addition, X describes a humorous approach to reducing the stigma associated with addressing mental health issues in the community. X states: you know Im a bit crazy and I like funny things, so a bit of a zany name seems to get people in as well. You know, not like please come to a mental health conference, you know like the we are not crackers evening, you already know what the message is, were all a bit crackers and chicks hens and boilers, try to reword it another way thats funny. This can be seen as an advocacy strategy, because it is focused on representing mental health as a normal issue that is relatable and experienced by everyone. The third key advocacy strategy is forming coalitions. Mosley (2008) describes coalitions as groups of affiliated organisations advocating on issues in which they have a shared interest. This approach is demonstrated in XS work as a founding member of the ——-. The ——- is a coalition of local medical practices, ambulance, police and the rural financial counselling service that meets to discuss how services and the system is working together for people. This group has developed a reputation as a respected advisory group that provides advice back to decision-makers, including the —— Commission. This approach builds on the first two advocacy strategies described here (building relationships and political capital and framing the issues) and adds extra persuasiveness to the argument because the coalition can present a united voice and work together to build on each others strengths such as accessing each others networks and relationships. Discussion It can be argued that there is a connection between the leadership styles and the advocacy strategies adopted by X, suggesting that the choice of advocacy strategy is influenced by a persons leadership style. The advocacy strategies adopted are grounded in the experiences of the community members of —– Queensland. These strategies focus on elevating these stories through empathic persuasive communication to influence decision-makers. Authenticity based on local experience and connection is used to gain respect and attention from decision-makers, to develop a reputation as an authority for issues relating to wellbeing and resilience for —– Queensland communities. Given that authentic leaders are motivated by higher-order end values such as justice and community, it seems logical that advocacy strategies adopted would be consistent with and build on these values (Northouse, 2013). However, further research is required to examine how leadership style influences ones approach to advocacy. Reflecting on the interview, the thing that was most clear to me was the energy and passion that X has for the people and communities in —– Queensland. It was evident that her actions are grounded in a deep understanding of life in these communities and the long-lasting impact of specific events in these small towns. This was evident when X stated weve had some significant events like a death of a child, the death of a young women complex grieving situations and the death of X in —–XX, now that has really affected communities. In very small towns (the largest community in —– Queensland is less than 3000 people), these events, as well as the frequent natural disasters including drought and floods, have long term impacts not only on individuals but also the community as a whole. This is not always well understood by those who do not live in these communities, which is almost always the case for people making policy and funding decisions that impact these communities. This emphasises the importance of local, authentic, servant leadership such as that embodied by X. Conclusion This research explores the relationship between leadership qualities and skills and effective advocacy. The case study has provided a better understanding the question in a real-life context, considering the social issue of the wellbeing and resilience of people and outback communities in —– Queensland. While further research is required to better understand the influence leadership style has on advocacy strategies, this case study suggests that advocacy strategies are influenced by the leadership approach. As a researcher, my main reflection is that the type of authentic, servant leadership embodied by X is critical to influence decision-makers to understand the local context and experiences of —- Queensland communities.Show more
