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Warm, genuinely interested in people - superb people skills
Visionaries GROUP
Advocate is one of a group of Character Types that we call Visionaries. The Visionaries, in turn, form a group within our overall Character Family as shown right:
CHARACTER SUMMARY
The Advocate is the heady individual, creative, quick, impulsive who will get up in the morning thinking of how many possibilities the day may bring. They are excellent at devising new ways of doing things and bring a totally unique and fresh perspective to people, projects and situations. People-centred, caring and spontaneous, the Advocate will be excellent at getting things started and they'll do so with energy, enthusiasm and zeal.
The Advocate may not be so good at follow-through as they are interested in exciting possibilities and may move on to 'the next big thing' before the 'previous big thing' is completed. They can find overwhelming and utterly compelling reasons to convince others of their point of view and will be animated, expressive and full of life.
Underneath, the Advocate values close personal relationships based on trust and mutual respect. Because the Advocate is so talkative and outgoing, it could be assumed that what you see is what you get. However, there is a more sensitive individual underneath. Because the values of the Advocate are so internalised, it may be possible to transgress these without realising it.
Advocates are great at maintaining group morale. They take a warm, genuine and in-depth interest in others, they can 'read' people well, and will act as the catalyst for new initiatives and creative methods of solving problems. They are verbally astute, quick-witted and love life.
However, having so many interests can mean that, at times, the Advocate may have trouble keeping still, prioritising and focusing on the task at hand - especially if something more interesting is looming. The more mundane details may not stimulate the Advocate who wants life, work and socialising to merge into one stimulating environment with endless possibilities and lots of people to share them with.
WHAT YOU WILL SEE
Advocates are often good at many different things. An Advocate can generally achieve a good degree of success at anything that interests them. However, they can get bored easily and are not naturally good at following things through to completion. Accordingly, they tend not to thrive in an environment that focuses only on performing detailed, more routine tasks. They will do best in roles that allow them to creatively generate new ideas and deal closely with people and will not be happy in positions that are confining and regimented.
- Warm, genuinely interested in people - superb people skills
- Very intuitive and perceptive about people
- An ability to relate to people on their own level
- A dislike of performing routine tasks or being controlled by others
- A need for approval and appreciation from others
- Cooperative and friendly - service oriented
- Creative, fresh and energetic
- Well-developed verbal and written communication skills
WHAT COMES EASY
Advocates take their relationships very seriously, and approach them with a childlike enthusiasm and energy. They look for authenticity and depth and will put in a lot of effort and energy to make things work out. They are warm, considerate, affirming, nurturing, and have excellent interpersonal skills, - able to inspire and motivate others. Energetic and effervescent, the Advocate is sometimes smothering in their enthusiasm, freshness and talkativeness but are generally highly valued for their genuine warmth and high ideals.
- Building relationships, Advocates are often very likeable
- Brainstorming, innovation, creation
- Making other people feel special
- Energy, freshness and openness
- A desire to maintain harmony in the group
- Coming up with novel solutions
- Having fun, lightening the load within the group
WHAT NEEDS DEVELOPING
The undoubted strengths of the Advocate become, paradoxically, their weaknesses; they are fresh, excitable and love anything new and different which means they are often at the forefront of new thinking and ideas but may lose interest once the initial fascination has passed and be on the lookout for the next thrill.
- Taking a back seat and reflecting whilst others contribute
- Sticking to the task and seeing it through- trying to see the benefit of completion
- Confronting difficult situations/conflict head on rather than avoiding it
- Ignoring emotional responses and concerns in dealing with people issues
- Sticking with one role or looking for development within the existing environment
