Last week I attended the Rose cafe, and heard Laura Rodriguez de Simons lead a discussion about having a career in advocacy. I enjoyed hearing her diverse perspective, as she has done development and advocacy work in Ethiopia, Honduras, and now here in Ithaca. The major theme that I got out of the discussion was that finding a balance between compassion and practicality is important when doing this type of work.
One thing that struck me as interesting and non-intuitive was Laura’s tip that, if you decide to do advocacy or development work, not to do anything “too sensible”. A mindset of compassion, not one of efficiency and productivity, needs to take center stage in this type of work. It’s important to see people as people, not projects. Therefore, doing what you feel exactly equipped to do can actually take away from the experience. On the other hand, Laura has been able to use her “sensible” MBA in her current role.
Also on the practical side: in her current role at the advocacy center in Ithaca, Laura’s organization is careful to develop strict boundaries regarding advocates interacting with their clients. Many have heart-wrenching stories, so it can be easy to get too absorbed in their situations in a way that is ultimately unhealthy. Time not on the work clock is clearly personal time. Taking time off is encouraged, and it’s clearly stated that clients can’t contact advocates when they are not working. It must be difficult to strike this balance, but Laura maintained that it is healthier to operate in this fashion. It’s important to be able to take a step back from a situation and not get too emotionally invested.
I really appreciated Laura’s advice, and will certainly keep it in mind as I consider different types of missions work in the future!
This Cafe sounds like it was really interesting. I think working in the advocacy field is very difficult and it is inspiring to hear how she found a way to balance work and her personal life, which is an issue many people have. I also have heard that it is very difficult to not get emotionally involved with the people that you are helping. I think this is where it is necessary to separate cognitive and emotional empathy.
Sounds like this was a really interesting talk! The point about emphasizing compassion rather than efficiency is a bit surprising to hear – like you said, it’s non-intuitive. You would assume that feeling like you were doing a job/achieving a specific goal would validate your work. But I can also imagine how it could detract, in some way, from the experiences you have with the people you are working with.