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Successful advocates can achieve multiple goals. They can influence public policy, legislation, and budget allocations, for example, by the able use of relationships, knowledge, the media, and awareness projects. Among the skills that effective advocates develop are sharing their skills and knowledge with the people for whom they advocate, educating them in the topics of interest to their situation, improving their confidence and ability to find appropriate solutions, and connecting them to useful people and resources. There are many approaches used by advocates today, and one of the most common is participative and strength-based approaches. Participative approaches include consulting honestly and profoundly with their constituents in order to ensure their willing participation and consent to the changes proposed. It also means that the experiences and knowledge of the people to be assisted are valued, respected, and taken into account. A strength-based approach understands that people bring personal strengths to all situations. People are capable of autonomy and growth, of transformational change, and, with the right support, capable of being the best experts in their own cases and causes. A strength-based approach relies on respect for people’s essential rights, dignity, and capacities. It is also goal oriented and focuses on future outcomes. Within this perspective, then, practicing a strength-based approach validates the experience of the individual or group seeking change by helping them focus on the solution and using their lived experiences, capabilities, skills, and resources in order to reach their own solutions to problems.

In order for advocacy to be sustainable, expert advocates understand that establishing realistic goals is of paramount importance. The final goal should include developing a solid understanding between the complainants, or people seeking change, and the decision makers with whom they are engaging. The advocate should ensure that the issues and procedures are laid out in such a manner that they offer a reasonable degree of clarity and stability. By making issues easier to comprehend, an advocate can help build confidence and reduce anxiety among those seeking help if they find the process confusing or difficult. Finally, it is important to always bear in mind and promote the belief that change is possible.

Even though not all advocacy models and advocated cases and causes are concerned with participative approaches and social transformation, the field of advocacy is inherently rooted in social justice. Whatever the approach taken, one of the main roles of the advocate is to raise awareness of a problem or injustice, that is, to educate others—from constituent communities to government officials and/or the public—about the particular issues of interest for those on whose behalf the advocate works. As such, advocacy has long been considered to be a key tool in achieving social justice in all fields and at all levels where it is practiced.