The world of association government affairs and advocacy is evolving. With more government and stakeholder scrutiny of associations and their advocacy work, the scope and skills of government relations professionals must evolve to meet the complex demands of this critical function. For those looking to advance their GR careers, this means developing many of the core leadership competencies that will catch the eye of future employers and executive recruiters.

Here are six tips for those looking to move up in the association lobbying world—and maybe even into the CEO’s office one day.

1. Create clarity around your values and goals. Roy Disney once said, “It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” By understanding your professional values—the beliefs, standards, and ideas that are important to you at work—you can better articulate how your leadership in a government affairs and advocacy role can help your association succeed. An ability to explain what you want to accomplish from a policy and advocacy perspective, and how you will do it, can set you apart.

2. Assess your strengths and weaknesses—and address the gaps. Once you have identified your values and goals, collect information about your strengths and the skills you’d like to improve. Some associations do this through 360-degree feedback surveys. You can also seek out open and critical feedback from your peers and other stakeholders.

Other assessment tools you can leverage are Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves and StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath. These can help you identify areas for improvement, such as your persuasiveness or issue expertise. You can then incorporate this information into a personal strategic plan that aligns your development goals and objectives with your career plan and trajectory.

3. Understand your association inside and out. To have the biggest impact, your development goals should be aligned with your association’s goals and business objectives. But what if you don’t know what those are?

“Start with the flow of money,” says John Sigmon, founder and chief executive officer of Sigmon Leadership Solutions. “If you understand how your association makes and spends money, you will know the answers to two critical questions: Who are the key stakeholders and what are the top priorities?”

From there, consider how your work and development goals contribute to those areas. If you cannot make the connection, you may need to better ground your activities and plans for “sharpening the saw” in your association’s business needs.

Your professional leadership competencies may help you get that top job, but those personal and organizational competencies will help you succeed in it.

4. Embrace the new paradigm of government affairs and advocacy. With more government activity and more external scrutiny today, the environment is changing. This increases the complexity and risks for associations and their members. “As a result, the game is raised,” notes T.R. Straub, a consultant in the corporate affairs officers practice at Russell Reynolds Associates.

“Government affairs leaders are now essential business partners who must identify opportunities in government and regulatory initiatives, see around corners to help mitigate risks, and connect legislative and regulatory activities to key business issues for the organization and its members,” says Straub.

To succeed in this new world, make sure your core government affairs and advocacy skills are augmented with the business, campaign, and communications proficiencies that associations need today and in the future.

5. Go beyond your professional skills and competencies. While most people focus on honing their job-specific professional skills and competencies, it is often personal leadership qualities (such as emotional intelligence and executive presence) and organizational leadership competencies (including strategic thinking and collaboration) that set successful government affairs leaders apart. Put another way, your professional leadership competencies may help you get that top job, but those personal and organizational competencies will help you succeed in it. Focus there.

6. Don’t be afraid to think big. As you consider how professional and leadership development will help you as an association GR professional, let go of self-imposed limitations and expand your thinking. “Learning to think big helps you move from being closed-minded to being curious and expansive,” according to Bob Rosen and Emma Kate Swan of Healthy Companies, a leadership development firm. “Organizations today need people to learn faster, rise above the din, and see the larger picture.”

Whether you’re reframing policy challenges or finding new ways to engage your member advocates, taking these steps will help you develop critical skills that associations need to succeed in today’s challenging external environment, while opening you up to a world of career possibilities.

“One of the most important things [to do] in your career is to invest in yourself,” says Anne DeSeta DarConte, senior director at HillStaffer. “By investing in your future, you will get a tremendous return on your investment and set yourself up for future success.”