A Final Word For In-House Counsel

As we close the final chapter on 2021 and prepare to begin a new chapter in 2022, I want to leave you with this final note. As an in-house counsel, you are more than a lawyer and a business partner. You are a leader. It does not matter whether you lead an entire legal department or are the only in-house lawyer on an executive leadership team, you are a leader.

If 2021 has shown me anything, it has shown me that companies with effective leaders not only survived 2021, they thrived. What do these effective leaders look like? These leaders lead with empathy; these leaders lead with courage; and these leaders embrace change.

Effective Leaders Lead With Empathy

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It is important for leaders to have the ability to understand how other people feel, to understand how they see the world, and to have the ability to imagine life from their perspective. To understand and imagine how others feel is a wonderful ability, but leaders need to do more. Leaders also need to act.

How?

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Leaders who lead with empathy need to make it a point to stay connected with team members.

Leaders who lead with empathy need to actively seek an understanding of how team members are impacted by the world around them.

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Leaders who lead with empathy need to find concrete ways to make things better for individuals on the team.

Leaders who lead with empathy need to encourage their team members to express their points of view and engage them in healthy debate.

Why?

It is really very simple. Studies show that empathy produces positive outcomes.

A new study of 889 employees by Catalyst found empathy has some significant effects in the following areas:

• Innovation
• Engagement
• Retention
• Inclusivity
• Work-Life balance

Think about the number of areas where empathy can positively impact a company when company leaders lead with empathy. Now consider for a minute the negative effects that may exist when leaders do not lead with empathy.

In the words of Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

When you think about what it takes to lead with empathy and what empathetic leadership can accomplish, why would a leader choose not to lead with empathy?

Effective Leaders Lead With Courage

Leadership takes courage. As an in-house counsel you must be prepared to have courageous conversations with those people with whom you work. Courageous conversations are those conversations you would rather not have, but know you must have.

By bringing a potential issue to the appropriate person within your company, you are not making an issue worse. You are empowering that person to take the steps necessary to address it. While conflict can be the result of a courageous conversation, it does not have to be a foregone conclusion.

How?

The key is to focus on finding solutions and not on placing blame. Sally Kirkright, CEO of AccessEAP provides the following steps to ensure a better outcome in her MyBusiness article of May 11, 2017, “Five steps to have ‘courageous’ conversations with employees”:

• Be confident with your concern
• Focus on the issue
• Be clear and specific
• Listen
• Respond calmly

Why?

It is your job to identify risk and support the efforts to mitigate that risk. It is never easy, but it is critical to your company’s success.

Eleanor Roosevelt said it best when she said, “Do one thing every day that scares you” and that courage “is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.”

Effective Leaders Lead Without Fear Of Change

Effective leaders understand that change is both necessary and inevitable. When change must happen, effective leaders lean in and create opportunities for change through flexibility, creativity, and innovation.

How?

Effective leaders do it by motivating and inspiring their teams. They communicate the vision for how the team must deal with change. They do it clearly and in compelling terms. They show how it is essential for survival and for growth.

Why?

Change is hard. It can be scary and unnerving. It is only human to want to resist it. Effective leaders must set the example and persuade their teams to follow along and push through what feels uncomfortable.

As we move into 2022, I will choose what the fictional leader Ted Lasso has chosen. I chose to BELIEVE. “I believe in hope. I believe in BELIEVE.” As a leader, you may not always feel you have what it takes to be empathetic or courageous. You may not feel you have what it takes to lead others through change. You can and you must, however, believe you have within you the capacity to rise to the occasion when you are called to do so.

Lisa Lang is an in-house lawyer and thought leader who is passionate about all things in-house.  She has recently launched a website and blog Why This, Not That™ to serve as a resource for in-house lawyers.  You can e-mail her at [email protected], connect with her on LinkedIn, or follow her on Twitter.

Topics

2022, In-House Counsel, Lisa Lang