Leadership Matters for Lawyers
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Life at the Bar LLC |
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Leadership Matters for Lawyers is now a weekly e-newsletter which features tips and strategies to boost your leadership  abilities. There are now four issues each month with a focus. Weeks 1 and 3 will feature personal leadership articles, Week 2 will feature a book review plus blog posts, and Week 4 will feature a quote or resource plus blog posts.
Julie Fleming-Brown provides attorney development coaching for associates and partners. She can be reached at jfb@lifeatthebar.com or 800.758.6214. |
- Recently Released Newsletters
- Quote: The Being of Leadership (8/26/2008)
- I often like to ask clients, "Who must you be to lead effectively in this situation?" The leadership literature covers well what competencies leaders must develop and how they can do so, but less of that literature is focused on the "being" of leadership. Today's quotations take us right to that spot of being.
- Do you know where you are? (8/19/2008)
- I imagine that those of you who tend to be rather literal and detailed-oriented have already composed a quick response to this question. Sitting at your desk, perhaps, or reading on a BlackBerry in an airport, thinking "Of course I know where I am! What a dumb question!"
- Book Review: Selling the Invisible (8/12/2008)
- Selling the Invisible offers targeted suggestions for marketing services, using anecdotes to teach. Divided into eleven sections with multiple one- to three-page chapters in each section, Beckwith's book gives bite-sized lessons on what clients and prospects (that is, potential clients) want, expect, and find persuasive.
- Sharing Feedback on an Assignment Gone Wrong (8/5/2008)
- I've been working for a partner for two years now (since I started with the firm) and I still have no idea what he wants. He assigns something to me and tells me what he wants, but when I deliver it, he tells me he wanted something different.
- Do you feel that you must do it all yourself (7/22/2008)
- Part of leadership is knowing when and how to ask for feedback, brainstorming, and guidance. A mastermind group (or any other dedicated, focused, supportive group) is a terrific way both to receive and give this help. It also creates accountability, and the group tends to pull participants along by raising the bar on activity that advances a goal. Group coaching works for the same reasons.
- How to attain a leadership role quickly (7/15/2008)
- Are you ready for the next level of leadership? Clients often ask what would be a good leadership opportunity beyond taking the lead on a piece of a client-service project.
- Book Review: Fat Smoker (7/8/2008)
- David Maister has masterfully connected the dots in Strategy and the Fat Smoker.
- Set 'em so you can reach 'em (7/1/2008)
- Some readers (and clients) have asked why it is that being specific about a goal makes its achievement more likely. Since that fits in so neatly with the invitation to David's call, that's the focus of today's article. I'd love to hear your feedback about this.
- Quotation of the Month (6/24/2008)
- What do these quotes (especially when juxtaposed) say to you about leading teams of lawyers, either on a client service team or in a law firm?
- 4 Steps to Growing Your Leadership Presence (6/17/2008)
- Although many skills are at play in any leadership situation, today's focus is on leadership presence. How can you refine your leadership presence when interacting with clients and colleagues, and even in court? Read on to discover 4 aspects of leadership presence that you can begin using today with immediate effect.
- Book Review: Fierce Conversations (6/10/2008)
- Fierce Conversations revolves around the "Mineral Rights conversation." This simple 7-step process can be used to get to the truth of a situation, create understanding about it, tackle the challenges in the situation, and enrich relationships in the process.
- How To Draw Out Your Clients (6/3/2008)
- Today's article takes a look at leaders' communication skills, with a specific focus on drawing out the thoughts and concerns of the client. I've suggested a couple of exercises you might try, and I'd love to hear what you observe if you do give it a shot.
- Quotation of the Month (5/27/2008)
- The following quotations make the connection between the leadership skill of listening and service to clients or potential clients.
- Get the Edge in Client Service and Client Development (5/20/2008)
- What if leadership and business development were married? Or leadership and client service? Today's article will show you that leadership, client service, and client development are inextricably linked. What's more, those who recognize the link and act accordingly do have a competitive advantage in client service and rainmaking.
- Servant-Leadership What's In It For Them (5/6/2008)
- Like a president, under at least some circumstances, lawyer-leaders must both lead and serve those who have "elected" them to a leadership position, whether in a client relationship or in firm management. And that's where today's article on servant-leadership comes in.
- Change This (4/29/2008)
- Just sitting, especially when feeling tense or concentrating intently, can be physically demanding. That's why I aim to get up and move at least every 45 minutes and to incorporate physical activity into my day. If you've attended one of my Five Foundations of Time Mastery programs, you know that I hammer on this point. It's in that spirit that I offer you a resource this week: a short ChangeThis manifesto on embodied leadership.
- Quotation of the Month (4/22/2008)
- As you read these quotes, consider in what situations a lawyer-leader can and should act as a servant, and in what contexts taking on that role could prove challenging.
- What's the difference between leadership and management -- and why does it matter? (4/15/2008)
- I was a part of a facilitated discussion last week in which one participant opined that management and leadership are really the same thing, but leadership is a more attractive term that's more likely to generate buy-in. I strongly believe, however, that it's useful to draw the distinction between management and leadership and to choose which set of skills to use in any given circumstance.
- HBR Article: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life. (4/8/2008)
- Stewart Friedman urges leaders to seek "four-way wins," meaning high performance in the four domains of life: work, home, community, and self (mind, body, and spirit).
- Understanding corporate literature to maximize practice management and client service (4/1/2008)
- Today's article looks to the corporate world both to inform attorneys' own practice management perspectives and also to forge a common bond with clients.
- Quotation of the Month (3/25/2008)
- Consider both client relations and law firm management as you read this month's quotations. How do these quotes color your thoughts?
- Leadership and Self Management -- Pt 2 (3/18/2008)
- This week's article delves deeper into self-management and asks where your area of opportunity might lie. Perhaps you can improve the way you use your time, your ability to focus on the tasks and people in front of you, or something else. A strong foundation of self-mastery supports both individual achievement and leadership development. How can you strengthen your foundation?
- Book Review: Leadership and Self Deception (3/11/2008)
- The concepts set out in this book are simple, though not necessarily easy, to apply. Since most of what lawyers do revolves around communicating and working with others, opportunities to use the learning abound.
- Leadership and Self Management (3/4/2008)
- A leader's development tends to proceed through three stages. The first stage is self-management. The second is individual achievement. The third is leading others. Although these three stages are distinct from one another, they may coexist and a leader may move back and forth through these stages at various times. Today's discussion focuses on the first stage: self-management or leadership of oneself.
- Quotations of the Month (2/26/2008)
- Next week's article will address self-management and leadership. In that vein, consider these quotes . . .
- The Tightrope: Tensions in Leadership for Lawyers (2/12/2008)
- It shouldn't be a secret that certain tensions surround leadership for lawyers. This article examines a few prevalent tensions.
- What Does Leadership Mean for Lawyers? (1/29/2008)
- Think of a leader you know. Perhaps this person is someone in your firm, someone you know through a bar organization, or perhaps even opposing counsel in a case you've had.
- Does Leadership Matter for Lawyers? (1/15/2008)
- The first step on the leadership development path lies in revealing the many dimensions of leadership, which opens opportunities for a leader's growth. And it's that conversation where we begin by asking the question: Does Leadership Matter for Lawyers?
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 Julie Fleming-Brown, JD |
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