In the legal sector, there aren’t many women in top positions. This is valid for all facets of the market, including law firms, internal departments, academic institutions, agencies, and legal technology businesses. The statistics on women assuming leadership positions shift glacially slowly, despite the fact that more women than males enroll in law schools and graduate at record rates. This is true despite the fact that numerous publications and research have demonstrated the advantages of diverse teams for businesses as well as the public, boards of directors, in-house counsel, and other groups that support more women in leadership. Nobody is surprised by this, and it is not a brand-new phenomena.
To help female lawyers advance in their careers, executives in the legal sector can take the simple but often-ignored step of giving them frequent, frank criticism. Young lawyers frequently lack awareness of their personal talents and flaws. Certain CMO Initially, Lydia Flocchini did not consider it unique or a strength for her to successfully lead teams through last-minute product launch adjustments, acquisitions, and other situations.
“Colleagues frequently remarked on how tough I was. numerous times. After some time, I understood that I possessed a strength that others don’t necessarily possess. — Lydia Flocchini, CMO at SurePoint.
Flocchini began mentioning her resilience when explaining the abilities and attributes she brought to the table in order to use it as a differentiator. It is equally crucial to be open to developing areas outside of your expertise, and it is crucial that managers find constructive ways to discuss how female attorneys might advance.
Law schools do not teach management skills to partners or senior attorneys, and if firms do offer people management or coaching training, it is not made public. Too many 8th and 9th year associates suddenly discover they’re not on the partnership track after years of receiving “fine” performance assessments. To guarantee that people managers know how to give and explain performance evaluation and to coach lawyers on how to do so, leaders in legal organizations should work with them. To guarantee that people managers know how to give and explain performance evaluation and to coach lawyers on how to do so, leaders in legal organizations should work with them.
Another challenge is that new lawyers frequently are not aware of the qualities that are valued in leaders. Too many young lawyers believe that if they work hard and keep their heads down, they will be noticed and promoted. The role model for leaders today, however, has changed significantly during the last few years.
Companies and legal firms are increasingly searching for leaders who exhibit qualities like agility, efficiency, empathy, self-reflection, emotional intelligence, humility, inclusivity, and new ideas, rather than merely the lawyer with the biggest client, most power, or biggest rainmaker. Unfortunately, law schools aren’t known for instructing aspiring lawyers on how to develop their leadership abilities. Neither legal departments nor firms regularly evaluate employees for these traits in performance assessments. However, many young lawyers—particularly women and mothers—possess these qualities. In fact, it’s common to conceive of lawyer parents as multitaskers who successfully manage multiple duties at once and use creative problem-solving to convince a child to eat a meal, go to bed, or try something new.
More and more, followers and clients expect leaders to be real and vulnerable, but no law school course promotes or teaches these qualities.
