Leadership
There was an historic moment in 2018 when the Presidents of the Law Societies of England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland were all women for the first time. (L to R: Christina Blacklaws, Alison Atack, Eileen Ewing).
View from Former Presidents
The Quick Read Being a leader requires empathy and strategic thinking. The lack of alignment with junior staff often arises from a lack of communication and support. Leaders who live the values of the organisation attract good talent, those recruits in turn contribute and it creates an upward cycle of success. As a leader you have an opportunity to make your voice heard but listening to others is as important to your personal success and the success of the business.
Alison Atack Former President of The Law Society of Scotland 2018/2019 What should be valued as key leadership skills? Technical skills are an absolute necessity in a legal firm but critical –thinking skills required for leadership are just as essential. The best leaders know where they want to go, plan how to get there and persuade others to follow. There is an independence of mind and a vision of the future requiring analytical strategic skills, warning of potential problems/ solutions, listening and understanding the mood. A clear bluesky thinker who regularly takes time out to decide how to fight the battle before it even begins and persuade others to follow. It is not necessarily the senior or a manager in the firm but someone with vision, inspiration, motivation and who brings all components together making the whole more valuable. How are these skills nurtured / developed in staff? The Human Factor – Leadership focuses on one essential resource, the firm’s people, as diverse as possible; ensuring each one has the correct capacity to do the task. The Leader must be a good judge of all team members and know how to motivate, make eye contact, be seen and talk face to face at every opportunity. Leaders will ensure that the objectives are clear and known by everyone who needs to know, with a common purpose of managing excellent client service delivery and profitability, standing back from the detail. Help staff “buy in” by allowing consultation and involvement in the creation of the plan. Morale and well-being – maintain high morale, self-respect, discipline and confidence, limit undertakings for which the team members concerned are not ready or appropriately-trained. Leaders must also watch their own morale of course and radiate confidence. The Leader should know the team well and talk regularly to them to check their well-being and continued good mental health.
given to managing a legal firm e.g. cashroom, accounts, budgeting, professional regulation etc. Lawyers en route for leadership roles in some of the larger firms do have a training programme but it is not extensive and mostly comes after the decision to promote has been taken. Do you think that the leadership skills valued by senior and junior staff are aligned? I have seen many cases where they not aligned. This is essentially where leadership and the culture of the organisation do not reach out to the staff nor provide sufficient nurturing and training. Has the perception of leadership changed due to the pandemic (or during the recent past even if not related to the pandemic)? Leadership during Covid has inevitably changed without faceto-face meetings and team events. Usually one of the most important functions of a good leader is the ability to eyeball the team and discuss long-term ideas, look for signs of agreement, unhappiness, mental health and other health worries. However, everyone has adapted to virtual meetings and some people find it easier to voice ideas online rather than in a large Board Room setting. Good leadership would have in place a Disaster Recovery Plan in any event to deal with IT, communications, personnel, offices etc. but nothing would have prepared businesses for months of lockdown, illness, self-isolation etc. Globally, business including the law has been forced to find alternatives to keep going. There will be a legacy of the use of technology to facilitate flexibility and agility in the future Continued on next page
Training for Leadership – a good training regime is essential to nurture the future leaders of the Firm. In my experience this is not given any serious priority at the Degree/Diploma stage, at least in Scotland. I feel there should be more educational emphasis LegalWomen | 21
