9 minute read
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS, BUILDING A CAREER
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
to listen. You have to build a team philosophy around what you all want to get done and then you become a critical component of the success and the progress of the organization.”
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The more lawyers move into business roles, the more it becomes an accepted career progression. As Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe found at Duke, there’s little resistance to such moves when there’s already an established track record: “That’s been a long-settled issue here. We’re not afraid to put lawyers in business roles, because they’ve proven that they can do the right kind of thinking and the right kind of things to be successful.”
Sonya Olds Som is a partner in the Chicago office of Heidrick & Struggles, one of the country’s leading senior-level executive search and leadership consulting companies. She focuses on executing searches for general counsel/chief legal officer and other senior leadership roles within corporate legal departments and law firms across industries and geographies, as well as on executing board searches and providing diversity, equity & inclusion advisory services. She spoke to leading Black figures in Government and business on their experiences and how they see the landscape for GCs changing.
CAREER ADVICE Building Relationships, Building a Career
Despite efforts to improve diversity at a senior level, any Black lawyer navigating the upper levels of the corporate world will face challenges. By Sonya Olds Som
AS SOMEONE WHOSE CAREER RELIES on an extensive and active network – placing talented candidates in career-advancing roles and helping companies improve their performance by giving them access to a more diverse pool of talent – I see every day the importance of building and maintaining relationships. It’s something the interviewees all agreed on.
Marc Howze is Group President, Lifecycle Solutions & Chief Administrative Officer at Deere & Company. He stresses the importance of fostering relationships at every stage of a career. As someone who has held multiple positions at Deere, he has built contacts in every corner of the operation, from production to sales and marketing to legal. This makes him a stronger leader and gets better results for the business. “You can take a team of disparate people and bring them together in order to solve the most important problems we have,” he explains.
MORE THAN COLLECTING CONTACTS
Donald M. Remy is Deputy Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs and has previously worked in government, non-profits, law firms and business, including Fannie Mae. His varied career means he’s keenly aware that “it’s important to build real relationships, mentoring and sponsoring relationships, where you can bounce things off people, where you can engage as you grow. Because you never know when you might need advice, or someone needs you to give advice, or where you’re looking to explore a different opportunity and someone in your circle has valuable insight and relationships.”
Although such relationships can pay off in surprising ways as career goals and trajectories change, they must be more than just transactional. The need to create genuine connections is core to Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for Duke Energy, Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe: “It’s about developing relationships,
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
not just collecting contacts. Relationships require time, they require investment. So maybe it’s about one person at a time in the office; when you go into a room at an event, pick one person at a time and focus on them. People love to talk about themselves – ask them questions and listen to the answers. To paraphrase Maya Angelou, people might not remember what you do or say, but they remember how you make them feel. Empathy is key in building relationships.”
He shares a tip he got from Cornell Boggs, Chief Legal Officer and Group Vice President at Coors Brewing Company. “One of the things he taught me was his practice of, when he met somebody for the first time, following up with a handwritten note. That is so impactful. I’ve been trying to do that ever since.” While to some that might seem old-fashioned, it’s a practice I’ve seen the benefits of firsthand – there is more than one person that owes their job in part to the fact that I had a card from them on my desk, which reminded me of them at just the time when an appropriate search opportunity came in.
EMPOWERING CHANGE
For Sharon Barner, Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at Cummins, a career-long commitment to people development has translated into strong business leadership. Her passion for bringing out the best in those who report to her not only creates fruitful relationships but
also makes good business sense. “For any business, people are your value and differentiator.”
But such investment in relationships can also be an engine to bring about real and lasting change. Barner believes that Black leaders can use their influence to make sure the current drive for diversity in management doesn’t become another false start, consigned to history once the issues fade from the headlines.
“Corporate America moves on very quickly, but here’s the thing we have now that we didn’t have in the 70s: there are more of us in these positions. There are more of us who understand the criticality of influence and power, building diverse relationships, mentoring and sponsorship. There are more of us to open those doors for other people to walk through. Don’t leave it to others. Commit to yourself that you are going to make a difference.”
... There are more of us to open those doors for other people to walk through. Don’t leave it to others. Commit to yourself that you are going to make a difference.” — Sharon Barner
GOOD RELATIONS MAKE GOOD LEADERS
Donald Remy feels a key part not just of building relationships but of leadership is “being open minded. Listen to your colleagues’ perspectives, just as you’d expect them to listen to yours. I don’t care what your role is, I don’t care where you sit in the organization or your race or your gender or your LGBTQ+ status. I want to know what you’re thinking. I want all those thoughts together. I’ll be responsible for that final decision, but I need to have all of those data points from a diverse set of advisors to make a good decision.” It’s also about recognizing the need to work together. Says Remy, “Collaboration is critical to your success. Nobody does this on an island.”
Humility also is vital. Explains Remy: “You have to stay humble and recognize that everyone has a voice that should be heard. Everyone’s perspective can be useful: can help make better decisions and actions.”
Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe recalls how the BLM protests illustrated that, as someone who grew up in the majority-Black country of Ghana, he had been shaped by a very different upbringing than his colleagues in the U.S. “My experience is not necessarily my Black brothers’ and sisters’ experiences. And so, I’ve got to be open to listening to them.” In turn, as an immigrant, he may approach things differently from those native to the U.S. Leaders, in particular, must accommodate a broad spectrum of viewpoints. Says Ghartey-Tagoe: “We’ve got to make room and create space for everybody in this regard.”
Protecting Civil Rights
Eric Holder advises clients on complex investigations and litigation matters, including those that are international in scope and involve significant regulatory enforcement issues and substantial reputational concerns. Eric rejoined the firm after serving for six years as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States. Senior partner and former Attorney General Eric Holder and White Collar Defense and Investigations practice group Vice Chair and partner Aaron Lewis discuss how Covington helps address risks related to racial discrimination and bias in the corporate world through civil rights audits and investigations.
Why do you think companies are focusing now on civil rights audits?
Eric Holder (EH): The evidence is clear at this point that the businesses that have undertaken assessments — AirBnB and Starbucks among them — are better off for having done so. We’ve all heard the saying, “What gets measured gets done.” Businesses can, and should, evaluate how they’re doing with respect to issues of equity and social responsibility, both within their own workforces and in the larger communities they serve. These assessments can be an important component of that work.
How does Covington approach these types of audits: is there any difference between these and traditional investigations?
Aaron Lewis (AL): We approach these projects focused on building the strongest possible factual basis for our conclusions and recommendations. We develop facts objectively and thoroughly, we evaluate risks thoughtfully, and we recommend remedial measures or enhancements as warranted. It’s just that the surface of risk that we’re evaluating in this space is not just False Claims Act risk, not just Foreign Corrupt Practices Act risk, it’s really this set of emerging norms about whether or not your people feel like they can show up at work, be treated fairly and thrive and have an equal opportunity to rise.
Have you been surprised by the commitment companies are making to these issues?
AL: When I graduated from law school many years ago, I don’t think that companies were nearly as focused as they are now on ensuring that all of their workers have an equal chance to thrive and advance. But over the last few years, it’s become clear that the boards that engage us and the law departments that reach out to us are unwilling to tolerate conduct that pushes people from underrepresented backgrounds out of the mainstream experience of those businesses. That’s a remarkable evolution. And it happened really, really fast.
How do you feel about leveraging Covington’s deep-bench of skilled attorneys to advance social justice in this practice?
EH: This isn’t what you’d expect necessarily from a big, established, unbelievably credentialed law firm. We’re doing things here that I think are societally beneficial. And all of this work really is consistent with what I think lawyers at their best, law firms at their best, can do.
— Aaron Lewis
Aaron Lewis is a leader of the firm’s Institutional Culture and Social Responsibility practice and Vice Chair of Covington's White Collar Defense and Investigations practice group. In addition to investigations and risk assessments related to alleged discrimination or bias, Aaron represents clients in sensitive, high-stakes government investigations, internal investigations, and regulatory enforcement matters. Aaron also is an Assignments Partner and serves as one of the Black Lawyer Affinity Group Co-chairs.
