In-house legal teams – it’s all about the people
November 08, 2016
leadership in-house lawyers leadership skills
As a leader, it is essential to understand that a fundamental part of your role is to understand what motivates people, to nurture and support them. It is not revolutionary, but is it a big issue that a number of in-house teams are facing.
The growth (and continuing growth) of in-house teams together with the relative flat structure and defined roles within many in-house teams is a concern. How do you motivate, how do you help your team achieve their goals? Equally important, what are the skills your team need to undertake not only their current role, but also their role in the next 5 -10 years.
Each team will require different solutions, but one of the solutions I feel is beneficial to the business and helps motivate in-house lawyers is enabling the team move around; within the in-house function or better still another function within the business.
The human touch is so important and with that, the support lawyers need with their career ambitions should be built into their management.
On this day, the day of the US election, Maaike’s comment is so poignant – “we are all people….I would be nowhere without a great team”
I wish it were that simple. There is no such thing as a quick fix or a single change that would revolutionise the way we operate. What I would say is that we are all people, we have different drivers and different reasons why we do what we do and how we do it. Understanding what motivates people, nurturing, supporting and helping them to develop/realise their potential are all key elements of my role (and that of all the people managers in my team). I would be nowhere without a great team, so creating, stimulating and developing a team/people is critical – however, that is of course hardly revolutionary!
http://www.halebury.com/latest-blogs/the-in-house-experience-int..
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