It is unnecessary, but true, to note that a great deal has changed in the last decade. On all fronts how we live, interact and work continues to evolve, and certainly with bumps along the way that we try to learn from to enhance what we do next. 

After ten years in a leadership role in one global law firm, and as I embark upon the next chapter with Baker McKenzie, it is an opportune moment to pause and reflect. As we look at the years ahead predictions are hard, as the rewriting of playbooks in the last 18 months have shown, yet our learnings on how we approach situations and the capabilities we will need are essential to position us for change. 

I have captured three reflections and themes below, informed by my experiences and areas I see as critical as we move forward.

It’s different and it’s not

As I think back ten years clearly the legal sector has changed, and mostly for the better. Enabling technology has changed, people analytics and analysis is at a new level, client expectations have grown, how we structure teams and the discussion and progress on inclusion and diversity is amplified. 

The expectations of the talent in firms are more nuanced today with more generations in the workplace, a thirst for a clear purpose and willingness, coupled with the acceptance, to move firms, or to clients, or new careers.

These differences are merely a few I could highlight and are real. They are also perhaps just continuations or themes that existed previously. So, maybe the real difference is the type of conversation we are rightly having today. Well-being, inclusion and the culture of teams and firms are some clear examples where this is happening and the dialogue has developed positively, again not without challenges.

Connections are even more important

Of course it always has been, but regardless of the size of a firm or organisation, building strong, positive and trusting working relationships is even more important today. Very few problems can be solved by one individual, and complex legal work, across boarders, practices and cultures requires collaboration built on trust, empathy and psychological safety. 

Leadership development has pivoted to support the skills for collaboration and connection as these are learnable capabilities that all of us must master to bring together all that firms can offer.

I think our understanding in this area has grown significantly in the last decade and requesting or delegating is not the collaboration that produces stand out results. 

Focus your learning

There are a couple of reflections in this theme: firstly that continuous learning, beyond meeting CLE/CPD requirements is hugely important, and in areas far wider than legal skills; and secondly that we need to be focused on the capabilities for the future.

The skills we discussed ten years ago have served a purpose, yet we know from research the capabilities that will drive future success. Higher cognitive ability, human connectedness, agility and emotional intelligence are consistently highlighted, and in particular for professional service firms. Additionally, we may not need to know how to code, but we must be able to understand and leverage multiple technologies seamlessly. 

How we develop people, the capabilities we discuss, value,emphasise and recognise in firms will shape the coming years. What we focus on individually needs attention and consideration; planning our development, understanding where we need to grow and/or amplify capabilities will be enhanced by the right support in firms.

The next ten years will no doubt produce continued change and the legal sector will look different again, which much of it hopefully positive. Looking back it again highlights for me the importance of building the capabilities, relationships, and trust to better enable each of us navigate the unknown. I don’t need to predict the next ten years, but I do need to keep growing the capabilities for me to lead successfully.

Reaching an answer is important, but how we get there will be remembered.