Achieving a Position of Influence in Your Legal Career
Why is it that two attorneys can present the same idea to the same audience, but only one wins them over? Whether you are an outside or in-house counsel, building a position of influence with your clients or colleagues is not simply a function of your title, years of experience, or charisma. An attorney's influence is built systematically, one step at a time, but often in subtle ways. As a result, most write off influence as some ethereal concept too amorphous to be explained, let alone taught. Nonsense.
Understand gender and cultural differences in negotiating
After a recent negotiation seminar, an attorney asked a great question: “Are there any observations for women negotiators, or negotiators from other countries?” Yep, there are patterns in the negotiation styles of people of different genders or cultural backgrounds, and understanding these patterns can make you a more thoughtful, deliberate negotiator.
Use the Myers-Briggs to improve communication in your teams
Unfortunately, assigning a group of high-performing individuals to work together does not instantly transform them into a high-performing team. Communication is the key to making a team more than the sum of its parts, yet managers often complain that their team members fail to communicate effectively, both with each other and the team leader. This breakdown weakens team morale, but more importantly, it reduces the team's quality and efficiency, meaning more missed targets and more late nights at the office. Here's a tip: use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to improve communication rapidly in any team.
