Leading the way
In tough economic times, leadership is more important than ever. Craig Sisterson speaks to three award-winning in-house counsel about what it takes to be a leader
At the Friday, 8 May dinner in Christchurch for the annual conference held by the Corporate Lawyers’ Association of New Zealand (CLANZ), the 2009 winner of the CLANZ/Bell Gully Young Corporate Lawyer of the Year Award (Award) will be announced – a person judged to have made an outstanding contribution to their employer, and who has the potential to develop into (or has clearly demonstrated their potential as) a leading member of the in-house legal profession. So the question arises: what does it take to be a leader amongst the in-house legal profession – and is leadership for corporate lawyers different than for those in private practice?
For 2006 Award winner and current CLANZ President Rebecca Holbrook, General Counsel for Fisher & Paykel Appliances, there are key differences. “An external lawyer is often viewed as a leader in their field if they have superior legal skills in a specific area of law,” she says. In contrast, in-house counsel can help lead their entire business. “Leadership in this sense involves ensuring people within your organisation listen to you, and involve you in decision-making processes.” The following year’s winner agrees. Beca Senior Legal Counsel Rebecca Davidson has a background in large firms in both London and New Zealand, and believes in-house lawyers have a unique opportunity to be “able to apply and see the application of our advice”, which in turn affects leadership options.
Catherine Miller, General Counsel for Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB) and 2008 Award recipient, says in-house counsel must also adjust to the greater diversity of their workplace colleagues. “As in-house counsel, …you work with a wide variety of people from different backgrounds and with different qualifications and skills, so any work you do, or leadership action that you take, needs to be tailored to the group you are working with.”
What a leader looks like
Receiving the Award was in effect an acknowledgement that Miller, Davidson, and Holbrook each went beyond typical corporate counsel performance, assisting their respective businesses in greater ways than simply responding to legal queries. Miller has a very wide variety of work, from commercial contracts to medico-legal issues such as consent, mental health, and privacy. “I also think being on call 24 hours a day is one of the more unique aspects … and may have contributed.” Davidson was nominated by Beca’s CFO/Executive Director, who specifically noted her key part in a business-wide risk management project, particularly her “true leadership in championing the importance of risk management and mitigation”. Holbrook displayed leadership and project management skills while involved with international acquisitions, along with establishing regional in-house counsel group SALT, to enable legal teams in the same geographic region to interact for work and educational purposes.
Each lists a variety of attributes apparent amongst successful leaders. “I think great leaders have the ability to relate to the people around them,” says Miller. “They need the ability to remain calm under pressure, be organised, and have clear goals which they can inspire others to work towards with them.” Holbrook sees a leader as someone who models the behaviour they expect of others, is clear in their objectives and expectations, treats people fairly, and recognises others’ contributions.
For Davidson, it’s vision, and the abilities to motivate people and pick the right people for a particular job. “I think it’s confidence and the ability to share their vision with others, and get others to share in their vision… [T]he leader doesn’t need to be the best at everything, but needs to know how to pick the right people to do the things that need to be done.”
Team leader
No matter the size of your in-house team, showing leadership is possible. Miller leads a two-person team, but has also taken a leadership role with students who have done work experience with the CMDHB. Davidson has taken the lead with her team in developing ways to keep them up to date with legal and technical advances and establishing career development options. “Career development is definitely something you’ve got to approach in a different way than in a law firm,” she says, noting the relative lack of clear hierarchical career path, law clerk through partner, for in-house lawyers.
“You’ve got to look at how you can make employees’ roles into something they [enjoy],” continues Davidson, who has implemented a structure where Beca legal counsel form ongoing relationships with particular areas of the wider engineering consultancy. This, says Davidson, allows her legal counsel to “get familiar with that part of the business, get familiar with the legal issues that arise in those areas, and take ownership of those areas, …and I think that is more satisfying than just doing random pieces of work that come in.”
For Holbrook, leadership within an in-house team doesn’t need to be solely the domain of the General Counsel. No matter your position within the team, you can take ownership for achieving an objective or goal, she says. “Can you see an area that could be improved? Even if you are the most junior member of your team, volunteer to lead that improvement/process change. Never think ‘when I am in charge I will do [things] differently’ – take charge now – you will improve both your leadership skills and your organisation.”
Organisational influence
In-house lawyers have the chance to lead not just their legal team, but also on a more commercial, strategic level within their wider organisation. Miller says one CMDHB focus is clinical leadership, as this is a key factor in improving health services. “[The legal team’s] focus is on providing a support service throughout the organisation… I think it’s really important to lead by example… I am proactive about training for staff and development of policies and procedures, and I encourage staff to contact me with queries at any time.”
Holbrook believes it’s important for in-house counsel to be amongst the senior decision-making team – in order to add value, in-house counsel need to get close to the business. One way to ensure you’re closely linked to the wider business is to be proactive, not just responsive, says Davidson. “Rather than just waiting to be asked to do things, it’s thinking ‘what can I do to add value to the business’ – whether it’s trying to head off legal risk… trying to put in place processes that will help do that, being involved in [multidisciplinary teams], or in terms of doing training on different legal issues for [non-lawyers within] the business.”
Leadership within the in-house profession
There are also opportunities for in-house counsel to develop and utilise their leadership skills within their wider profession. At the upcoming CLANZ conference, in-house counsel will have an opportunity to both network and learn more about various issues facing their profession. As well as involvement in CLANZ, Miller has initiated and coordinated several meetings for a group of DHB in-house counsel throughout New Zealand. “These meetings are useful as they provide an opportunity to … minimise re-inventing the wheel.”
Davidson says in-house counsel should interact not only with other in-house counsel, but also private practitioners as well. “I think there’s a lot that can be learned by in-house from external practitioners, and vice-versa.”
It’s important to make the most of the opportunities available within the profession, says Holbrook, who for the past three years has been a member of the CLANZ Committee: “a great group of in-house counsel who dedicate many hours of their time to the organisation and its activities”. As current President, Holbrook has developed her leadership, including interacting with and learning from CLANZ’s sister organisations overseas, “to remain informed of developments in in-house practice”.
Developing your own leadership
Although some people have an innate ability to lead, there are skills around leadership that can be learned by anyone, says Davidson, who believes in continual improvement and ongoing learning from all of those around you. “I think it’s quite important to stop and think ‘how can I do things better and smarter… taking that time, even though you often feel as if you’ve never got it – you can actually get a better result out of it,” she says. “I think you can learn leadership and lessons generally from all the people you work with… [I]t doesn’t necessarily need to be from someone more senior than you either, it can be someone more junior.”
Miller also believes you can develop leadership skills by watching others – trying to identify what good leaders do and how they approach situations. “There are a number of people I have worked with who I really admire for the way they manage stressful situations, and learning from them has been very beneficial.”
It’s also about taking new opportunities as they arise, says Miller, as “this usually allows you to develop your knowledge and meet new people”. Holbrook agrees: “Take advantage of opportunities available to you – one of the best ways this can occur is by volunteering, eg through committees, work groups, voluntary organisations.”
In the end, says Davidson, leadership is about empowering other people to be able to do their roles better, which in turn is better for your business.
NZLawyer, issue 111, 1 May 2009