Carolina Paralegal News

By Cheryl Leone and Dave Favor

Special to CPN

As we teach leadership to lawyers and non-lawyers, we find it interesting the many misconceptions people have when it comes to understanding true leadership. It is gratifying when we see leaders develop an understanding of the different types of leadership skills that need to be honed, developed and implemented in a law firm.

The most common misconception is that leaders are born, not made. This is simply not true. Leaders are created through learning and growth and the development of skills that are inside all of us. Sometimes we slowly develop our skills. Just as often, an unanticipated set of circumstances forces us to learn the art of leadership and allows us to realize a vision we have for ourselves and our careers.

Never is there a more opportune time for paralegals to advance in leadership than within today’s work culture. More and more law firms are developing into what we call high-performance
organizations.

A high-performance law firm is designed as a business. It has a strong vision for its success along with a strategic plan. It is run by best business practices that deliver a return on investment for its owners. It has a set of values and short and long-term goals such as client service, practice deliverables, profitability and a high-performance work culture. Traditional rules are kept to a minimum. Instead, guidelines or desirable work traits will guide its members.

The law firm owner looks to build the internal workings of this high-performance organization with people who have a stake in its success. It is no longer just about your skills as a paralegal. Today’s law firm owners are looking for leaders first.

Stakeholders – the firm staff who buy into the vision and invest their time, emotion and energy into driving the firm to reach its goals – will need to develop and grow into the roles that those at the highest levels of leadership demonstrate. Those that don’t will be left behind. Fortunately, many law firm owners realize this fact and are investing their own time, energy and monies in teaching paralegals the art of leadership.

Having a title or skill-based position does not make you a leader. Holding the title of partner, associate, lawyer, firm administrator or paralegal does not confer leadership. In fact, holding authority by title is the least part of leadership. 

The hardest part of teaching leadership is to get others to understand the difference between managers and leaders. While law firms need both roles, there is a common misunderstanding that they are the same.

Managers are focused on the mission and control resources. An example might be a senior paralegal that is part of a team. This person may be responsible for meeting the objectives of the practice area and manage the people within the team to help meet the mission. Having that job, however, does not make he or she a leader.  

A leader is focused on the vision of the firm and the relationships with the firm members. He or she is generally concerned with the future and the development of people. A leader must be able to have a clear and compelling vision and the ability to translate that vision into reality.

An example of a paralegal-leader is one who may be responsible for meeting the objectives of the firm and supervising others, but will also have his or her eye on the future and where the firm and the team needs to go. This paralegal will be looking to encourage, motivate and create leaders to help walk the path to achieve the vision without worrying about reward or recognition.

Peter Drucker puts it simply as this: “Management is doing things right. Leadership is about doing the right thing.”

Leaders first and foremost lead with integrity. They are not swayed by false values but hold true to themselves and what is the right thing to do while never losing sight of the long-term vision. Those that follow believe in the dream because it is the right thing to do. Leaders do not have egos.

Leaders are people-positive. They are always looking to find the best in people and help others walk the path to success. These leaders encourage and motivate you to want to do things – and do them right.

Leaders are not negative people. They generate excitement in others. They create leaders.

Coupled with the traits of integrity and people-positive beliefs, leaders tend to be effective communicators. They can motivate others. They are organized. They plan. They take all these skills to reach the vision they have. All of these traits can be learned.

Can you be a leader? The answer is a resounding yes.

Show passion for what you do. Demonstrate integrity. Take responsibility for your actions. Give up control. Believe in yourself. And invest time and energy into honing the skills of leadership so that others will follow you because they want to, not because they have to.

Editor’s note: Dave Favor and Cheryl Leone are principals in Catalyst Group Inc., a national company based in Raleigh, N.C. that provides teaching and training in self-mastery, leadership and development of high-performance law firms. Soaring Eagles is a division of the company focused on paralegal development. They are experienced speakers and trainers. For more information, visit www.catalystgroupinc.com or www.theexpertspeakers.com.

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By Cheryl Leone and Dave Favor

Special to CPN

We have spent this year looking at self-mastery. We started by telling you that taking control of your life allows you to transcend challenges and learn the secrets of soaring to new heights.

We also told you that you will find opportunities to practice self-mastery many times each day. Every moment of your life provides an opportunity to practice expanding your vision, awakening your mind and heart and achieving full responsibility for living, growing and contributing to being the best you can be.

First, we instructed you to define your values. Your core values stabilize you and build the foundation from which you can make good decisions. Values define you, guide you and protect you. They are a powerful message to others about who you are and how you will walk through this life.

We then asked you to develop a vision for yourself. This is where you can allow yourself to dream the impossible dream. It is also where you begin to plan. For us, nothing is more exciting than connecting with someone who wants to change their way of living, define a new future and start realizing that the only impediment to their success was their own negativity.

The key to self-mastery is realizing everyone reacts to a situation emotionally, based on their beliefs.

Fear will always be the first emotion you feel when faced with a problem. How quickly you move through the fear stage will determine how quickly you can gain control of your life and master the obstacles that seem to appear. Fear is a powerful emotion that you have to overcome to get to the other side.

Once you move from fear, you go into a duty mode, where you successfully complete all of the tasks set before you. Most of us like the comfort of the duty mode because it is a strong rope that you can cling to. But you can’t achieve true success without moving on towards what we call the achievement mode.

While fear and duty are your safe modes, operating from the achievement paradigm allows you to truly start to see your possibilities. It gives you a good look at your vision so that you can be all that you can be.

And finally, you get to where you want – self-mastery. You operate with integrity. You have a clear sense of yourself and understand the foundation of your values. You know your purpose. You see yourself for exactly who you are and what you will be.

Every day, we wake up and try to keep our vision and purpose first and foremost in our minds. Sometimes we stay on track. Other times, we find ourselves stuck in first or second gear.

But the more that we keep our eyes on our vision, the easier it seems to handle things that would cause others to shut down. We accept that we can fail – and sometimes we do – but we also know that as long as we walk the path we have laid out for ourselves with a sense of integrity, anchored by our values and the vision of what we are capable of, the end goal seems always within our reach.

One of our readers told us that about halfway through the articles, she suddenly realized that she was saying “Why not?” rather than “Why?” She saw unlimited possibilities where she previously saw limitations. She became the master of her own fate.

Simply put, how you make the journey through life is far more important than the destination.  If you find yourself on the receiving end of an event, remember you can always control how you react.

Editor’s note: Cheryl Leone and Dave Favor are the principals in Catalyst Group, Inc., a national professional development company in Raleigh, N.C. Both speak and write nationally on law firm development and mentor and coach lawyers and paralegals in personal and professional development. Soaring Eagles is the name they apply to law firm personnel when speaking and writing. The company website is www.catalystgroupinc.com. Soaring Eagles blogs can be found at www.lawfirmcoachblog.com.

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