The study investigates both the existing and the most desired legal leadership skills and competencies and how these compare to others on the executive team. The subsequent findings will enrich the upcoming Leading with Influence Report published by Global Leaders in Law and Morrison & Foerster.
The research is set in the backdrop of recent geopolitical and socioeconomic shifts under the banner of the Fourth Industrial Revolution which have disrupted and jolted many, including the legal profession, out of the comfort of their past successes. While just six months ago, many CEOs would have attributed trade wars, breakthroughs in automation, AI and cybersecurity threats for keeping them awake at night, today and in the unforeseeable future, the widespread effect of COVID-19 has exacerbated the uncertainty of marketplace conditions even further. The pandemic ceased not only what we understood and felt at our core to be the normal way of living and working, but it also altered the way we build relationships and how we perceive our personal and professional identities.
The timing of the report recognises that these are indeed testing times for leadership. Leadership legacy alone, traditionally etched in long-term business achievements, can now be defined in moments and is increasingly shaped by the expectations of the leader’s humanness judged in carefully watched day-to-day interactions.
The eyes are now firmly fixed on leaders whose role and vision, in times of crisis, underpins how their followers make sense and meaning of their reality. Legal leaders are not exempt. If anything, they occupy a central vantage point with multiple perspectives including being a team leader and a C-Suite influencer and a trusted advisor. With their unique positioning and knowledge, should the legal leaders play a more active and strategic role in the process of the organisational transformation? What thought leadership, leadership competencies and behaviours do they ought to champion and embody to influence in the new normal? What kind of leaders must they be to have motivated, resilient and empowered teams? What does the future require of them to rise up to? These and other questions are the foci of the research and the Leading with Influence Report.
As a thank-you for contributing to the research, all participants are invited to a webinar on how to best lead different personalities and are provided with a summary of their unique personality using Lumina Spark new generation psychometric methodology which avoids stereotyping and helps people to develop a growth mindset, behavioural and emotional agility and to improve relationship skills.
