Using Your Super Power and Being Indispensable.

As part of my summer concentration on books written by Seth Godin, I recently read his 2010 Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?  It ties to many of the themes I summarized in my post,“Leaning In” as a Woman Lawyer, found here.

 

Godin argues that with so many means of direct communication with so many different “tribes” in a hyper-competitive world, each one of us can make an indispensable contribution, as a linchpin, to a business, art, project, or something we care deeply about.  You have the choice of being indispensable.  Just make it.

He defines linchpins as the “people who own their own means of production, who can make a difference, lead us, and connect us.”  “The linchpin is an individual who can walk into chaos and create order, someone who can invent, connect, create, and make things happen.  Every worthwhile institution has indispensable people who make differences like these.”   They are artists and givers of gifts.  They bring humanity to work.  They have vision and engagement.  They help the organization fulfill its mission.

We live in a revolutionary time that gives each one of us the opportunity to bring our “best sel[ves] to the marketplace and be rewarded for it.”   Each one of us can chart our own path and create value as we go. 

But the path involves difficult work.  The tasks require “maturity and soul and personal strength.”  And, you must be motivated by the right reasons.  You must be “brave enough to make a difference.”    You must be bold and think bigger.  

Linchpins do not wait for instructions, but identify and choose the next steps.   They can chart those steps with confidence because linchpins “understand their subject so deeply.”

The linchpin understands that the work requires him or her to make something happen every single day!  Knowing that “changes what you do all day.”  So many opportunities exist to lead.  So many things need to be done.  So many situations offer a way to contribute. 

  

The seven abilities of the linchpin are:

• Providing unique interface between members of the organization;
• Delivering unique creativity;
• Managing a situation or organization of great complexity;
• Leading customers;
• Inspiring staff;
• Providing deep domain knowledge;
• Possessing a unique talent.  It’s a superpower!

“The 'super' part and the 'power' part come not from something you’re born with, but from something you choose to do, and more important[ly], from something you choose to give.”

The work connects the linchpin to others.   When the work fails to connect with others, the linchpin has received the signal to create new work that will.  Godin advises to make the choice of a linchpin again and again.  Learn from what you did and then create something else. 

In contrast, most individuals respond to the messages of their “lizard brains” and avoid situations that feel risky, threatening, difficult, or generous.   These folks “want [a] pretty safe skill to be enough.  Enough to make you valued, enough to make you fairly paid, enough to make your life stable.  But it’s not.  It’s not enough because in a very connected, very competitive marketplace, there are plenty of people with your pretty safe skill.”   

Amen.  Choose to be remarkable.  Choose to be indispensable.  

"Leaning In" as a Woman Lawyer

The June 2013 issue of the ABA Magazine features women who have ascended to the heights of law firm management.  It profiles seven women who currently operate as the managing partner in medium to ubber-large law firms.  Most of the women are in their late 40’s or early 50s, and they talk about the choices they made to get these positions in their firms.  I want to share some of their comments:

• Most importantly: Ask to take on the management responsibilities as your skills and credibility expand.  Don’t wait to be asked! 
• “Lean in.”  Do it consistently over a long period of time. 
• Actively create the future you want for yourself.
• Avoid any distractions from your top priorities.  Develop laser focus on your goals.
• Establish your credibility by being a very good lawyer who works hard.  Have a “dogged” work ethic.
• Build a lucrative book of business that gives you economic power within the firm.
• Show you have a “business mind” as well as a “practical legal mind.”
• Advance the agenda of the firm.  Consistently add value.
• Gravitate toward the most complex legal matters or cases in the firm.  Ask to work on those tough cases where partners will notice you.  Make sure you stay in the spotlight.
• Be “a master at relationships.”
• Educate yourself about the psychology of “people, relationships, and the impact of fear on their choices and actions.”
• Be a good firm citizen, by working well with others and by acknowledging the rules of the firm. But, do not be afraid to help change the rules that may keep women from finding the work-life balance they need to succeed.  
• Accept that a work-life balance will still require you to work towards your professional goals with commitment, but that at different times in your life you may have different priorities.
• One managing partner is quoted saying:  “When we talk about work-life balance, it’s all life.  It’s doing what you do at certain points in your life because those are your priorities.  And that’s where you figure out your balance.” 
• Be brave.   Ask for what you need to excel.   
• If your firm won’t give you what you need to thrive, you may need to move to a new firm. 
• Take risks!
• Ask your male colleagues for help.  “[T]ake the team concept to heart.”
• Turn a deaf ear to social pressures.  If you need to feed your family every night at 9:30 p.m., then do so.  Who says dinner has to be at 6 p.m.?
• Do not succumb to self-inflicted guilt about not spending enough time with your family.  Ask for help, either by hiring a good nanny, by using a great housekeeper, or by marrying a man who truly takes on 50 percent of the responsibilities at home. 
• Marry a man who supports your career aspirations.  If your spouse does not support those aspirations, it may be time for a new spouse or the single life.
• Assume the role of legal technologist.  Push the firm to update software, web platforms, and client communication systems. 
• Help the firm get on top of the sea changes happening in the profession.
• Be a good listener and a good communicator.
• Be more present in meetings with partners by listening, focusing on their concerns, understanding their motivations, and participating more actively.  Take a seat at the conference table and engage.
• See business possibilities in those conversations with partners.  Lead the efforts to capitalize on those possibilities. 
• Understand that leadership is about integrity “and the willingness of others to follow because they think you’re interested and will listen to them and represent their interests and needs best.” 

Gee.  Sounds like the subjects I teach in our dispute resolution program prepare our students well –  whether men or women – for lofty positions in law firms.  So grads, trust yourself and your training.  Lean in.