With Responsibility Comes Opportunity
The General Counsel position comes not only with great responsibility, but it also comes with great opportunity. As a General Counsel, you have an opportunity to impact your company in a way other executive-level leaders can’t because of the unique nature of your position.
Because you work closely with everyone in the company, you are often in a position where you can often bridge the gap between the managers and the managed.
How do you bridge that gap?
YOU LEARN ABOUT YOUR COMPANY’S BUSINESS
To serve your company well, you need to know not only about the company’s business, vision, mission, and goals, you also need to understand something about your company’s customers.
YOU GET TO KNOW YOUR CLIENTS – ALL OF THEM.
While it is important to remember that the company is the client, it is also important to also remember that to fully serve the company, you need to serve your internal business partners within the company as though they were your clients. To serve these clients, you need to become familiar with what they do.
YOU GET TO KNOW WHERE YOUR CLIENTS WORK – ALL OF THEM.
When you visit your clients where they work, you need to take the time to tour their area and understand more about their role in the company’s business operations. The more you know about your client, what your client does, and where they do it, the better position you will be in to help if, and when, issues arise.
You Regularly Attend Departmental Meetings.
Take the time to attend departmental meetings. If you are present when issues are discussed and solutions are proposed, you will have a chance to spot potential issues and address them proactively.
You Take The Time To Get Familiar With Your Company’s Past Legal Issues.
When you first assume the role of General Counsel, you will likely talk with company leaders to discuss the company’s past legal issues, the company’s current legal issues, as well as any potential areas of concern. When you are cognizant of these issues past and present, you are perfectly positioned to help prevent future problems.
You Work Collaboratively With Your Clients To Solve Problems.
As a leader, you work hard to establish open, honest, and professional relationships will all your clients. You need to take the initiative to ensure that communication flows freely and regularly in both directions. When your client comes to you with issues, you work collaboratively with them to find solutions. You ask your client what your client thinks of the problem and how your client believes the problem should be solved.
You Give A Voice To The Voiceless When You Take Your Seat With The Executive-Level Leadership Staff.
When you take your seat at the leadership table with the company’s executive-level leaders, you have a perspective not many people at that table will have. Unlike many of the executive-level leaders at the table, you will have a broader understanding of the company’s business operations and the business challenges. Armed with this understanding, you have the opportunity to become a voice to those internal clients not sitting at the table.
When you do your job responsibly and thoroughly, you provide value to the executive leadership team because you can share information that will help the leadership team make well-reasoned fact-based decisions that will best serve the interests of your client – all of them.
Whatever you do, don’t squander your opportunity!
For the full article go to: Above the Law.
