I recently completed my quarter 1 review and distilled a few themes from current coaching clients. These themes helped one junior lawyer quit a toxic job (and land an opportunity in a different area of law). They helped two associates, who were let go, transition into new roles. They helped a summer student create an articling position for herself. They helped one mid-level lawyer negotiate a significant salary increase. They helped a seasoned sole practitioner adjust his practice plans. And they helped a senior lawyer address her habit tendencies around billing. Are you curious about what they are?
Here are three themes that all my clients have in common so far this year:
- Know Your Worth: I don’t just mean what salary you should command for your skill level and year of practice (though this is important information). I’m talking about your values – the things that are most important to you that transcend money. Things like trust, authenticity, respect. Allow your personal values to be a compass that steers you to opportunities/people and, sometimes more important, away from opportunities/people. Here’s my favourite exercise on how to discover your unique set of values.
- Establish Your Own Board of Directors: there is accomplishment through many advisers. You want to develop a network of people, who specialize in various things, whom you can count on for direction (and in turn, be one to someone else). Sometimes this requires paying for services in addition to seeking advice from colleagues and friends. These are going to be the people who can help you test out ideas, learn about new roles, provide inspiration and so much more. For more information, check out “Want to Advance in Your Career? Build Your Own Board of Directors.”
- Be Careful in How You Talk to Yourself: we all have internal dialogues that narrate our day. Negative self-talk, however, can devastate our confidence and limit our potential. And the unfortunate truth is that our brain has a negativity bias. Learning to question and correct our thoughts is therefore imperative! There are so many schools of thought on how to eliminate negative thinking. Here’s one example on “How to Transcend Self-Doubt and Negative Self-Talk.”
How can these three themes help you in your career?
If you’re looking to implement these themes, let’s talk about working together.
