Lawyer Monthly - Women In Law Special Edition

WOMEN IN LAW EDITION LAWYER MONTHLY 97 This is another resource that may not fall squarely within a “leadership book”, but I think the truths discussed in this book are critical for every leader to process. Brown starts with the famous Teddy Roosevelt “In the Arena” speech from 1910, and his encouragement to dare While this may not seem like a typical “leadership book”, I highly recommend everything Gladwell does. The way that Gladwell deconstructs an issue to its core and then pulls profound truths always inspires my creative thinking in the business setting. He often provides very practical advice through his analysis, such as the discussion in his book “Outliers” that it takes at least 10,000 hours of practice or work 12 Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead by Harry Beckwith 10 Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell greatly by actually getting in the arena and striving valiantly. Brown then builds on the idea that if we spend our lives “waiting until we’re perfect or bulletproof before we walk into the arena, we ultimately sacrifice opportunities. She includes many practical resources in this book, in any given area to become a true expert (which is sound advice for young lawyers building their practice). In “Tipping Point”, Gladwell describes “connectors”, “mavens” and “salesmen” that I found useful in application to the legal setting. He also describes the “stickiness factor”, which has helped guide my thinking on creating memorable business development activities for clients and potential clients. Gladwell’s including an “Engaged Feedback Checklist”, “The Daring Greatly Leadership Manifesto” and even a “Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto” that are very useful. I have benefited as a leader by becoming more vulnerable and having the courage to take more informed risks based on Brown’s work. Like Gladwell and Collins, I try to read everything that Lencioni publishes. You cannot go wrong reading “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”, “Death by Meeting” or “The Three Signs of a Miserable Job”, all of which are excellent resources to strengthen your leadership skills. The reason 11 The Advantage: Why Organisational Health Trumps Everything Else’ by Patrick Lencioni I list “The Advantage” as the one to start with is that the book provides an actionable roadmap to building an operationally healthy team or organisation. Lencioni makes the point that organisational health is all about building a cohesive leadership team, establishing clarity among leaders, communicating clearly to everyone within the organization and putting in place enough structure to reinforce this communication going forward. Not only are these critical in leading your group, but this resource provides an excellent actionable playbook. book “Blink” provides great insight into how intuitive judgment to make important decisions is developed by experience, training and knowledge. This has proven valuable to me in more effectively working in a profession that demands rapid-fire decisions. In addition to his writings, Gladwell’s “Revisionist History” podcast likewise consistently inspires my leadership thinking.