3 Leadership Takeaways from the Economist Conference
This week I was invited to attend the Economist’s General Counsel conference with my O Shaped Lawyer hat on. A real life, in person Conference. The excitement!
Much of the debate focused on the leadership role that General Counsel can and should be taking, and there were some powerful takeaways for leadership in general.
Human skills are key
I must confess some involvement in this one. During the Panel discussion on the skills needed to succeed, the term ‘soft skills’ was used a few times. I expressed my frustration with the use of this term, and suggested instead that we refer to them as human skills. This term was then used for the rest of the day. :) (For those who are interested in why this is so important, Simon Sinek articulates it brilliantly in this short video here )
The human skills specifically identified were:
developing trust - with a focus on competence, credibility and compassion;
the importance of really listening - and how we are usually not as good at this as we think we are;
the ability to have honest conversations - ensuring that you signpost the negative as well as the positive in a way that is clear and upfront;
demonstrating empathy - a senior partner of one of the biggest law firms in the world discussed with me the fact that the post he had shared on linkedin relating to empathy received more views than any other he had shared.
Good Teams Around You
I heard this emphasised throughout the day: it is very hard to step up to a leadership role if you don’t have a good team around you. This doesn’t mean that everyone has to be the same or get on brilliantly, but that you have the right people in the right roles and there is a good level of trust and respect. The importance of good teams has been emphasised even more during the Pandemic, as has the need to build in time with the team that is not just focused on work matters, but continues to build and reinforce an understanding of team members as people.
Business really does listen to sport…
Recently I had a conversation with an elite national coach where we discussed the dangers of the phrase ‘best practice’. It suggests that it is something that is finite, that cannot be bettered. Of course elite sport is focused on continuous improvement, so this coach was really not a fan of this term. Best practice was widely referred to during the Conference. I had a quiet word with the Editor afterwards and explained the content of the conversation above. He listened carefully, and then declared that he would shamelessly steal and share this (you can tell from his alliteration that he is an editor…). For those of you reading this who are in the sports sector, this is welcome evidence that good practice from the sports sector really is respected and well received in the business sector.
For more on this or any aspect of leadership, with a healthy dose of mindset, sport, and I hope usefulness thrown in, do feel free to browse through all the articles in the Huddle, or get in touch with me directly on catherine@sportandbeyond.co.uk