You know that I talk a lot about leadership skills throughout the various platforms within the Best Friends at the Bar project. Developing positive leadership skills is critically important for young lawyers who hope to ascend the professional ladder of success. And that ascension is not limited to partnership in a law firm. There are many different ladders of success within the profession of law — just as there are many legal practice settings to choose from.

But there is really only one set of leadership skills. No matter who you talk to, you will hear the same fundamental skill set repeated over and over again. Below is the way those skills are described in a recent Above the Law article (in my words with a few editorial comments):

• Encourage and inspire others — As a leader, it is important to be a motivating force for those around you. It starts with being positive about your work and communicating that to others. When your team feels that positivity, you are more likely to achieve success;
• Listen carefully and respond thoughtfully — To lead a team effectively, you must be aware of the needs and concerns of the members of the team. To demonstrate that awareness, you need to listen carefully to people’s concerns and show them that you sincerely value their input. The combination of seeing both sides of an issue and seeking common ground are essential in a strong leader;
• Be decisive — A strong leader needs to make decisions quickly and confidently. As a general rule, there is no room for second guessing. But there are bound to be exceptions, and you must remain flexible to allow for those exceptions. You need to be able to change your mind without letting your ego get in the way;
• Be open to new ideas — Whatever your level of experience and practice, you always can learn and grow. Your team will respect you for understanding that; and
• Be willing to take risks — Risk taking as a leader can present itself in terms of changing the approach to a problem or giving team members the autonomy they need to develop their own skills. If this delicate balance is achieved, it will benefit your team by creating a dynamic and innovative work environment.

Good luck in becoming effective and impressive leaders.

Lawyers attend a lot of meetings, and meeting skills are very important. If executed properly, a lawyer who demonstrates good skills running a meeting will be perceived as a leader. And leaders typically have upwardly mobile career tracks.

Those skills are addressed throughout my work and, most recently, were addressed in an Above The Law article about how to create and manage productive meetings. The following advice for success as a meeting organizer/leader was included in that article.

Set the Table

If you are the person who has called the meeting, have an agenda that includes subjects for discussion and proposed time allotments for the discussion. Make sure all attendees have a copy of the agenda, and make introductory remarks to remind attendees of the background and purpose of the meeting.

For some meetings, where attendees may not all be well-acquainted, ask attendees to introduce themselves and provide brief information about their roles in the conversation or why they were invited to join. If certain items on the agenda are privileged and should not be shared outside the call, make that clear in your introductory remarks.

Then, stick to the agenda as much as possible. Practice the fine art of interrupting in a respectful way in order to keep the discussion on time. If some discussions get off the rail, use those same skills to suggest that the topic is important and can be addressed in a future meeting.

Review Next Steps

As the meeting comes to a close, summarize the discussion, review decisions made, and review next steps. Discuss any “to do” items, the attendees who are responsible for those items , and when responses are due. If appropriate, minutes of the meeting can be sent out as an additional reminder of meeting progress and future expectations.

And don’t forget to schedule the next meeting. Get the date and time on people’s calendars then and there to have the best chance of good attendance at the follow-up meeting.

This all may seem very fundamental to you, but it is the small things, which often are taken for granted, that can be the most problematic. Be organized, have a well thought agenda, stick to it, and run a great meeting. If you follow this advice, you will be on track to be perceived as an effective leader.