Podcast Ep. 25: How To Get Proactive As A Woman Lawyer

I was coaching a client a couple of months ago when she asked me a question that stayed with me:

What do you do if you are not naturally proactive?

It came up in the context of her becoming a partner in her law firm. She could see other lawyers building relationships with partners, taking clients out for lunch and putting themselves forward for opportunities. She knew she should probably be doing more of these things, but she just could not seem to make herself do them.

So what is proactivity, and why does it matter?

What does it mean to be proactive?

Proactivity is about taking charge, initiating action and preparing for the future rather than simply reacting to what happens.

A lot of legal work is naturally reactive. You respond to clients, meet deadlines and deal with whatever lands on your desk.

But there is another kind of proactivity that is about how you run your career.

It might mean building relationships within your firm or your industry. It might mean developing your profile, building a client base or looking for ways to improve how your team or firm works.

If you want to become a partner, build your own practice or develop your client base, this kind of proactivity becomes particularly important.

But you do not have to be proactive.

Maybe you are happy concentrating on your client work. Maybe you do not want the visibility or responsibility that comes with partnership. Perhaps you work alongside a rainmaker and being the service partner suits you perfectly.

If you have found a way of working that makes you happy, congratulations. That is not something to underestimate.

But if you do want more, then you need to take action.

So what is stopping you?

If you know what you want to do but cannot seem to make yourself do it, there may be something else going on.

Perhaps you are not actually sure that you want to be a partner.

Perhaps you want partnership, but you also want to be present for your children while they are young.

Perhaps you want greater visibility, but you are worried that people will reject you if you ask them for coffee or lunch.

Or perhaps the goal simply feels too big. If you do not know where to start, it becomes very easy not to start at all.

This is why I do not think it is particularly helpful to tell yourself that you are simply not proactive.

You probably are proactive in many areas of your life. You may just be struggling to be proactive in the particular direction you want to go.

And sometimes the first step is to understand what is getting in your way.

Start small

Once you know what you want, bring it down to the very next step.

You do not need to build an entire client base this week.

You might simply reach out to one potential client.

You might ask one partner to have coffee with you.

You might speak to your marketing team about an upcoming conference.

The important thing is to make the action small enough that you can actually do it.

Then put it in your diary.

If something important is sitting at number eight on your to do list, it will always lose out to clients, the firm and your family.

Schedule the time to take that next step and you are much more likely to do it.

Build your confidence

One of the biggest obstacles to being proactive is not believing in yourself.

When you trust your own judgement, you are more willing to take action. And when you take action and it goes well, your confidence grows.

That creates a virtuous circle.

You try something. It works. Your confidence increases. You become willing to try something a little more ambitious.

You do not need to do everything at once.

In fact, you cannot.

I have had to learn this myself. I am interested in a lot of things, and I have had to learn to say no or later because there are only so many things I can do at once.

Being proactive is not about doing everything.

It is about taking charge of your career and your life, deciding what matters to you and taking action towards it.

A simple exercise

Think of one proactive action you have been putting off.

Maybe it is reaching out to a potential client. Maybe it is asking a partner for coffee. Maybe it is putting yourself forward for a speaking opportunity.

Then ask yourself:

What is holding me back?

Is there a part of you that does not actually want this?

Are you afraid of rejection?

Are you worried about what might happen if you succeed?

Once you have noticed what is going on, decide whether you still want to take the action.

If you do, open your diary and schedule 15 or 30 minutes to take that very next step.

Then notice what happens.

If you do it, notice how it feels.

If you do not, look at what got in the way. That is useful information.

Because becoming more proactive is not about forcing yourself to do more and more.

It is about understanding what you want, understanding what is holding you back and then taking one step at a time.