Professional Development: Take Time to Sharpen the Saw!

Focus on the Network

When I was an in-house Chief Marketing Officer, networking was one area that I let slide. This was a big mistake. Everybody in this business needs a strong network. In fact, most people who are in leadership roles like yours likely know a ton of people. The two questions to ask yourself are:

1. “Does my network include the right people?”
2. “Am I doing a good job of proactively managing the network?”

In my case, it wasn't that I didn't know a lot of people ' many of them were the right people ' but the fact is that I didn't proactively manage my contacts. As a result, when I joined LawVision, I very nearly had to start from scratch with respect to reaching out to my network, spending most of my time “reconnecting” rather than building upon my long-established and well-managed relationships.

Proactive network/contact management is something that we strongly emphasize with our lawyer clients. The fact is that it's equally as important for everyone ' the business development & marketing professionals, the finance professionals, human resources, professional development, etc.

We find that most people these days take a passive, ad-hoc approach to network management, resulting in low visibility and weak connectivity. Sharpen your saw in this area by writing down the top 25 “people who matter” and create a touchpoint campaign whereby you have planned outreach to these individuals on a routine basis. We, at LawVision, believe that a best practice is to “rank” these contacts (e.g., 1,2,3 or A, B, C) assigning various frequency of contact based upon that ranking. Improving the manner in which you actively manage your network is a great use of your time.

Build Your Bio

We tell our lawyers, as you likely do, that their respective biography is their “sell sheet”; it's the number one reason that a prospective client visits the website; it's critically important to keep speaking engagements, publications, etc. on their bio updated, etc. Sound familiar? I thought so.

When was the last time you updated your own bio? Forgetting the bio for a moment, when was the last time you took time out of your busy schedule to take a class, seminar, or even non-work related education ' for you? It's very easy to get sucked into the time-demand vortex, forgetting to sharpen your saw.

There are several categories to choose from as you focus on building the bio; learning about new technology tools, take classes at the local college, become a leader of an organization, etc. Personally, I chose to get my pilot's license. The reasons that I chose this option were many, but the most important was that it was SO different from anything else that I was doing and, as such, was a major distraction from my work commitments. Ironically, the discipline learned through that rigorous program helped me in my day-to-day work.

Finally, as it turns out, several of my lawyer clients are pilots, too, which facilitates connectivity. So, building your bio is more than simply adding accreditations to your resume. To sharpen the saw in this area, you could do something that is totally separate from work and is just something that you've always wanted to do, just make sure that you take the time to do it.

Help Others Sharpen Their Saws

Just as it's easy for marketing and business development leadership to get buried in the day-to-day, members of the team can fall victim to the same fate. In fact, in many cases, it is a lot easier for the more junior members to focus so much on the tactical execution that they don't rise above the tree line, recognizing the importance of keeping their saw sharp.

It's up to you as leaders to make them aware of the value of this type of activity and, more importantly, to make sure that they know that it's ok for them to engage in it. Although I support the notion that individuals should identify areas for self-improvement and the respective vehicles through which the self-improvement is delivered, but proactively suggesting areas for improvement, even if it's as simple as recommending a book to read (“7 Habits!”) is very important to do. Having these conversations with your team members will help them with their respective saw, but will also help you sharpen your leadership saw.

Conclusion

Professional development is a very important component of overall success, but is often overlooked due to everyday demands and daily hand-to-hand combat. It's important to remember to keep a good balance between the tactical and the strategic in just about everything you do.

Keep in mind that the tactical is expected activity, but the strategic is where the real value is. A good mix of strategic activities includes an element of professional development, whether, as Covey would say, it's “spiritual, mental, physical, or social/emotional.” Take time out for yourself, of course, but be sure that you are reinforcing the importance of taking the time to “sharpen the saw” to your team members, your contemporaries, and possibly even your supervisor. This habit is one of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” that can have a major impact on the other six which will maximize your chances of being “highly effective.”

Bruce Alltop, a member of this newsletter's Board of Editors, is a Senior Consultant at LawVision Group. He helps firms with client retention and growth as well as with new business development. He may be reached at [email protected].