By: Kelly Margani
We all want to see people succeed, however, along the journey we often see our colleagues encounter barriers to their success. So, how can we effectively support others in overcoming these hurdles and unlocking their full potential?
Did you know?
The single biggest barrier to success is the self-limiting beliefs that lawyers have about what they are capable, or worthy, of creating. They don’t question whether they’re great at the technical work of being lawyers, but they question a lot of the other stuff. And the second barrier is that they don’t really know, with the right degree of specificity, what they really want to create (really, really want to create, really, really specifically).
They question the amount of time they have to focus on creating the life they want, building the practice they aspire to have or reaching for the goals they have for themselves (or figuring out what those goals are, even). They know how to do what they do in their practice exceptionally well. But the ‘why’ behind what they’re doing or for what purpose, or the ‘how’ of getting there, often eludes them.
And they don’t know with real precision what they want to achieve. Sure they know they want to have a ‘self-sustaining’ practice, they want to be ‘happy’, have ‘balance’, make ‘money’. But they don’t quantify or define those things - or even know where to begin to do that.
We’ve worked with thousands of lawyers through our one-on-one coaching programs, and we see a lot of trends. Lawyers who come in with thoughts such as:
I don’t have time to do the things I need to do to build my book, I’m too busy with my files.
I don’t really know what I’m trying to build or do or become - besides the day to day of the work. I don’t know what goals I have outside of that.
I hate speaking, I don’t have time to write and I don’t use social media, so I can’t be a thought leader.
No one outside of my specialized market wants to hear what I have to say, so why would I write or speak or post about it, anyway?
I hate ‘networking’, I’m an introvert, so I can’t grow my own book. I’ll just have to do work for others’ clients instead.
I want to specialize in my practice, but I’m too busy doing all the work I have to think about how to do that.
I want better balance in my life but I don’t have any time for the things I want to do, or the people I want to spend time with.
I’ve tried it all, nothing works, so I’m stuck.
I might not actually want to be a lawyer anymore - but I don’t know what else I’d be able to do.
I see everyone else building their books/reaching their goals/making connections (insert activity here) so easily. Why is it so hard for me? I’m doing everything I see others do and it’s not working!
The list goes on - we couldn’t possibly list all of the limiting thoughts or barriers we hear about here (we could write a book though! Stay tuned…) But the common thread here is, we all have barriers. Every single one of our clients comes to us with more barriers than ways to deal with them. So we work with them to start to make sense of the mountains that stand in their way, and figure out how to move them, one rock at a time.
How can you help your lawyers remove their barriers and get really clear about what it is they really, really want? Get them to start to think differently. Start with the end in mind. Create a vision for the kind of life and practice they want to have, one that is both successful and fulfilling - to them. Have them define what success and fulfillment mean to them, as individuals, and stop chasing the success and fulfillment that others (appear to) have. And then start to chart the path there. One step at a time. Removing one rock at a time. Defining one metric of success at a time.
Encourage your lawyers to understand that defining and planning for their success is the single biggest act of service - to themselves - that they can undertake. And that by being of service to their vision for the future, they will be better positioned to be of service to every other part of their life and work. To their clients, the firm, their families, etc. By believing that barriers are opportunities to see what isn’t working, and provide a brilliant opportunity to find solutions, they can address themselves to getting into action rather than sitting in the boundaries of their limitations. And by knowing clearly what it is they truly want, they can more easily take the necessary steps to get it.
Here’s what we’ve heard from just one of our hundreds of happy one-on-one coaching clients:
“I feel so good now and I have felt incrementally better and better over the course of this process. When we started, I would never have believed that I would feel like I do now - able to identify and set clear, meaningful goals for myself that I truly believe will help me grow my business and actually see myself being able to achieve them.” -Lawyer 10+ years-
Here are some of our favourite books on removing barriers to success, one step at a time. We hope you (and others in your firm) enjoy them!
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