Tag Archive for: Networking

Forming and Keeping Women’s Initiative Programs: Tips from the Trenches

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Image via Shutterstock

Image via Shutterstock

You know we have to focus on a problem when the number of men and women starting off in law firms is 50/50 but then women are only at a 22% partnership level,” Shira Nadich Levin, partner at Cooley LLP alerted a special seminar of the Legal Marketing Association’s Metro New York chapter dedicated to developing business for female lawyers.

The solution? Some suggest that a Women’s Initiative can go a long way in helping solve this issue.

But how do you start one and, harder still, how do you keep it going? Here are some anecdotes from the event that hold true all year around.

Ms. Levin, who chairs Cooley’s Women’s Initiative, along with Julie Cohen, Marketing Director at Sidley Austin LLP; and Tracy Fink, Director of CohnReznick’s Executive Women’s Forum (EWF) offered their advice and experiences to an audience in position to effect change – business development leaders at many of the top law firms. Their top tips included:

Tip #1 Start with a clear mission and stick with it. “We plan meaningful events and experiences that create value to those who attend,” said Ms. Fink about the mission of the Executive Women’s Forum, which she created as a business development initiative for CohnReznick, the accounting firm where she was in a marketing director role.
Ms. Fink formed the EWF a little less than a decade ago, when women’s initiatives were not as prevalent as they are now. Women were struggling with balancing their lives and “we didn’t have Millennials who were very vocal about the workplace.” The Forum has since become a huge success, aligning with the strategic goals of each office, including bringing in business, enhancing the firm’s brand, and creating a haven for female employees and clients to develop and deepen relationships.

Tip #2 Be flexible and listen to your members. Ms. Fink envisioned that the Forum would offer events on substantive issues. What she found is that “women came and said, ‘we want to talk about what really matters in our lives.’” So, programs today are an eclectic mix of business and life skills, such as the power of kindness, mindfulness in the workplace, and a women’s golf event. “Through the EWF, we’ve introduced more than 350 women to golf,” she stated.

Tip #3 Think of events that allow members to “loosen up.” One particularly successful event that Ms. Cohen hosted for her group at Sidley featured a female poker expert who taught the group how to play poker and use poker skills to present themselves to clients and peers. “We had more than 150 people. The women were letting their guard down, and they used the time to connect with clients,” she related. The program received such great feedback that the group did a follow-up event a few months later for an “open play” poker session that attracted even more attendees.

Tip #4 If a program doesn’t work, don’t be afraid to tweak it. Cooley’s Women’s Initiative replaced their traditional mentoring program with what it calls “connection circles.” They firm came up with this, explained Ms. Levin, when the members realized a strict mentoring program that paired mentors to mentees was not effective enough and required constant follow-up with each mentor to make sure the system was working. The firm instead created groups of eight to 11 female members at various levels who get together informally. “We even planned somebody’s wedding at our last gathering,” she joked. But these gatherings enable the members to form much better connections than one-on-one pairings.

Tip # 5 Seek creative solutions to members’ problems. The Cooley’s Women’s Initiative created the liaison program as another way to improve life at the office for women attorneys. This program came about in a year when several young women happened to take maternity leave at the same time. When they returned, the women all felt that their re-entry was not really noticed. The firm, as a result, now assigns a liaison to each woman on leave to keep in touch during her leave and help with issues upon her return. “It has made a complete difference with little effort,” Ms. Levin reported.

Tip # 6 Pay no heed to the naysayers. All three panelists cited the usual resistance from within the firm: why should there be a group just for women? “Because,” said Ms. Fink, “when women succeed, everyone wins.” In a professional world where clients expect diversity from their law firms, “creating that culture is important,” said Ms. Cohen. “There’s no shortage of information on the business case for diversity,” Ms. Levin added.

“Creating a committee won’t solve all your problems,” stated Ms. Cohen, “but you can empower women to go up to the men who meet on their own and say ‘I’d like to join you next time.’”
Rosemarie Yu is Principal of Yu Communications, a New York-based communications consultancy specializing in professional services. She can be reached at ryu@yucommunications.com

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How to maintain your professional network

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Professional-networking-advice featuredBy Zoe Anderson

You’re busy all the time. Between your career goals, life, friends and family, you don’t even have the opportunity to reward yourself for all of your hard work with a pedicure or a glass of wine. How do other women do it? It seems like so many succeed without ever needing to take time out for a breather. The answer is: having a strong professional network to lean on. Keeping in touch with important, influential individuals means you won’t have to work so hard to know of upcoming opportunities to advance your career.

Be easy to find

If you aren’t easy to find, people aren’t going to find you. No one wants to go out of their way scouring the earth for you, but there are plenty of people who would like to build connections with you, provided that you’re in their line of sight. Keep contact with former co-workers and connect with as many key players as possible.

Value quality over quantity

Agonizing over your relationship with a file clerk is going to be a drain on your energy, unless you really enjoy that person’s friendship. A large number of networking acquaintances doesn’t necessarily improve your prospects – it’s more about how said acquaintances can help you. Prioritize your business relationships with influential people, and don’t worry so much about those who won’t be able to provide you with much assistance.

Regularly update on social media

You need to keep yourself fresh in everyone’s minds. If you have a LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook that you use specifically for professional purposes, don’t just scroll through everyone’s updates and log out. You need to take time to interact with people. Retweet, like, share, and make plenty of your own relevant posts. You want people to feel like they know you, and like you have a reliable rapport. When an opportunity comes up and they have some information to spread, you’ll already be on their minds!

Make yourself an authority

There is no better way to gain clout than to build a reputation as an industry leader and voice of authority. Always stay abreast of industry changes and trends. Read about new technology and innovations. Create a blog with helpful resources such as infographics, FAQs, and archived interviews that your colleagues can reference. Regularly updating your content not only strengthens your authority in your field, it can also boost your SEO presence, which allows the right people to find you. If you’re present enough online, opportunities may present themselves to you without you having to go out and find them.

Speak highly of others

Speaking highly of others is a cornerstone of mutually beneficial relationships. If you know someone who needs work done, or a specific kind of consultation, you should be thinking about which person in your professional circles you can refer them to. Sending customers and clients in the direction will help people perceive you as a great knowledge resource to tap, whilst simultaneously creating a high level of respect for your opinions and views. They’ll be more likely to remember you when the time comes if you’ve done something to improve their livelihood. Consider who is worthy of your honest personal recommendation, and always take multiple business cards to hand out from those you believe are worthy.

Make plans

It always helps to put a face to a name. The internet has taken over a lot of business affairs, and because of this, we mostly know people by their profile pictures and the content they post. Try to arrange to do something in person with your network, bimonthly at the very least. Seminars, meetings, or company parties are helpful ways to strengthen your networks and put a name to a face. You may find events you can sit in on, or even a corporate softball game you can attend. This gives you the opportunity not only to help keep you top of mind, but also to make some great first impressions.

Most of these things are easily achievable. They don’t require a ton of effort on your part if you can create an environment that’s beneficial for everyone. Since you can do most of these things from home in your free time, this means you’ll still be able to order some takeout, watch Netflix, and catch a little bit of a break from your exhausting life.

Zoe Anderson is a marketing assistant at StudySelect. She’s keen on learning about new branding strategies and digital marketing tools.
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How networks can increase motivation, well-being and even increase performance

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Professional-networking-advice featuredLast week we talked about how having psychological safety at work is a key to feeling happy and performing well. We have also talked about employees networks recently and there is a case to say that the two are connected and if you can find support and connection here, then why not join one? They could be good for the soul and tangibly useful for tips to advance and a place to find mentors and sponsors. Maybe chatting with peers around a number of subjects will be valuable to you, ranging from social matters such as juggling parental/elder care commitments to a specific project that you want to talk more about. Either way, networks create space and time to talk in, learn in and connect with others in.

It is worth noting three things about networks though. Firstly, not everyone is created with the same amount of desire for contact and affiliation and it is wrong to assume that your need to feel part of something is equal to the next person. As an executive coach, I firmly believe that you should know yourself first ( psychometric tests will help us give your data back to you on this matter).
Secondly, it is also wrong to assume that all women are this or that. We are individuals with varying degrees of extraversion, confidence etc just as men are. What is systemic are the assumptions around what we are however and that is where you get to choose how to fill in the gaps when people think they know you. Remember you, according to you and you according to them are sometimes distant cousins.

By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist

Contact nicki@glasshammer2.wpengine.com if you would like to hire a coach to help you navigate your career

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4 Reasons to get involved in your women’s network (or other Employee Resource Group at work)

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Professional-networking-advice featuredLast week, I rather scathingly pointed out that taking on the responsibility to hire and promote women via your women’s network was to put it diplomatically, a long haul strategy.

This week I am going to outline what you should do in your network (and why you should join it)

  1. Advocacy is a powerful tool- advocating for an issue to be paid attention to is often where change starts. Advocating for others is powerful also (sponsorship) and finally advocating for yourself is crucial, raise you hand and put yourself out there for the next promotion or job.
  2. Personal visibility and access to people you would not otherwise have access to (this is a way to start a conversation with senior people)
  3. Networking with each other – peer, higher and reverse mentoring and connections are always a good thing to propel you forward in everyday work – knowing who to ask to get stuff done is what it is all about.
  4. Learning in a specific container creates mental and physical space, hence we hold panels at theglasshammer.com where people can mark time in their calendar to learn new insights.

More on this all summer long.

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Celebrating the sisterhood: the power of female networks

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survey-network-women1

By Nneka Orji

Female friendships have always received perhaps more than their fair share of scrutiny; from frenemies to friends for ever, the spectrum of female friendships has been explored over the years. In their recent TED interview, actresses Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin reflect on the “renewable source of power” which female friendships bring. Yet if it’s not the Queen Bee syndrome, society still leans towards finding some form of controversy in female relationships. Is this scrutiny justified?

As we celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day (#IWD2016 #PledgeForParity), it’s time to adjust the spotlight on female relationships to showcase the positive effects female-female relationships have had and continue to have on the journey to greater parity. The Canadian feminist and author, Nellie McClung said: “[w]omen are going to form a chain, a greater sisterhood than the world has ever known.” This chain – aka the sisterhood – manifests itself today in the form of female mentors, women’s networks and friendships. They serve not only to push the diversity agenda forward, but also to support women in overcoming those barriers that still exist and to promote women to ensure our societies reach their full potential.

Not just another talking shop

Although some dismiss women’s networks and events such as IWD as talking shops with no clear purpose and potentially detrimental to the inclusion of men in the debate, studies show the opposite. Turknett Leadership Group, a talent management organisation, published a study in 2012 which linked participation in women’s networks with “high levels of career-related social support, a greater sense of well-being and more positive attitudes toward the organisation or company for whom the woman works.”

Initiatives such as Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In Circles serve to highlight the value some place on networking with other women – professionals and others. With over 26,000 Circles in 140 countries, women are engaging with each other in supportive networks across the globe. According to Sandberg’s Lean In website, 85% of Lean In Circle members “credit their Circle with a positive change in their life”.

As a result of the increased focus on diversity within organisations, leaders have invested more in gender-focused initiatives in the past few years. The added scrutiny organisations face as a result of reports such as the Lord Davies’ review in the UK, have led them to prioritise the gender inequalities – both real and perceived. Yet in their 2013 paper in which they shared the results of interviews within one global organisation, academics O’Neil, Hopkins and Sullivan found that there was a difference in the perception of the value of women’s networks in contributing to the organisation’s strategic goals. While the female network members felt that there was strong alignment between the network and the organisation’s wider goals, leaders in the executive teams “did not recognise the network’s possible effects on the firm’s bottom line”.

Out with the networks?

This idea on return on investment from diversity programmes and initiatives has been at the heart of the narrative – particularly across large corporates. However, according to a recent article in The Economist, organisations are starting to suffer from “diversity fatigue”. Diversity is becoming an over-used term and a tick-box exercise, leading to reduced levels of genuine engagement and more damningly, less significant impact on the sustainable change needed for a more inclusive culture. So should we tone down the emphasis on what remains a critical issue globally?

It is perhaps easy to fall into this cynical mindset; with the volume of articles such as this one and the number of women’s events (consider the number of IWD events you will come across), switching off may be the natural consequence of the increased focus on gender issues. However, it would be a missed opportunity to approach this important issue in such a passive manner.

Networks and networking are still important factors in career advancement, which in the long term should lead to the currently elusive goal of parity. Research has consistently shown that women network differently to men. Last year, Lily Fang of INSEAD published the results of her study which looked at the relationship between connections and career advancement across male and female colleagues. Despite being equally well connected, in terms of relationships with senior leaders and members of the executive team, female analysts were less likely to reap the rewards in terms of advancement than their male peers. However, the results did show that those women with a connection to a female executive outperformed those women with no female connection, albeit only marginally.

And it’s not just theoretical studies; examples abound of women who have been inspired, mentored and sponsored by more experienced female leaders. Oprah once told Barbara Walters during an interview: “Had there not been you, there never would have been me.”

Here’s to the sisterhood

Of course there will be situations where female colleagues don’t get along, in the same way that some male colleagues don’t gel. But why is there so much more coverage on the negative experiences of female colleagues and groups? Kelly Vallen’s experiences, which she shared in her book “The Twisted Sisterhood”, does resonate with a number of women. Yes there are “mean girls”, but there are “mean boys” too. The undue scrutiny on the former is misleading and detrimental to the general narrative around women in the workplace.

There are numerous studies which show that women do proactively support other women. A Catalyst report showed that far from pulling up the ladder behind them, 73% of women who are developing the next generation of talent, are focused on developing women.

In this enthusiasm to embrace the sisterhood, we must not forget the men. Some of the most committed sponsors of female leaders today have been or are currently being mentored and sponsored by men. Sheryl Sandberg and Larry Summers, Angela Merkel and Helmut Kohl. The role of men in achieving parity in the workplace and beyond is critical to success.

So this IWD, let us (men and women) celebrate the sisterhood – to keeping that chain unbroken and using it to pull up the next generation of women.

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Build Your Personal Brand in 30 Seconds

Personal BrandWhat can take you about 30 seconds to do? Maybe apply your favorite shade of red lipstick, lace up your running shoes for a run in the park, or send a text message to your best friend on how your day is going. All mundane, non-consequential personal activities we may do on a daily basis. But what if you only had 30 seconds to make a personal impression that impacted your entire professional life, including your career advancement, your compensation and what your superiors thought about your personality and career objectives?

Read more

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Virtual networking, does it work?

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woman on the phone featuredLinkedIn and other online networks are really good ways to maintain your contacts and yes some people do accept connections from people they don’t really know but the fact remains that humans still prefer actual relationships over virtual ones when it comes to getting business done. It is necessary to have a digital presence, think of it as an online resume and personal branding plays a role, but it is what you do with those connections that matter. Ask people to lunch, coffee and in-person networking events so that you can explore mutual interests because fruitful relationships that have a quid pro quo is the way to truly succeed, advance and make lasting contacts.

By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist

Contact nicki@theglasshammer.com if you would like to hire an executive coach to help you navigate the path to optimal personal success at work

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The “Other” Social Network – Events Build Business for Lawyers

networkingThe goal of women’s networks can run the gamut. One strategy that many financial institutions and law firms have followed is to use women’s networks and women’s initiatives as a way to build business. For the individual, a book of business and a high billing reputation can very much create a more equal playing field. This is one way to ensure that women in revenue functions get credit for their work and advance in the firm.

Read more

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The Importance of Pro Bono

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woman sitting at deskAfter the financial crash in 2008, many law firms were forced to downsize, combine or dissolve. Unlike after prior market constrictions, the numbers of lawyers hired by firms have not rebounded and this past year law school enrollment was the lowest it had been in 40 years. What does this mean for newly admitted attorneys and experienced attorneys? And how does pro bono fit in to the picture?

The American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct encourages all attorneys to seek to offer 50 hours of pro-bono service a year. As a result, many state bars have adopted these rules because they recognize the importance of pro bono service. Most attorneys recognize the importance of giving back particularly when many people cannot afford an attorney and often appear in court unrepresented. But beyond these altruistic and aspirational reasons, there are also unintended benefits to those who donate their time — helping others can mean helping yourself too.

A. Developing Your Skill Set

One of the most common complaints from clients about newly admitted lawyers is that they don’t graduate with a lot of practical skills. Additionally, in a constricted economy, many clients are no longer interested in footing the bill for on-the-job training. Pro bono assignments and representations can provide an excellent source of practical training for the newly minted attorney and a means of learning specific legal skills. Such cases often give new attorneys a rare opportunity to meet directly with a client. You will learn how to interview to discover what the client’s legal issues are and what the client hopes to achieve from your representation. You will also learn how to effectively communicate with the client to help them achieve those goals. You may also hone your drafting and negotiation skills. But a pro bono representation should not be undertaken lightly. In order to maximize your learning curve and ensure you can effectively represent your client, proper training in representing the pro bono client is necessary and invaluable.

Many non-profit organizations seeking pro bono volunteers offer training for volunteer attorneys. One of PLI’s very important initiatives is the offering of such pro bono training. We have collaborated with hundreds of legal aid and pro bono entities to develop a curriculum of free programs in practice areas critical to the representation of low-income clients – including housing, family law, government benefits, immigration, veterans’ issues, and more – to train legal services attorneys and attorneys in private practice to take on a pro bono representation. It’s particularly rewarding to learn from participants how valuable our programs have been for projects and roles they have taken on as a result. The best of part of providing pro bono training is knowing that we’ve given attendees the knowledge and tools to make a difference.

B. Learning About New Areas of Law

A benefit for both newly admitted attorneys and more experienced attorneys alike is the chance to explore new areas of the law. In taking on a case in an area outside of your usual practice area you can gain substantive knowledge about new areas of law – immigration, bankruptcy, wills, divorce, veterans’ rights, non-profit incorporations, criminal appeals – the possibilities and opportunities are endless. Indeed, attendees from our many programs have written to share how our program has “sparked interest in helping foster children”; will be used “in helping sick or injured children”; and was “inspiring — led me to contact Legal Aid regarding a pro bono housing case.”

Who knows — you may just discover a passion for a new area of the law that leads you to a new career. At the very least, you will have learned something new and this knowledge might benefit another client, or possibly even a friend or family member down the line.

C. Networking

Another not so obvious benefit to pro bono service is networking. Many law firm clients expect the firms they hire to engage in pro bono work. While doing pro bono work might help you stand out from the pack in the eyes of the client, it will also expand your professional universe. A likely scenario is that through the course of your training and pro bono service you will come in contact with other volunteers, individuals at the non-profits, and maybe even firm clients – and these connections will help you build and expand your professional network. Indeed, an attendee of one of our free training webcasts shared the following story with me. He was between jobs and looking to do some pro bono work. He reached out reluctantly to PLI for a scholarship, a bit torn about admitting he needed the financial help. While watching one of our webcasts, a colleague walked by, asked about the program and his experience, ended up taking him to lunch and retaining him for work. He was so thrilled with the outcome of this scholarship he wrote to thank PLI profusely.

While not everyone will gain a job from their pro bono training there are unintended professional benefits to be had through pro bono service that all attorneys should consider. And there are also the intended benefits – the joy and pride in helping someone in need who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford an attorney.

*Anita Carr Shapiro is the President of the Practising Law Institute (PLI), the premier continuing legal and professional education organization. She is PLI’s fifth President since 1933, and its first female president.

By Anita Carr Shapiro

Guest advice and opinions not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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The Formula for Selling Anybody, Anything, Anytime

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women salesHere’s the thing: sometimes we’re selling our ideas, sometimes we’re selling our products and, these days, many of us are selling ourselves as the best candidate for the job/as the person who deserves a promotion. With this in mind, here’s the proven formula for selling your best self to anybody, anywhere, anytime.

First: Yale University did a study of the 12 most persuasive words in the English language. What they discovered is that the most persuasive word in the English language is “you.” Consequently, I recommend throwing it around a lot: “As I’m sure you know,” “As I’m sure you’ve heard,” “I wanted to talk to you today,” etc.

Second: California-based Social Psychologist Ellen Langer revealed that there is one word in the English language that increases the possibility of cooperation from 60 to 94%. No, that is not a typo. I will repeat: 60 to 94%. This word is “Because.”

Lastly: “The Duncan Hines Cake Mix Marketing Theory.” When Duncan Hines first began making cake mix, the decision to have you at home add the egg was made in the marketing department. Why is this effective? Because they realized that when we add the egg we feel proud because we contributed; we can say, “I baked!” How does this work in a business scenario? You need to articulate how you can contribute to the other person’s success and/or how they can contribute to yours so that what is created becomes your shared success.

So that’s your formula: you + because + the egg = success.

Following are three different ways you can apply this formula for success

Talking to an Interviewer:

Too often we spend our interviewing time talking about why we are right for the job. This sounds a lot like, “And I just think this company would be perfect for me/would help me meet my goals.” No. What you need to be talking about is how you are going to contribute to your future boss’s/the company’s success once you are hired.

What might this sound like?

“I wanted to talk to you today because your job description/your company’s mission statement/your bestselling product is X, and my skill set/my personal passion/my sales experience is in Y. Applying the full force of my expertise to this job will enable us both to reach our goals.”

Talking to Your Boss about a Brewing “Situation”:

The use of the word “situation” here is quite deliberate. The White House doesn’t have a “Crisis Room,” they have a “Situation Room.” Likewise, you don’t have a crisis– you have a situation that needs to be resolved.

So, what would the formula for success sound like here?

“I wanted to bring a potential situation to your attention immediately because it requires expert attention. X has occurred and I have come up with the following two, possible solutions. Is there one that you prefer?”

In this instance, their egg is not as much the mention of their expert attention, but the opportunity you are giving them to apply that expertise to two possible resolution strategies. Having them to choose which they prefer (and tell you why it’s far better) not only allows them to add their egg, but to choose the temperature at which the solution is “baked.”

Talking to a Potential Target at a Networking event

Too many networking events are about what others can do for us, rather than what we can do for them. In my experience, however, the most successful networkers aren’t asking, “What can you do for me?” but “What can I do for you?” In this scenario, then, the formula would likely sound like this:

“Hello, I’m X,” (if your target is standing with another person, or in a group, introduce yourself to everyone present.) “I wanted to introduce myself because I know you are the visionary behind X idea/product/company, and I wanted to introduce you to Y/write about you in my newsletter/ask if I could help you organize your next charity event.”

As you can see, the offer doesn’t need to be huge — the fact that you made it at all is what helps you stand out. Leaving room for them to add the egg of their choice is what will ensure your successful connection.

Happy baking!

Guest Contribution by Frances Cole Jones

Guest advice and opinions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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