Hi there,
I’d like to think I’m full of great ideas — ya know, like leaving my managing partner role at a global firm to found a startup that made negative returns for the first (let’s just say a few) years 💡🤔 .
The truth is that most of my best ideas come from conversations with people who are smarter than me. (Not a high bar, I know.)
Otherwise, this newsletter could be a real snoozer. 😴
That’s why I feel very privileged to host PERSUIT’s Innovative Legal Leadership Podcast. 🎙️
Every week I get to talk with some of the most influential and experienced GCs and senior legal leaders in our industry.
Last month marked our 100th episode if you can believe it! 🎉
Over the past two years, we’ve had over 90 guests join us to share their insights on everything from moving your family abroad, to (surprise, surprise) killing the billable hour, to cultivating more diversity in the legal profession — and everything in between.
I couldn’t think of a better guest for our 100th episode than our own PERSUIT COO and GC, Michelle Landy. (You can hear our conversation here.)
With over 25 years of experience in private law firms and in-house practice, Michelle’s set foot on quite a few branches of the career tree.
She’s also an incredible force for good, serving as a board member and active volunteer in international development efforts and local homeless initiatives, in addition to being an “adopted” mom from abroad to four children in Tanzania (two of whom have started their own entrepreneurial ventures with Michelle’s support).
Michelle is also particularly passionate about mentoring our next generation of talent.
One of my favourite parts of our conversation was when I asked Michelle:
What advice would you give your 25-year-old self, assuming you’d actually take it (we’ve all been there 🤷♂️ )?
Here’s what Michelle told me.
1. Embrace your own journey.
Michelle spoke about her experience of having others question her decisions because they were unconventional (not that I know anything about that 🤔 ).
I love how Michelle thinks about her journey as a tree 🌳, rather than a ladder 🪜.
There is no one right journey, rather you’ve got to be open to where the branches are leading and embrace your own path.
2. Ditch perfectionism.
Michelle related her time as in-house counsel when she would stress herself over exhaustively researching every possible aspect of a matter before providing advice.
Of course, that’s, well… exhausting. And unsustainable.
Michelle’s advice is to trust your instincts and seek the 80% solution.
3. Build (and protect) your personal brand.
It takes a really long time to build your reputation and personal brand.
Once you do it, you’ve got to work hard to protect it.
Sometimes that means removing yourself from a work environment that compromises your reputation and morals, as Michelle shared about some of her own experiences.
4. Be a servant leader.
I can’t think of a better example than Michelle as someone who leads with a servant-first attitude.
Yes, she’s wickedly smart, extremely competent, and experienced. But it’s how Michelle leads with empathy and humility that really sets her apart as an exceptional leader in my book.
5. Stay curious.
I asked Michelle what gave her the courage early in her legal career to ditch her firm job and move countries to pursue an in-house role while having no experience, no friends, no security, and no specific new job lined up.
Her answer was this:
I was always very curious. And I’ve always tried to put myself in uncomfortable situations (she aims for a 60-40 balance of uncomfortable to comfortable). And I’ve always said “yes.”
As Michelle summed up perfectly, you rarely regret the things you say yes to. It’s the things you don’t do that you regret.
If you say “yes” you’ll inevitably figure it out, and expose yourself to endless opportunities and learnings in the process.
6. Set boundaries.
In the legal world, we’re often taught to not set boundaries. To make the client happy at all costs.
Here, I loved Michelle’s candour. She struggles with setting boundaries all the time. Her best advice?
“Figure out the things that only you could and should be doing and then find a way to delegate and train up others to do the other things so you can focus on doing what you do best.”
Kill Bill(ables) readers, now it’s your turn.
What advice would you give to your 25-year-old self?
And if you know a GC, CLO, or senior leader in legal who has a must-hear story or insights and should be a guest on our podcast (or you?), we’d love to hear from you.
Hit reply and let me know!
Cheers,
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