Strategic Advisor and Coach Haydee Olinger, former Global Chief Compliance Officer of McDonald’s Corp., is joined by Tina Dekker, SVP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of Meijer Inc., and former SVP, Chief Legal Officer of McDonald’s Corp., U.K. & Ireland, to share strategies proven to help legal executives maximize individual earning power now and in the future.
Below are highlights from the webinar. To learn more, the video recording and podcast are available on this page.
There is a lot of angst among employees in today’s business world. The Great Resignation rages on, with 47.4 million employees quitting in 2021. Quiet Quitting, or doing the bare minimum, plagues the workforce concurrent with the resignations. Employees continue to push back on return-to-office initiatives, and employers are listening because no one wants to lose high-quality employees. At the same time, the U.S and the world are facing a possible recession. With these forces converging, now is the time for legal and compliance professionals to consider how to maximize their earning potential.
Start by analyzing the macro-organization, including the legal department.
Legal executives will benefit by making time to ask mindful questions and make an action plan to maximize earning potential. This can begin by taking a deep dive into the makeup of the organization and observing other executives in the company to determine:
- What types of individuals succeed?
- How did those successful individuals get to where they are now?
- What are some key personality traits?
- How do these individuals interact?
- What impact does each person have on the business?
After a personal review and comparison, it is important to decide if one has the “right stuff” to fit in and keep or take a seat in the executive suite. Factors such as the company’s profit and loss statement indicate whether it makes sense to expect a raise or promotion or wait for a more opportune time. It is equally important to assess the department or the team’s pipeline to figure out if there is room at the table and the opportunity to grow:
- Where is one’s current position in the executive pyramid—bottom, middle?
- If the boss was recently promoted, does that make the next tier relatively unattainable?
“At the macro level, also evaluate what attributes or behaviors the team exhibits. Do you share them? Do you need to learn or improve on some of those attributes? There are opportunities to grow and refine your skills, whether by taking a class or engaging an experienced coach. Your goal is to look at the big picture to maximize your earning potential.”
Haydee Olinger
Drill down to the micro level and conduct a realistic self-assessment.
After completing corporate and departmental assessments, legal and compliance professionals must take a hard look at the day-to-day situation in the organization. One way to do so is to begin by considering whether these professionals are happy and fulfilled, working on interesting assignments and like both colleagues and management. Maximizing potential involves being introspective and defining not only short-term but long-term goals. If the long-term goal, for example, is to become a General Counsel, it is helpful to further drill down to assess the elements of that role in comparison to the individual, such as:
- What a General Counsel does
- How a current job or position can lead into that path
- Effectiveness when interacting with top management and the board
- Ability to perform the duties of the General Counsel
- Knowing how to gain any missing knowledge
“You must own your own destiny. Know yourself and acknowledge your opportunities. Go into your performance review with your own outline of points that you want to talk about. Once you get through your manager’s review, be brave and be humble, but ask what you need to do to demonstrate that you’re ready for the next level.”
Tina Dekker
Supercharge earning potential by adding these strategies to the mix.
Having assessed the current macro-micro situation, skills, and leadership potential, legal professionals should be able to decide if it’s possible to move up within the organization. As a next step, developing a holistic plan with both internal and external strategies will provide additional career impetus. When mapping out and creating an engagement plan for internal stakeholders, it is important to think about one’s current role. It is equally important to think about developing relationships with the stakeholders in the role one aspires to and then to take the time to build those relationships. Finally, adding these proven strategies will help to further maximize earning potential:
- Establish a personal brand
- Be a student of the business
- Become an industry expert
- Volunteer
- Network
- Expand one’s personal sphere of influence
“I’m going to say it again. Be a student of the business. Even in your legal world, you have to know how your company or firm makes money. That is the bottom line. That is why we’re all in business. That’s why we work for companies. That’s why they exist. Having a deep understanding will always set you apart from all the other individuals.”
Haydee Olinger
Haydee Olinger and our team of professionals are happy to help accelerate the initiatives that you’re already pursuing or to supplement your current strategic thinking to help you realize your vision. Please reach out if you or your organization may benefit from our recruiting, leadership development and coaching, or legal and compliance department consulting services. Let BarkerGilmore help you build and optimize your legal and compliance departments.
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