A General Counsel used to be able to succeed simply by being an exceptional lawyer and manager of the legal department. Those days are gone. According to a BarkerGilmore poll, 74% of CEOs surveyed expect the modern GC to be an effective strategic advisor who will participate in and contribute to critical decisions about long-term business strategy, planning, and execution.
To satisfy these expectations, a GC must not only be a talented, intelligent, creative lawyer with perspective and sound judgment. GC must also be thought leaders with substantial knowledge of the business and industry, have strong and successful relationships with the CEO and other members of the C-suite, and be proactive strategists. A GC that can wear all these hats at once becomes indispensable to the CEO and deserves a seat at the table.
Develop Legal and Management Skills
Becoming a strategic advisor starts with the fundamentals. The GC must be an extraordinary lawyer, a trained problem solver, and an expert legal technician. General Counsel must be capable risk managers, experienced negotiators, and effective communicators with deep knowledge of the laws across distinct cultures and jurisdictions.
As the custodian of the corporate culture, a GC serves as the ethical watchdog and conscience of the company. Having the respect of the CEO, the board, and senior executives is essential. A GC must be viewed as a partner, a professional, and a peer.
A GC must run a top-notch legal department. Doing so requires attracting and retaining exceptional talent and successfully managing people with large egos and often conflicting personalities. The legal department must operate efficiently by implementing technology such as AI and contract management systems. If possible, the legal department should be transformed from a cost center into a profit center.
Know the Business and Industry
It’s simply not enough to be a great lawyer and manager. Today’s GC must think like a businessperson. This requires knowing the business inside and out. A GC must be able to speak to all aspects of the company, including sales, finance, data privacy and security, intellectual property, politics, people management, regulatory, compliance, as well as risk management. According to a recent report by BarkerGilmore and Chief Executive Group, most CEOs surveyed believe that GC are falling short regarding business acumen. This presents a great opportunity for a GC with foresight to add value.
As BarkerGilmore Strategic Advisor, Coach, and thought leader A.B. Cruz writes, there are a number of ways for a GC to learn the business. A GC can become intimately familiar with the business’s strategic plan or, better yet, be involved in the planning process. This will teach the GC where the business is today and where it plans to be in the next three to five years.
Another way is to develop a fuller appreciation for the various transactions, acquisitions, and mergers under consideration, including those that have not yet been presented to senior management. Spending time with the business development team and hearing about the opportunities that excite that team will give great insight into where the business is going.
A GC needs to know the company as well as the business. This requires understanding the organizational structure, including who the key employees are. The ability to anticipate problems that may arise in production and distribution affords an opportunity to propose solutions. The GC needs to develop a risk appetite that aligns with the needs and opportunities of the company.
Having a deep knowledge of the industry at large is also essential. A GC must follow industry trends, understand industry-specific legal issues, know who the players are, and identify opportunities to compete. A GC who knows the business and its place in the industry contributes additional value to the CEO and the board.
Develop Strong and Successful Relationships
Strong relationships with the board, members of the C-suite, and, most importantly, the CEO, are critical. According to research conducted by BarkerGilmore and reported in The Role and Value of Today’s Modern GC, nearly all GC of public companies are now an integral part of the senior leadership team.
Relationships are, therefore, fundamental. The GC needs to become a trusted advisor, someone the CEO can turn to for legal advice and insight into other business challenges. This requires emotional intelligence, intellectual flexibility, and, indeed, courage.
As BarkerGilmore Strategic Advisors Helen Pudlin, Maureen Brundage, and Noah Hanft have suggested, a GC can develop productive relationships by focusing on:
- Developing a candid dialog with the CEO. Mutual respect depends on integrity, honesty, and credibility.
- Showing humility. A GC should admit when the answer to a question is unknown and then find out what the answer is.
- Being an effective listener. A GC must hear what a colleague is saying and understand what the reason behind a statement may be.
- Being a great team player. Relationships with other members of the senior executive team can be as important as those with the CEO and the board.
- Being open, honest, and transparent. Although the legal duty runs to the company, the GC should have a trusting relationship with the CEO and the board. Candor goes a long way.
Be A Proactive Legal and Business Strategist
A successful GC will be proactive instead of reactive. When the business is setting goals for the organization, the GC should participate and help identify opportunities for business growth. If a business proposal runs into a legal roadblock, a GC should provide alternatives that will enable the organization to achieve its objectives. Anticipating problems enables a GC to present leadership with viable solutions.
Here are some tips for presenting proposals and solutions:
- Be persistent and adapt to the personality of the CEO
- Get on the CEO’s calendar
- Have a cheat sheet with a set of bullet points to get to the point quickly
- Be ready to provide details if asked for more information (for both oral and written communications)
A GC should actively seek out opportunities to have a strategic role. Sitting in on meetings about business strategy affords the chance to contribute to the development, planning, and execution of those strategies. An exceptional GC will develop business proposals and share those with other senior executives. By taking on a strategic role, a GC will add value to the CEO and become a trusted senior advisor.
BarkerGilmore Can Help Create Strategic Advisors
A modern GC needs to be more than a great lawyer. To be a strategic advisor, a GC must be a great businessperson, well-regarded by the CEO and the board, and a proactive strategist for the company. BarkerGilmore can help GC become strategic advisors through its suite of executive coaching services designed to help develop and expand leadership skills and enable participants to maximize potential and value-add.
As always, reach out anytime if you or your organization may benefit from BarkerGilmore’s recruiting, leadership development, or legal and compliance department consulting services.
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