Here’s how to progress your legal career this year:
- Take control of your time
- Receive feedback
- Build relationships with people different to you
- Increase your visibility
- Show them how valuable you are
I promise you it’s that simple.
Focus on just these 5 skills over the next 6 months and you will progress.
Improving every one of these skills is within your reach. Career progression is possible for you right now.
What it takes to progress
Here’s what it will take:
First, decide you want to progress.
Second, get to work
Third, stay on track.
Just 3 things. But you must do all of them.
It’s not enough that you want to be promoted. Or that you want to feel more confident this year.
It’s not even enough that you’re willing to do the work to get there.
You also have to stay on track. This is the essential piece.
And it’s the hardest part.
It’s hard to stay on track
It’s hard to stay on track when you feel like the only one
To build relationships with people different to you when you have so little in common and struggle to relate to them
To receive feedback that undermines your culture or goes against what feels authentic
To be visible when other people’s perception of you is at odds with the real you
To show them how valuable you are when they allocate all the best work and opportunities to your white peers.
All of this makes staying on track harder.
But there is a way to make it easier:
Be the first
Be the first.
The one who stands out from the crowd.
The one who takes control of the narrative.
The one who doesn’t wait to be included
The one who can walk into any room, sit at any table and connect with anyone
The one who adds value to the room just being in the room.
And here’s the best part, are you ready?
You’re already there
The one I’ve just described is you.
You’re already there.
You’re not the only one. You are the first.
The more you believe this, the more confident you will feel, the more powerfully you will show up and the more you make it true.
Being the first isn’t about exhausting yourself, becoming someone different or being superhuman.
All you’re doing is stripping away the distractions and sidestepping the roadblocks so you can be who you are and show up to your actual potential.
When you do this, staying on track is easy. You build the skills quickly. Your progression is inevitable.
P.S. If you’re a mid to senior black lawyer and you want to progress your legal career this year, I can help you. Join BE THE FIRST – the career progression programme for black lawyers who are taking ownership of their career and fulfilling their true potential. Not sure if it’s for you? Click here to book a call with me to discover more.