News Flash!

Despite this undeniable truth, we talk to many women attorneys who think that better time management is the answer to their problems. They search for the perfect program, system or calendar that will be the “Halleluiah” solution to more peace and productivity.

We recommend a different, and more leveraged approach. Our clients experience a DRAMATIC improvement in their productivity when they shift their focus from managing their time  to managing their energy.

You have a great deal of influence and control over the quality and quantity of energy you bring to your work and your life. You can engage in behaviors and habits that add signifcantly to your energy levels (resulting in extremely high levels of productivity and efficiency). 

Having higher levels of energy supports you in accomplishing objectives with excellence - while enjoying the process a whole lot more. Our clients find  managing their energy effectively creates a very positive ripple effect into other corners of their lives as well; friends, spouses, family, co-workers (and even opposing counsel) receive the benefit too.

Instead of adding anything to your plate, one of the most effective ways to manage your energy acutally requires removing things from it. We walk our clients through a process to identify the (often unrecognized) elements of their environment that are draining their energy - including aspects of their physical environment, social obligations, and patterns of communication. As they eliminate those items which add stress and get in the way of productivity - these women notice a MEASURABLE improvement in how they feel, their ability to complete work with excellence, and even enjoy more of a life beyond work.  

Once our clients experience the boost that comes from effective energy management, they are hooked (and the search for the perfect day planner is over). To learn more about simple ways to immediately boost your own productivity and accomplish more with less effort, join us for our community call on October 21, 2009. 

Click here for more details:  http://lifedesignforlawyers.com/join-our-community/coachingcall/

What’s Your Opinion? Do Women Lawyers Really Face Unique Challenges (Compared to Their Male Colleagues)?

You Are Invited: Join us for a live discussion of this topic  on September 30th (and pick up some inspiring ideas to use in your own career). For details on the upcoming conference call:

http://lifedesignforlawyers.com/join-our-community/coachingcall

Whether you are a man or a woman – being a lawyer is a tough job. The expectations are high. The deadlines are brutal. The issues are complex and the hours are long. And, while attorneys demonstrate tremendous competence in their ability to handle a demanding professional life, many lawyers (male or female) struggle with maintaining a sense of balance alongside this often intense career.

Nevertheless, women seem to experience a unique and more complex set of challenges working in our field. In our workshops and coaching calls, women lawyers confide they often feel they must sacrifice their own personal needs to meet a never-ending stream of professional responsibilities. Women are almost universally concerned about the reality of achieving professional success - while still having a family and a “life beyond work”. Some share fears about gender bias and whether woman (particularly mothers) can really build a practice and succeed at the highest levels in the legal profession – while honoring personal and family responsibilities.

The statistics seems to back up our sense that it is more difficult for women lawyers to stay in the profession. According to a report released by the National Association of Women Lawyers, although women graduate from law school at about the same rate as men (48-52%), over 70% of women lawyers have left the profession by their seventh year. For those who remain, only 16% move on to become equity partners in major law firms, the majority of leadership positions still being held by men.

Like many of you, I have struggled with issues that feel uniquely “female”. As I have made changes to better balance my own professional and personal priorities, I have sometimes been faced with some difficult decisions. For example, one of my goals is it to leave the office no later the 6:00 pm (absent a significant emergency). In order to live up to this commitment, at times I have ended a conversation with my boss, walked out of a meeting or left the office without answering all my emails. If I let myself, I can get very uncomfortable and concerned that I will be perceived as “less than a full team player”.

I have addressed this concern by demonstrating my availability and willingness in other ways. I am in the office early; I often return emails late at night. I have excellent communication with my clients and I manage their expectations well. I walk the line between these demands with awareness and intention – and I admit, it’s not always easy.

Another personal challenge has been to forgo some of the professional socializing that I enjoy so much – and that can so often lead to lucrative relationships and assignments. Each invitation and opportunity is vetted through a complex maze of factors to be evaluated: How important is that I go? Will my husband be home that night? What’s on the kids’ calendar? What is the potential upside? Will anyone really miss me if I don’t attend? Will I enjoy the event?

As I am committed both to having a successful career AND to fully participating in my family life, it is not always clear when to go and when to stay. Yet, over time (and through a lot of trial and error), I have developed a lot more skill (and peace of mind) at establishing a routine that works for me, my family – and my career.

It may be that my male colleagues also struggle with such choices and decisions – but in my experience, it’s not to the same degree that women do. And I am not alone in working through these issues. As we have coached our clients, Sonia and I consistently hear them share about the challenges facing female attorneys working in the field, including experiences and perspectives like:

• “My male colleagues often have the support of a “stay at home” wife, which gives them the freedom to focus on their career in a way that I don’t.”

• “As a woman, I feel like I need to work harder to demonstrate my commitment to my career – I worry that if I’m not 100% available to my clients and my firm, my career will suffer – or I won’t be taken as seriously by my peers.”

• “I struggle with feelings of guilt: when I am at home I feel guilty that I’m not a work and when I’m at work I feel guilty that I’m not home. I don’t have a sense of peace around my choices.”

• “I lack the support and the role models to help me have a successful personal and professional life. Given what I see, having both doesn’t seem possible.”

What’s YOUR opinion?

Do you believe women lawyers face a distinct set of challenges and circumstances in this field? If so – what do you see as some of the most significant issues facing women in law today? What’s the most significant challenge YOU deal with?

Please share your thoughts, opinions and observations - and join in our community discussion by adding your input in the box below.

AND – if you are looking for some fresh ideas and support in navigating the most common challenges facing women lawyers today, be sure to join us for our next “Community Call” on this topic, coming up soon on September 30th.

You’ll connect with other savvy women in your field to discuss the most common challenges facing female lawyers today.

Sonia Stringer and Michelle Bauman will be joining you to share our coaching perspective, as well as some proven strategies that will set you up for more success in your career (and a more balanced, fulfilling personal life).

For more details and to join this session click here:
http://lifedesignforlawyers.com/join-our-community/coachingcall

Michelle and Sonia will take you through the process on the WLALA coaching call.

Wheel Of Life

Why NOW is the best time for woman lawyers to create more balance between their personal and professional lives!

Nine years ago – I achieved what I consider to be my greatest professional accomplishment.  I convinced my employer to allow a colleague and myself to “job-share” a position, a move that allowed me to work three days a week (and made me and my family a whole lot happier).  When I tell other woman lawyers my story, their eyes get wide with wonder.  When I share that, as part of the deal, I received a promotion and took only a minimal pay cut, they stare in disbelief.

Yes – I’m incredibly fortunate to have received this unique opportunity AND the bottom line is, it’s an opportunity I created.  What if you had the opportunity to shift your own career in a more fulfilling and balanced direction?  Is that really possible – especially with the state of our current economy? You may be surprised to know you have a lot more options and choices for work/life balance than you first recognized, and that these opportunities exist not in spite of – but BECAUSE of the state of our current economy.

There are actually 3 compelling reasons this could be the best time for you to create a positive change, and experience a lot more balance, fulfillment and satisfaction in your career.

#1 Challenging Times Force Us To Re-Evaluate Our Priorities And Take Action

Finding time to have a personal life or raise a family while practicing law can be challenging in the best of times - but add a global economic meltdown to the mix, and creating a more balanced work schedule can feel completely out of reach.

There is no question that the economic downturn is impacting lawyers and the legal profession.  Lawyers are facing layoffs and fewer employment prospects. Venerable law firms have disappeared, while those which survive struggle to maintain revenue flow. In-house jobs seem scarce. In this context, it can feel downright inappropriate to seek more balance.  After all, who are we to complain that work is too demanding – at times like this, most of us are just grateful to have jobs!

The truth is, we can always find reasons NOT to address the issue of work/life balance. When the economy was booming, we are “too busy” and now that things are tight, we are “afraid” to rock the boat. We tell ourselves “I’ll wait until I have kids,” “I’ll wait until my kids are in school”, “I’ll wait until I’ve saved enough money” or “when I finally make partner”… THEN I’ll take action and have more of a life beyond my work! If we look for them, we can always find reasons to justify not making balance and fulfillment a bigger priority in our lives.

On the other hand, we can also use the downturn in the economy as a major “wake up” call, a reminder that time is precious and life is uncertain.  When the status quo gets shaken up, we are given the opportunity to see and appreciate what’s REALLY important.

Just like a serious illness or the death of a loved one brings our priorities sharply into focus, so can the challenges of our current economy serve us in recognizing our true values and priorities. Instead of continuing to chase money, security, and success, we can use what’s happening to remind us it’s time to take bold actions to live more fully NOW, and not continue to put off our happiness or fulfillment until “someday” down the road.

If nothing else, our current economy is showing us that life, as we know, it can change on a dime, unexpectedly, and that nothing is really predictable.  Living as fully and happily as we can, in this moment, is the one way to ensure we have some element of control and security in our lives.

#2 Superstars Know That Balance is Key to Success

If job security is important to you right now, then creating more balance between your personal and professional life could be your smartest strategy.  Why? Because we simply do our best work when we have more balance in our lives. When we give more attention to our personal life and priorities, we bring a more focused, engaged energy to our work, and everyone can tell the difference:

“We live in a world that celebrates work and activity, ignores renewal and recovery, and fails to recognize that both are necessary for sustained high performance.”

Jim Loehr & Tony Schwartz, “The Power of Full Engagement”

Peak performers have learned the magic combination between work and play, between exertion and rejuvenation, between engagement and release.

A client recently shared that she believed professional excellence required that she put her clients needs first – even if it meant sacrificing balance in her life.  Any time she attempted to carve out time for her personal life, she felt guilty – as if she were giving her clients less than her best effort.

In our work together, we examined these assumptions.  She looked closely at those times when she worked day after day with little sleep and no balance. She saw how depleted, exhausted and resentful she became, and how this affected the quality of her work performance and results. She then remembered a time when she had made her personal life more of a priority. She recalled spending three hours with a client, and the rest of her day with family members who were visiting from out of town.  In the three hours with her client, she was more focused and productive, got everything handled that was needed – all while experiencing the emotional payoff of carving out time with her family.

When she examined the situation more closely, she could see that her client benefitted as much (if not more) from the quality of energy and attention she brought to her work as the number of hours she spent with him.  As this sunk in, it became easier to carve out time for her personal life. She understood by making balance a priority; she was serving her own needs and the needs of her clients at a much higher level.

In my own experience, I’ve received more acknowledgement and professional accolades since making the shift to working three days a week than ever before. I have the energy, attention and productivity to play a higher-level game, consistently. The same payoffs are available to you.  By choosing to carve out even a little more time for rest, rejuvenation and a satisfying personal life, you will no doubt experience an increase in your effectiveness at work. Once you experience these benefits – you’ll find it easier to make balance a permanent part of your professional strategy.

#3 – The Upheaval Of This Economy Can Be Your Greatest Ally

Looking back at the changes I made in my career, there is no way my company would have tested out my proposed “job-share” arrangement if they weren’t completely desperate to fill the position.  They had searched for a candidate for over a year, made several offers to other candidates, all of which fell through.  By the time I proposed a new approach, they were so relieved to fill the job that the unconventional work arrangement was a minor factor.

The changes in our economy are likely presenting similar opportunities in your world. Open your eyes wide and pay extra attention to what’s going on around you. What are the particular challenges now surfacing in your own work environment? Where are the economic stressors (health care costs, salaries or support staff?)  How can you solve your employer’s current problem while possibly creating a new (more balanced and fulfilling) opportunity for yourself? Look for those glorious win/wins.

When the economy is robust and employers are doing well, there is little motivation to try anything new. When times are challenging, however, most employers will at least be open to an innovative or unconventional idea, especially if it also addresses a current issue in the company or firm. If no opportunity exists within your current work environment, pay attention to opportunities and trends in the general market.  Your “dream job” opportunity may be out there – waiting for someone like you with the foresight to recognize it, and the courage to pursue it.

If you are feeling worn out in your current circumstances and could use some support to carve out more balance between your work and personal life, come join the growing community of female attorneys at www.LifeDesignForLawyers.com . You’ll find free resources, monthly strategy calls and tons of support to help you succeed in your career without sacrificing your life.

© 2009 Life Design for Lawyers, Michelle Abend Bauman  & Sonia Stringer