Mentor or Tormentor? Who taught you how to lead a team?
In my one and only Corporate America job, I had a boss with a mercenary management style. He had his eye on climbing the corporate ladder ... by standing on the dead bodies of his “least valuable” employees.
When someone slipped into his crosshairs, there were only two ways out. He would intentionally make their work life so miserable that they quit … or he would very publicly humiliate and dismiss them.
Those of us who survived his reign of terror did so only by cunning or deceit and not without emotional scars. He did no favors for our organization, but he did climb the ladder.
Some organizations still reward that type of ruthless “leadership.”
In fact, just last week I overheard a prominent law firm business coach giving some pretty ruthless advice. His lawyer client was struggling with staff management issues. The advice he gave?
“Find your least valuable employee and conduct a public execution.”
You may have heard similar advice?
When these are our mentors … or rather our tormentors … how do we actually learn to lead well? If these are our experiences in business, how likely are we to continue the cycle of abuse … even if we hated it when done to us?
Experience is essential for growth. But how can we gain experience if we’re blocked from so many opportunities by a system that rewards mercenary leadership?
In 1995, when I started Integrity Marketing, I was committed to never treating employees the way I had been treated, to empowering employees instead of tormenting them.
You probably know where this is going…
How do you think I treated my first couple staff members?
Sadly, I was TOO nice and got run-over. Pretty quickly I was doing EVERYone’s work, totally stressed out, frustrated and paying people to not get anything done! I tried coaching, cajoling, leading by example, and every One Minute Manager quick-tip I read.
As far as “empowering,” all I accomplished was empowering people to ignore my clients, do sloppy work and turn in overtime. I once had an employee submit overtime for reading a book over the weekend!
What was I missing? I wanted my employees to succeed. I wanted them to love their jobs, to help me help more people, to be as committed to my clients’ success as I was.
Why wasn’t that happening?
The reality was...I was failing as a leader.
Have you experienced similar situations with your staff? Will they not do what you tell them? Do you feel like no one listens to you? Do you have a hard time connecting with your staff and end up thinking they just aren’t good fits for you and your firm?
Do you want this to stop?
Because it can… It just takes a little learning and experience.
At the Empowerment Retreat, we are giving woman in law all the tools and knowledge to discover:
• How to solve these leadership problems that come from a lack of experience because of a simple lack of opportunity
• How to deal with difficult staff members
• How to be a leader in tough situations
• How to get your staff on board with your goals
• How to speak the same language as your staff
On top of that, all of this is tailored specifically for you -- by women, for women! You can’t find this anywhere & this is only one part of the retreat.
Every situation is different. Every woman comes from a different background with a different set of challenges; however, all successful women leaders look similar.
As Tolstoy wrote, “All happy families resemble each other, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
The same is true with woman in law. At the Empowerment Retreat you will be meeting and learning from women who are the best leaders in law and have had the most success hiring and retaining staff.
Most importantly, you’ll get the opportunity to practice leadership, discover how you show up as a leader and try different approaches in a safe environment, working with horses and expert facilitators in a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Not to mention the chance to break away, relax and breathe and even pamper yourself a bit at the luxurious Cheyenne Mountain Resort and Legacy Ranch here in beautiful Colorado Springs.
Don’t miss out. The knowledge, tools, and experience you’ll gain from being here will transform your firm and your career -- like it did mine!
Today, I work with the best staff in the world.
I want that for you too.
But I could have had it much earlier on in my career and saved myself so much heartache and stress. I could have experienced so much more freedom and opportunity than I did. Don’t be like me and wait to figure things out by trial-and-error. Start now.
It doesn’t matter whether you are in solo practice, working at a large law firm, or even in law school right now… THIS IS FOR YOU!
If one day you aspire to lead or already are a leader, there is no better place for you to be than here.
I don’t HOPE to see you there… I WANT to see you there.
If you haven’t registered, do so now. Don’t waste anymore time.
Register Now