How Executive Coaching Can Help IP and Legal Professionals Become Virtuoso Leaders and Collaborators

Restringing a piano.

As a freelance pianist, I’ve played countless pianos over the years, including pianos built from the late 19th century to the present day.

Sometimes I come across two pianos made by the same manufacturer during the same era, with identical design and components. Despite these commonalities, the pianos may play and sound remarkably different. One is excellent, while the other is good, okay, or even awful.

The difference usually stems from the owner's (or owners') stewardship of the piano over time, including investments in its maintenance and improvement. Indeed, there’s nothing quite like an expertly regulated and carefully tuned instrument that can reach its full expressive and sonic potential. In contrast, a piano whose care is neglected falls up short, no matter the sincerity and hopes of pianist and audience.

The same holds true for the leadership and collaboration potential of IP and legal professionals, including attorneys and other professionals in companies, law firms, and service providers: Without proper stewardship, such persons may never reach their potential, disappointing their organizations, their teams, and themselves.

Anything But Soft

Unlike hands-on, tactical skills, which come naturally to many professionals, so-called soft skills may feel elusive. Contary to their name, these soft skills play pivotal roles in a professional's success.

Soft skills include, among others:

• communication skills, such as active listening, clear and concise writing, advocacy, public speaking and presenting, non-verbal communication, and giving and receiving feedback

• collaboration and teamwork skills, such as working well with people of different personalities, emotional intelligence, empathy, exhibiting a can-do approach, and conflict resolution

• leadership and influence skills, such as conceiving and articulating a vision, motivating and empowering others, delegating tasks effectively, inspiring trust, coaching and mentoring, and decision-making under pressure

• problem solving and critical thinking skills, such as creative and strategic thinking, sound judgment, and analytical skills

Amidst the burdens of getting work done, IP and legal professionals seldom have time to hone, let alone think about honing, the above skills.

In addition, these skills are closely linked to their core personality and interactions with others, often requiring subtlety and nuance. Therefore, it's extremely difficult for professionals to detach, neutrally self-assess their strengths and weaknesses, and know what to modify and how to improve.

Executive Coaching Changes the Tune

An executive coach works collaboratively with a professional to help them reach their full potential, often focusing on development and refinement of soft skills, always with a customized approach based on the professional's current strengths and weaknesses.

"Executive" is a bit of a misnomer, for an executive coach works not only with executives, but also managers and individual contributors who need or want a catalyst to move to the next level.

In enterprises, sometimes it's an individual's manager or another leader who recognizes the value of engaging a coach to help the individual succeed. Other times, it's the individual who desires to grow and approaches leadership with a request to work with a coach.

Exemplary methodologies that an executive coach may employ include goal setting and alignment, 360-degree feedback, behavioral assessments, inquiry and reflective dialogue, accountability structures, strengths-based development, role-playing and simulation, development planning, and shadowing and real-time feedback.

With intentionality and a commitment to executive coaching, an IP or legal professional can make significant strides as a leader and collaborator.

Consider Engaging Quartal IP for Executive Coaching

Quartal IP offers tailored one-on-one coaching sessions for individuals in law firms and companies, to help your team members become holistically capable and effective.

We also provide law firm leadership training, in-house and general counsel training and bootcamp, and other programs and courses for lawyers and legal professionals.

Please contact us if you would to explore how we can help.