By Kristin Walinski, founder and chief executive officer of Scribe
On April 22, the LMA Mid-Atlantic Chapter held a Q&A session, LMANext: Ask Senior Leaders Anything, where marketers with fewer than five years of experience could ask seasoned legal marketers about how to advance their careers – both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are a few of the key topics raised in that no-holds-barred discussion.
How the Pandemic Has Affected Your Role and Your Approach to Work
Everyone has had to adapt – and adapt fast. One panelist observed that in the past, law firms were inclined to stick to their old ways and old paths. But the pandemic has opened things up markedly.
For instance, firms are thinking about client engagement differently. The focus for one panelist has been learning how to continue growing the business and challenging attorneys to get out of their comfort zones, now that they can’t network in person over lunch or at events.
Another panelist noted that the learning curve has substantially shortened during the pandemic. In part, that’s because firms have had to implement technology faster than they anticipated. When one firm rolled out LinkedIn some years ago, it took the lawyers a while to buy into the idea. But now, as lawyers are looking for new ways to reach their clients, they’ve become more comfortable with sending out client alerts, recording podcasts, and participating in webinars.
While the transition to virtual marketing has been challenging for most of the panelists, they’re now starting to focus on the transition back to work. One commented, “We’re going to have to let go of a lot of the things we’ve been doing over the last year. We’ll have to navigate how we’re going back to the office from a marketing perspective.”
Coping With Changes Resulting From COVID-19
The panel next addressed how they had approached work during the pandemic, including how they maintained their work-life balance, and how they plan to stay motivated in the new normal once pandemic restrictions subside.
One panelist observed that not everyone has welcomed the stay-at-home work environment – and that we shouldn’t make assumptions that everyone feels the same way we do. This panelist remarked that she was in the minority because she didn’t enjoy working from home. To replicate a more social working environment and understand her team’s needs, she talks to everyone multiple times per week. And she noted how important it is to set expectations. For example, she had to tell her team, “Just because I send an email at 11 p.m. doesn’t mean you have to answer me right then.”
All the panelists remarked that the pandemic had made it harder to segment their day. One commented how difficult it was to turn off their computer at the “end” of the day, because there was no longer a clear stopping point, even on weekends. All the panelists agreed that self-regulation has become increasingly important.
One panelist advised, “Be gentle with yourself. The job changes, and the boundaries change, and sometimes you can’t bend to meet all the changes. If you’re having a tough day, think about whether you can move some difficult projects to another day, when you can bring your best self or be more present. Think about your quiet tasks that don’t require a ton of presence or effort and save those for your lower-energy days.”
Because of the blurring lines between home and work, the panelists agreed that it’s essential to create time for ourselves and create boundaries to give ourselves downtime.
To demarcate the workday, one panelist said she lights a candle when she starts work for the day and blows it out when she finishes for the evening. She then shuts down her laptop and puts the candle on top. This conscious ritual has made it easier to step away from work.
This panelist also advised, “When you have time to take off, take it. When it’s time to shut off the computer, shut it off.”
Another added, “The strategies we’ve learned during COVID-19 translate to the return to work as well. It’s all about regulating yourself in the space you’re in.”
How to Handle Professional Development in a Virtual Setting
Whether you’re in a firm or a professional organization, the panelists agreed that we all have to keep building relationships. One commented, “You can have the same conversations virtually that you would have had in the office. You can still have coffee with other people, even if it’s on a screen instead of across a table.”
She added that the best conversations are rooted in knowledge. “Look people up on LinkedIn and see what they’ve been up to. That way you don’t have to ask basic questions like, ‘Where are you from?’ to start a dialogue.”
Another panelist noted that you can often find mentors and build relationships just by checking in with people. She added, “COVID-19 gives you the perfect excuse to see how people are doing. The key is to cultivate relationships constantly, not just when you need a reference or have a question. Putting in the effort now will position you well when you go back to the ‘real world.’”
One panelist added that the LMA is the perfect place to network and find new mentors. “This industry is small. It’s not hard to find someone who has experience similar to yours in some capacity. And, when you grow your LMA network, you’ll have a bunch of people rooting for you as you grow your career.”