Andrew Grace Associates

Frequently when I am with groups of women lawyers, I hear about dreams and expectations of making a difference in their work. Sadly the conversation turns to frustrations about how these dreams and expectations are not realized. "This is not what I signed up for." "When do I start enjoying my work?"

As a career coach for women attorneys, I focus on identifying individual strengths and creating a plan to implement those strengths. I am a staunch believer in the strengths revolution. Peter Drucker, Martin Seligman and Marcus Buckingham have written about the effectiveness of learning about success by studying successes. As women, we often dismiss what we do well because it comes so easily, it just feels right.

By taking a more thoughtful approach, women lawyers can appreciate their unique strengths and use that information to discover joy with work and attract more business. The following exercise is an adaptation of Michel Neray's suggestion for discovering your essential message. Select someone you trust to join in your discovery. List the skills you think you have. Then list the skills others say you have. Have your trusted friend ask you the following questions based on the skills listed on the two lists:

1. How do you do use that skill?
2. Why is that use of your skill important?
3. When did you realize that this skill made a difference?
4. Who does this skill help the most?
5. What evidence do you have that it works?

We will explore this strengths movement in subsequent blogs to help women attorneys understand unique, tangible contributions that put specific skills to work.