Rebecca Bidwell spoke at ‘The True Benefits of Becoming The Authentic Lawyer’ event this week. She focused on how creating great values within a company helps to create a happy team and was extremely pleased to be presenting alongside two great women within the legal sector, Hannah Beko and Bianca Wilson. Rebecca is very passionate about developing positive work environments, that allows employees to thrive and develop their skills.
Hannah Beko – Author of ‘The Authentic Lawyer’ and Head of Mission at Legal Studio Solicitors, a Commercial Property Lawyer and Podcast Host.
Bianca Williams – An Associate at Brandsmiths, a boutique litigation firm based in Central London specialising in intellectual property, sports, and commercial matters.
The event was superbly hosted by Michal Wisniewski, as he kicked off the session by asking “What does ‘authentic’ mean to you?”
It was so interesting to see that it meant something slightly different to each of the fantastic women on the panel. Rebecca spoke of how it meant being unapologetically yourself and how it took her sometime within the legal industry to allow herself to let her individuality shine, but now she encourages her team members to do the same. She is a firm believer in trying to teach others to be their open and honest self, because this will allow more open working relationships to be created. Bianca Williams made a great point of how to her authentic meant taking an honest look at what type of work will make you happy and where you want to progress to. She also talked about the importance of finding the fit and culture that suits you and your need the confidence to do so. Hannah then spoke about uncovering who you are. There is high expectation of what a typical lawyer is but you need to look at who you are and what values you hold. First step, who are we and what is our USP (Unique Selling Point)? Second Step, identify your mental health needs and make it a priority, burnout isn’t something to strive for. Finally, step 3, she discussed how authenticity makes for better leaders.
Employee Retention – How important is salary and what else can we provide?
Next they moved onto talking about employee retention and how we can create better environments. All three panel members definitely came to the same consensus that offering support and training will always prevail, and salary isn’t everything. Rebecca spoke about how our 100% employee retention for the last 12 months is a result of the positive culture that we have bred into the company and how joining the Frenkel Topping Group was great move for us as they hold the same vision and values.
Michal then posed the question “What are the biggest mistakes that managers tend to make?”
Hannah was keen to put forward that a post pandemic mistake was not trusting Lawyers to build their own working from home schedules. She did feel that juniors should be in the office, but encouraged more than enforced in order to help with their development, growth. Rebecca’s key view was that managers should be there for their team members, not the other way round which can be a common misconception. Getting the right people in the right seats is critical. Also, identifying those who aren’t in the right spaces and how do we ensure people develop into roles that suit them best. Bianca’s take on this question was about bad management was the key driver for losing valuable employees, and that just because they are a good lawyer doesn’t necessarily make a good manager.
How can we be productive and happy?
Bianca Williams and Hannah Beko both made the point that the skills we tend to boast about on our CV’s tend to be the one’s that lead to anxiety and burnout, we need to remember perfectionism, overworking and being overly competitive aren’t always the way forward. The phrase I loved the most was Hannah’s “B+ is good enough” a reminder that it doesn’t always have to have all the bells and whistles as long as it gets the job done. Rebecca is a big champion of working smarter not harder, this way we can be far more efficient and productive.
Finally the panel members gave their practical tips for being authentic:
Rebecca Bidwell: Set boundaries and stick to them.
Bianca Williams: Set clear goals and take time to understand your needs.
Hannah Beko: Meditate, even if it’s only 10 minutes a day and journal. Write down your thoughts and feelings, as it will help you to gage what you really want.
Thank you so much to Michal Wisniewski at Your FLOCK, it was a truly fantastic event, and we look forward to working with you again in the future to provide insightful sessions to the public. This session was recorded and can still be viewed, by visiting:
