One of the most impactful moments of my career happened soon after I left law practice. I was barely 30 and had only practiced for three years when I transitioned to a position as the Director of International and Non-J.D. Programs at Fordham Law School. In that role, I ran all the day-to-day aspects of the LL.M. program. In many ways, it was a dream job, and I look back very fondly on the years that I was in that role.
I think I was barely a year into my new position when a group of LL.M. administrators from several law schools organized a conference in Washington, D.C. I was excited and asked my boss, Assistant Dean Toni Jaeger-Fine, if I could attend. She said, "Yes, but only if you submit a proposal to speak." I smiled and gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up, but inside I was filled with terror.
I could not imagine why she thought I could get up in front of a (large) room of my (vastly more experienced) colleagues and teach them anything. But it was a condition of my attending, so I dove in. I settled on a topic I knew was vexing for many: Resume writing for international LL.M. students. I have to confess there was a part of me that hoped my proposal would be rejected, but I had no such luck.
The TLDR is this: The conference went fine. I gave my presentation. I don't think too many people noticed that I was shaking. And most importantly, I gained a ton of confidence. I had done so much research and prepared so thoroughly that I knew my topic inside and out. Colleagues started viewing me as an expert, and I started seeing myself as one, too. I went on to speak at several conferences and author a handful of articles over the next several years. And with each of these experiences my expertise grew exponentially.
You won't always have a boss that encourages (somewhat forcefully in my case!) you to put yourself out there. In fact, it's pretty rare, and I will always be grateful to Toni for encouraging me to leap off that cliff (and for being my parachute if I needed it). You may need to advocate for yourself. If you find it difficult, enlist a colleague or friend and help each other to stretch beyond your comfort zones.
For those of you who are leading teams, I encourage you to take this story as an example of how you can help your team members grow professionally. You don't have to wait until they are "ready." Let them rise to the occasion. By fostering their growth in this way, you may find yourself with a stronger, more confident, and more motivated team than you ever knew was possible.
By: Kandice Thorn, Founder, WorkBetter for Lawyers
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