Today’s post covers the last part of the Success Patterns exercise. I often give this exercise to lawyers who are unsatisfied or unfulfilled in their current position and wish someone would hand them a new job or tell them which path to take or pivot to make. It also works for lawyers who want more clarity about their strengths.
Having worked through the first two parts of the Success Patterns exercise, you have identified your success patterns and more clearly see when and why you feel at your best in certain kinds of contexts. Now what?
Take courage, look for, and create opportunities to be in legal contexts where you will shine
The idea is not to just look for a new job, a clean slate, a better boss, or something other than the law. Those goals alone do not address professional fulfillment.
Use the Success Patterns results to help you shift from a negative “I’ve got to get out of here” mindset to a positive, goal oriented one that intrinsically addresses satisfaction and fulfillment. Your goal is to be in those now better defined contexts where you thrive.
So, with your success patterns in mind, begin with a small, measurable, do-able action step that moves you toward those contexts. Preferably make it a baby step. I say this because if you are like many lawyers I know, that is the most effective way to start. The alternative is often overwhelming and keeps us from ever starting.
I know that after completing the first two parts of the Success Patterns exercise, some attorneys are still mired down unable to identify what practice areas or positions might be a good fit, and wondering if there is something more satisfying for them outside the law. Unable to see a clear direction and goal, they still don’t know what steps to take or which way to pivot.
It definitely can be hard, especially on your own. Take a deep breath, take the personal evidence from this exercise, and enlist someone you trust – a friend, a mentor, a coach – to help you brainstorm and take practical steps. Set up an accountability system and a timeline. Reward yourself for taking steps that you wouldn’t have taken before. That difference right there is change. It is you shining your light ahead on your path.
Like some of my clients, you may even realize “I am well suited for my practice area!”
The Success Patterns exercise is not magic. Your patterns won’t tell you exactly which road to take. But they will help you give shape to a destination and formulate small steps to get you there.
Instead of jettisoning what you have built in your current job or legal career, use your success patterns to exercise some control over your career. Creating a path forward beats waiting for a dream job to land in your lap.
I would love to help you if you are looking for more satisfaction and fulfillment in your legal career. Please feel free to contact me.