[00:00:56] Welcome to Life & Law, y'all. This is Heather Moulder your host. And today's episode comes directly from a client, as many of my episodes do. This was a comment that was made by a mastermind member of my latest Mastermind earlier this year.

"Heather, I hate law firm politics. Why do I have to play the game? It's just so demeaning. I can't stand it. Can't we just stay above the fray?"

[00:01:27] And today I want to have you thinking about this a little bit differently because when we go into the so-called politics of a law firm thinking this way - thinking of it as only negative, as a game, it's gamesmanship, the people who do it well are just gaming the system, they're gaming other people - you have a very negative viewpoint. And it's going to impact not just how you react to it, but whether you even engage within it, which is a mistake, by the way. And we're going to get into why that is.

But it's also going to change how others perceive you, and not necessarily in a good way. We all think that by staying above it and staying out of it, we're always going to be perceived. Well, not necessarily. Now, I'm not talking about putting yourself in the middle of stuff you have no business, but I am saying that if you are part of an organization, you're going to deal with the politics of that organization at some point, sometimes.

Law Firm Politics: What Causes It

Okay, so let's get into what I mean by law firm politics. What is, you know, the politics of the law firm, or any organization for that matter, Honestly, it's about human behavior, individual human behavior that creates group human behavior. And here is what you need to understand and really get accepting of. I want you to accept this.

[00:03:03] Everyone has their own history, experiences, insecurities, values, goals, strengths, biases, communication styles, fears, worries and so on. You know that part, right? Well, here's the Deal.

What we often call politics is the result of those things. It's the result of human beings being very human. And you cannot get away from that completely. It's just part of the deal when you're gonna work with other people.

And here's the thing I want you to understand, most importantly, and what my client needed to understand because before she had to deal with a political situation that came up that she did need to deal with because it dealt with clients and billing.

[00:03:51] The impact of effectively navigating the quote, unquote politics within your law firm cannot be understated, because here's what that includes. Who gets heard, who people trust, who gets included in decisions, whose priorities carry weight, how people perceive you.

Regular Politics vs. Toxic Politics

[00:04:12] Now, before I go any further, I do want to make a distinction here. There are normal politics, all the things I've listed above, right, Based on human behavior. And then there's toxic politics, also, unfortunately, based on human behavior.

What I'm talking about navigating and getting better at, and accepting and being okay with and having a more positive attitude towards, is the normal political stuff.

[00:04:40] I am not talking about when you have manipulation, favoritism, backstabbing, withholding of information, power plays, retaliation, bullying. Those are problems.

But please note that most organizational politics aren't really that. Or they may have a little bit, or they could go that direction. But if you effectively learn how to navigate your way through them, they don't get there. That is the key.

[00:05:10] Think of it this way. You are simply navigating people, relationships, competing priorities, influence, and imperfect information. All of those things are coming into play when we are dealing with quote, unquote politics.

And it is never going to go away, as I said earlier. Now, what if there are toxic politics going on? I will note that if you've already established a reputation for being upstanding because you're willing to navigate through the normal stuff, it's going to give you a leg up when this type of thing happens, because people will be more willing to look to you, to listen to you, to want your input. And that is a good thing.

[00:05:53] Now, if it's because of a truly toxic culture, like the whole firm culture, or a group culture, or an office culture, okay, that's a different issue. That's when toxicity is really taking hold. And you do not have to stay in that situation. You do not have to stay there. And please know, not all law firms, not all organizations, are toxic places. In fact, few are, generally speaking. Now, I've said this before, and I'm going to say this again. Some are going to be toxic for you because their values won't align or they won't have a setup that will utilize your strengths, but in fact will belittle them or make you feel like they're belittled because they're never utilized. Right.

What could be a perfectly fine place for a lot of people might be toxic to you. That is not what I'm talking about. Although in that situation, you need to identify it and find a better place for you.

Why Lawyers Try to Steer Clear of Law Firm Politics

[00:06:52] Okay, so one of the reasons I think we lawyers tend to resist playing politics, as we like to say, which is a very derogatory way of thinking of it. We want to think, we naturally think, and then we are trained to think in terms of merit, logic, rules, objective, analysis, fairness.

So there is this implicit belief within us, well, if I just do good work, it'll speak for itself. The right people will notice. We also think things like, I shouldn't have to manage other people's perceptions and expectations of me. Right? My work should speak for itself.

I said this earlier; I hear it so much. My work should speak for itself. People say this all the time. It's why they shouldn't have to, quote-unquote, play politics. It's why they shouldn't have to speak up and speak out about why they're the best fit for a promotion or being, you know, getting to partnership. It's why. No, here's the deal, y'. All. No organization operates purely on merit or logic. People make decisions about people, and those people who are making those decisions are human beings.

[00:08:03] It doesn't mean that merit doesn't matter, but it is only one input. When you stay above the fray, stay above it all, refuse to quote, unquote, play, you are hurting yourself.

[00:08:14] Because it's not really about playing anything. You're not playing politics in what I'm talking about here. It's about understanding people, why they do what they do, why they think what they think, what they actually think, making sure you understand that, and then how to best address their concerns, their fears, their worries.

• You can be politically savvy and never have to play quote, unquote, politics.
• You can have strong values and still understand how to influence others in a stand up way.
• You can be authentic and yet still communicate strategically.
• You can avoid gossip, yet understand what's happening beneath the surface.
• You can be collaborative while paying attention to power dynamics and knowing how to address it appropriately.

[00:09:11] Being politically savvy is not about becoming someone you are not. It's about understanding the people and environment you're operating within. So that you can navigate them effectively.

What's Really Going On (& Why You Don't Want to Just Ignore the Politics)

[00:09:24] Do you know what we're really talking about here, y'? All? Emotional intelligence.

[00:09:31] Understanding people, learning to have empathy for them. Seeking out to listen more, utilizing their language when speaking with them. Not, you know, in a surface-level way, but on a deeper level, showcasing. You understand them, you're hearing. You're listening to them, not just hearing them.

[00:09:58] This is about emotional intelligence. I've talked about that before. For anyone who's interested, who hasn't listened to those episodes or wants to go back and see how they might want to apply what's being discussed in those episodes, in this type of a situation, I highly recommend you go back and listen. I will put links to both in the show notes.

One of those episodes goes more into what emotional intelligence is, the five facets, and then another one talks a little bit about that, but then gets a little more in depth on how to get started with improving your emotional intelligence.

[00:10:32] What I'm really asking is to change your mindset, to shift it. No more judging the existence of politics and instead get curious. Rather than being judgmental, look at people differently and ask:

• What does this person care about? What are they worried about?
• What do they need?
• What might they be trying to protect?
• What's influencing them in their decision-making?
• What history do I not know that I might need to go figure out?
• What information could I be missing and how do I go figure that out?
• How might this situation look from their perspective, given all of those other things?

[00:11:13] Understanding that, becoming more aware of that allows you to read a room better, allows you to engage with people better. It allows you to have stronger relationships with people, which ultimately is a lot about what politics is or what we tend to say. You know what politics is, it's about relationships, it's about people, it's about meeting them where they are and figuring out a more common ground so that you can have more influence. Not manipulative, just influence.

[00:11:47] Once you stop resisting politics, quote, unquote, you can start reading that room and you become better at understanding motivations, anticipating reactions, tailoring communications, knowing when to push, knowing when to pause, understanding who needs to be involved in decision-making, how to navigate disagreement with colleagues and leadership, building coalitions, and as I said before, influencing. Influencing actual decisions.

That makes you not manipulative, effective.

[00:12:24] The lawyer who can shift their mindset around this becomes the person who can read a room, adjust how they communicate, and outperform the technically brilliant lawyers that are oblivious to what's happening around them. These skills, they're going to benefit you everywhere within leadership with colleagues, with those you manage on your team, and bonus with clients.

And when you do this and you do it well, you're more likely to be perceived as collaborative, thoughtful, trustworthy, easy to work with, a team player, someone who can handle difficult situations, someone who can lead.

[00:13:08] You don't have to love law firm politics, but what I'm asking of you today is to stop treating the existence of politics as evidence that something is wrong.

Don't just resist it. Don't just try to be above the fray and keep your head down.

Instead, use your understanding of people and further develop that understanding of people to become a better lawyer, a better colleague, a better leader, a better manager.

[00:13:39] That's it for this week. Bye for now.