There is a widespread and growing acceptance in legal services organisations worldwide that dealing with stress and burnout is not just the responsibility of the individual lawyer. The mitigation and prevention of excessive stress in the legal workplace are now being recognised as critical management responsibilities. This expectation has serious measurable implications and consequences for managing partners, general counsel and other leaders.
This practical guide summons lawyers, leaders and managers to greater alertness about stress-producing factors in the workplace and to more effective applications of practical responses and methods in the special conditions and circumstances of the practice of law in today's often intense and highly competitive environment. It is written expressly for professional colleagues who want to work together in common cause to bring greater awareness to wellness needs and to minimise excessive stress or distress in the legal workplace, positively impacting workplace culture, professional relationships, firm reputation, talent retention and profitability.

Written by a world-recognised counselling psychologist, who has worked exclusively with the people and organisations in the legal services industry for more than twenty-five years, it focuses on actions, not theories and philosophy, that any leader and legal services organisation can begin to use immediately to make sustainable investments in the well-being of its people.

I. A practical guide for leaders 7
1. High stakes and changing expectations 9
2. The key role of leadership 12
3. The goal of a supportive work environment 14
4. Acknowledgements 16

II. Getting started 17
1. Defining our terms 17
2. Food for thought 24
3. Questions to help us get started 25

III. Reluctance and commitment 27
1. Overcome reluctance to respond 27
2. Challenge what we think 30

IV. Leaders as helpers 39
1. Understand roles and choices 40
2. Become more self-aware 46
3. Consider potential biases 47
4. Think about time dfferently and how to plan it 51
5. A case study in leaders as helpers: The Clique of Malcontents 59

V. What leadership actions best prepare organisations for change? 63
1. Pay close attention 63
2. Stay engaged 63
3. Accept that power dynamics may create barriers to communication 64
4. Assume that feedback from others is necessary 64
5. Plan to communicate 65
6. Make the time to analyse and interpret data 65
7. Check in with each other regularly to get relevant information and show support 67
8. Remind ourselves that we are not always right 67
9. Set a good example 67
10. Take pre-emptive action whenever possible 68

VI. Stay alert 71
1. Alertness in relationships 71
2. Alertness to current trends and information 79
3. Collect relevant data 81
4. A case study in relationship awareness: a well-informed, step-by-step response to a colleague's emotional outburst 84

VII. What do we need to know about talking with each other? 97
1. Lessons learned from leaders: talking with each other about stress 100
2. The function and dynamics of feedback as a stressor in organisational life 104
3. The importance of the professional compact 114
4. Demonstrate mutual respect 116
5. Use leadership feedback to improve the feedback culture 117
6. Have learning conversations regularly 119

VIII. Improve internal communication structures and engagement 125
1. Through informal connections 125
2. How can lawyers get the greatest value from their relationship connections? 128
3. Through engagement with groups 129
4. Use the Four Stages of Competence model 137
5. Through the use of questions 139
6. Through mentoring 141
7. Use the status of current relationships to guide next steps 146
8. A word of caution: fixed mindsets 154
9. A natural strength: commitment 157
10. Can we be better? 159

IX. Emotional competencies and effective communication 161
1. Basic assumptions 161
2. A leadership perspective 164
3. Committed leadership action: documenting behaviours as a first step in behaviour change 169
4. Documentation as a confict management tool 171

X. Shouldn't conflict be avoided? 173
1. Building trust, confidence and optimism 174
2. Procrastination is not conflict resolution 178
3. Choose to learn 178

XI. Systems thinking and a structured change process 183
1. No organisation is perfect 183
2. A case study in Anticipate, Plan and Execute 186
3. Three conditions for success 195
4. Pay close attention to the work climate, what it is and what's happening in your organisation 197
5. Responding to complaints about stress: two case studies 208

XII. Increasing our effectiveness as leaders in a stressful work environment 213
1. Question your current mindset 213
2. Balance optimism and pessimism 214

Notes 219

About the author 223

About Globe Law and Business 224