3 Key Ways to Leverage Your Diversity in Practice Membership

The New Year is a time of renewal and we are very thankful to all our members that this includes renewal of your membership in Diversity in Practice.  Of course, the success of any association depends on the continued active participation of its members.  This is particularly true for us when it comes to the challenge of extending the full range of our services to thousands of practicing attorneys spread across our membership ranks of 30 law firms and 15 corporate law departments.   Now, at the outset of 2015, I want to take a brief moment to suggest how your organization and your attorneys can make the best use of what Diversity in Practice has to offer.  So, here are a few key ways we know you can effectively leverage your membership benefits and at the same time help us better achieve our goals.

1) Get involved – Whether you want to attend some of our amazing CLE’s or work on a cross-functional committee or working group – do it!  Participation in our committees and working groups is open to any member attorney and provides the best way to get connected to both clients and other practitioners.  Please contact us to request information about our current roster of committees and to find out what would be the best fit for you.  We also do 4 to 6 CLE’s per year and they are FREE for members.  We are in the planning stages for our 2015 PDC season so keep an eye on our events page for upcoming programing.

2) Build your network –Attending our major networking events will provide you with access to some of the top attorneys in the Twin Cities legal market and beyond.  These events offer a great way to get to know who is out there, learn what challenges your colleagues are facing and hear more about current legal market developments.  These are all critical elements in building a successful career here in the Twin Cities.  Whether you’re working in-house or at a firm, building up your personal and professional networks are critical to long-term success.  Diversity in Practice provides you with a platform and a safe space to build those networks. Visit our website for more information on networking events that might be a good fit for you.

3) Work across differences – One of the key leadership skills necessary to compete in a global market is being able to work across differences.  This was identified as an urgent concern of business leaders in the most recent global survey by Deloitte University, which stressed the readiness gap in leadership when it comes to meeting today’s unique challenges. Specifically, the Deloitte survey concluded:

“21st-century leadership is different. Companies face new leadership challenges, including developing Millennials and multiple generations of leaders, meeting the demand for leaders with global fluency and flexibility, building the ability to innovate and inspire others to perform, and acquiring new levels of understanding of rapidly changing technologies and new disciplines and fields.”

CEO’s and GC’s today know their leaders are not well prepared for the challenges of a truly global business climate.  As key advisors to businesses and senior management, lawyers need to be global thinkers as well. Again, Diversity in Practice provides you an opportunity to move outside your comfort zone and gives you a chance to work across differences, thereby obtaining a key leadership skill necessary in the 21st century.  Come and hone your own skills for a more vibrant and diverse future!