GCs make good leaders, but technology makes them great!

Are you being asked to provide leadership in your business?

If so, it could be due to your ability to forecast and harmonise – qualities that make GCs especially qualified to lead, according to a recent study by executive leadership firm Heidrick & Struggles. The study found that GCs outpace all other non-CEO execs in certain leadership attributes, indicating that GCs have what it takes to take on leadership roles in the C-suite.

In the aptly named, “What Today’s General Counsel Looks Like As a Leader” report, the firm studied how GCs stack up against other non-CEO C-level executives using eight distinct leadership styles – including harmoniser, forecaster, pilot, collaborator, energiser, provider, producer and composer – in an effort to help GCs lead more effectively.

What they found was that GCs score higher on the two most prevalent styles at the C-level: the forecaster and harmonizer. GCs on average scored highest on Harmoniser attributes, followed by Producer attributes, and then Forecaster attributes. When comparing results from over 300 C-level legal executives and more than 200 other legal professionals, GCs score higher as a group than their non-CEO C-level peers in both categories.

What does this mean for GCs?

How legal technology can improve GC leadership