By Jay Kiros, Global Director, Sales Solution Engineering and RFP Management, ELM Solutions
Recently, I attended a meeting of IT, legal, finance, and other top corporate executives discussing how a particular technology could benefit their business units. Each of these stakeholders had their own opinions, questions, and points of view. They asked, "How will this solution solve my unique challenges? How will it impact my part of the business?"
As the conversation reached a stalemate, I mapped out everyone's various concerns. Written out, it became clear that despite each executive voicing different opinions, they all really wanted the same thing: to save time, money, and resources. Once we identified that commonality, the stakeholders quickly understood that all of them were driving toward the same goals. They began to collaborate and communicate, shifting from defending individual priorities to co-creating a shared vision for success.
Legal operations' growing world of influence
The role I played in this example is like that which legal operations teams find themselves in today - identifying common ground among stakeholders with seemingly competing agendas. Corporate legal professionals must regularly interact with a broad spectrum of management, including representatives from finance, risk and compliance, IT, and even the C-suite.
The challenge, as always, is how to successfully engage with these stakeholders and build long-lasting relationships that benefit both leadership and legal ops. That's not a role that many legal operations professionals are comfortable with; after all, we are talking about people who have focused on tracking matters and managing budgets as opposed to navigating corporate dynamics.
However, legal ops teams have a significant opportunity to be the change agents their organizations need. They can propel their business forward toward greater efficiency, stronger collaboration, and long-term success.
Positioning stakeholders as the heroes in their own stories
To achieve this transformation, legal operations must frame individual stakeholders as heroes and legal as the enabler that helps each function win the day:
- A CFO concerned about cost management in today's uncertain economic climate? Here's how legal ops will help you reach your goals.
- A CIO seeking to modernize infrastructure and integrate new technology? Here's how legal ops can help streamline processes and acquire the right tools to reduce risk.
- A compliance leader under pressure to manage evolving regulations? Here's how legal ops will create standardized workflows and reporting to keep the organization protected and audit-ready.
- A corporate counsel tasked with improving matter outcomes? Here's how legal ops will help you choose the law firms that will deliver the best results.
In each case, the narrative is not about legal operations; it is about how legal operations work with, influence, and empower stakeholders to succeed.
Want to know the secrets behind stakeholder influence? Explore my whitepaper to learn how to align people, processes, and technology effectively while positioning legal ops to become a strategic enabler across your organization.
