The 8 Habits of Successful GCs Includes Being 'Mischievous'

FindLaw.com’s Corporate Counsel Blog cites findings from the Russell Reynolds Associates’ study, Becoming the Calm Risk Taker: Attributes for Success in Today’s New Legal Environment.

The most successful general counsel show low “excitability” but are highly “mischievous,” according to a new report that highlights the eight habits of highly effective legal executives.

Just what does being “mischievous” mean? It means going “well beyond spotting legal issues to helping the business actually take risks and find creative solutions,” according to the report by executive-search firm Russell Reynolds Associates. In fact, the”best” legal executives are 11% more willing to take risks than less-effective legal execs, the report found.

In addition to mischief and low excitability, the rest of the eight habits of successful GCs are:

- Decisiveness,
- Social Boldness,
- Striving for Achievement,
- Social Confidence,
- Competitiveness, and
- Persuasiveness.

"Taken together, our findings suggest that legal executives should strive to become what we call the 'calm risk taker," the report states.

Read the full article on FindLaw.com and access the report, Becoming the Calm Risk Taker: Attributes for Success in Today's New Legal Environment.