This series is part of the Linklaters & Crafty Counsel ‘Building Back Better’ series. Linklaters partner Jessamy Gallagher sat down for a virtual chat with Nicola Tassell, Managing Director and Divisional General Counsel for Europe at PSP Investments. They share perspectives on the past year following the Covid-19 pandemic. Exploring how General Counsel can create a better future in the legal industry.
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Empathetic leadership at the forefront
Jessamy kicked off by asking, “How do you keep your team motivated and resilient with remote working and unpredictable times? What have you been doing?”
Nicola said, after the initial phase of the pandemic, she found that having daily on-camera check-ins with her team wasn’t helping motivation and resilience. Rather it was doing the opposite and leading to screen fatigue.
Her team moved away from what she called “artificial check-ins”, where colleagues were unable to be fully honest anymore. Instead, she encouraged the team to keep up-to-date with colleagues by having more spontaneous and open, but also non-intrusive, conversations.
“It’s about showing genuine empathy and concern about what’s going on in people’s lives. Whilst making sure that they are able to draw some lines and keep the [conversations] fresh. Otherwise, people just become very stale,” Nicola said.
Next, Jessamy and Nicola explored the difficulties of being in a leadership position during the pandemic. “Let’s talk about helping leaders lead. What tips do you have for those in leadership positions on being better and more effective leaders?” she asked.
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Nicola noted that a big part of her leadership role has been empathising with her team during the pandemic. Whilst also being honest whenever she is struggling, stripping away the reluctance that leaders can have towards showing vulnerability.
“It feels as though people, more than ever, we need to be human and alive to the fact that there’s a whole pile of things that are going on in people’s lives off-camera that we don’t see. It’s a miracle the wheels are still on the wagon and people are doing the jobs they’re doing under these crazy situations. And hearing leaders being honest about the challenges they’re facing, I think, is really important,” she said.
Doing the right thing in strenuous times
Next, Jessamy asked for Nicola’s thoughts on the evolution of the General Counsel role in helping to lead their organisations. Not just to do things right, but to do the right thing.
Nicola said that, while it is a truism, she agrees with the statement that one can tell the true measure of an organisation by the way they make decisions in a crisis.
“Give your General Counsel a seat at the table where those decisions are being made. It ensures information is flowing the right way around the organisation into the hands of people making the decision. It makes corners aren’t being cut. This all goes to corporate culture,” she added.
Nicola doesn’t believe the function of her legal team and advice they give to the business has fundamentally changed in these situations.
“This is the organisation we are and this is how we do things. That doesn’t get eroded because we’re in a tight spot or the pressure is on at the moment’,” she said. Adding it has become increasingly important to do things the right way in difficult times since those decisions are the ones which are judged later on.
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Jessamy added that “the fibres of culture have been strained because it’s so long since we’ve all been together. You really do have to kind of dig deep into what you’d already built up”.
Innovating PSP’s knowledge sharing
Whilst not entirely linked to the pandemic, remote working has increased the importance of seamless knowledge sharing between teams of lawyers that sit in Montréal (PSP’s main business office), New York and London. Until relatively recently, all of the lawyers sat were based in Canada. They could “just swing their chair around” and ask each other about how they did things.
“And the knowledge was there, it was literally sat in the room. Now, that’s not the same. We’ve got to figure out how we share that knowledge effectively across time zones and different offices,” she said.
Her team is still looking at options for sharing crucial information and knowledge with whoever needs it, wherever they are. This gives her an opportunity for innovation of processes and practices. Nicola hopes their methods and outputs will prove beneficial not just to the legal team but across the business.
The future for legal teams, however, is not something she likes to predict. The last five years have taught her that predictions are easily changed. Nevertheless, she points to data, AI and ESG as key trends that her team will have to follow.
“We see, obviously, a lot of focus with our sponsor partners that we invest alongside on (ESG) issues. And quite rightly, it is an area of concern that is given a high level of focus. I don’t view it as a novel trend but, more of an emphasis that has already been in existence for a while really,” she added.
Nicola Tassell’s key takeaways for GCs
- Teams can quickly experience on-screen fatigue. More spontaneous and open check-in sessions between colleagues, and off-camera calls when possible are encouraged.
- Legal teams need to remain clear in their steering of a business towards doing the right thing. Especially when times are difficult.
- The expansion of AI technologies and ESG will be key issues in the next five years.