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Do you want to flourish, and not just get through as a senior in-house lawyer?

New for 2024 – Flourishing as a senior in-house lawyer

Here at CLL we are offering you the chance to attend a online, three part coaching programme developed by Pennington Hennessy Ltd, and delivered by Jamie Pennington.

Build on your strengths, not weaknesses.

This coaching programme explains how you can flourish, by identifying your underlying strengths and then maximising their use. The programme is built on the research of Professor Martin Seligman - father of positive psychology - based on thousands of studies into what helps people flourish.  This is the first time that this has been offered in a webinar format.

This programme has helped dozens of lawyers:

  • develop enhanced self-awareness regarding personal strengths and values;
  • increase confidence;
  • improve resilience and adaptability in the face of challenges;
  • achieve a greater overall well-being and satisfaction in personal and professional life; and
  • develop a personalised road-map for ongoing growth and development.

Overview

Each session will take place over a lunch period and last for approximately 90 minutes.

Webinar One: Discovering your Strengths. 22 February 2024

  • Introduction to the VIA inventory of strengths.
  • Understanding signature strengths.
  • Identifying signature strengths.

Before Webinar 2 Complete your (free) VIA Character Survey.

Webinar Two:  Leverage your Strengths. 21 March 2024

  • Understanding your own personal signature strengths.
  • Understanding the dynamic interplay between strengths.
  • Strategies for utilising signature strengths in personal and professional settings.

Before Webinar 3 develop a personalised action plan to cultivate strengths.

Webinar Three: Sustaining growth and progress. 24 April 2024

  • Exploring challenges and successes in implementing strengths-based strategies.
  • Techniques for maintaining focus on strengths amid setbacks.
  • Establishing long-term goals for continued growth and development.

After Webinar 3 continue to implement your personalised action plan
 
To get the full benefit of this coaching opportunity it will be best to attend all three sessions but we understand that due to other commitments and busy schedules this might not be possible.

Spaces will be limited and the ideal audience will be senior or established in-house lawyers but we are open to all those who think they will benefit from this unique opportunity.

About Jamie Pennington

Jamie is a Visiting Professor at The University of Law, where he focuses on leadership and management. He has spent over 25 years coaching and training lawyers both in-house and in private practice.  His first career was in Military Intelligence. He has an MBA from London Business School and an MA in Coaching from Warwick.
 
About the research that lies behind the programme – The VIA Institute on Character (VIA)

The VIA Institute

The Via Character 24 Strengths model is based upon research undertaken by the VIA Institute on Character.  The institute is a is a 100% non-profit organisation and is heavily research-based which puts it in sharp contrast to most other character type models.

Origins

Historically psychology was focused on negatives: people with depression, anxiety, psychosis. If you plot psychological wellness or flourishing on a scale, psychology was focused on moving people near ‐10 towards 0 or neutral. 

In 1998 Dr Martin Seligman – President of the American Psychological Association - challenged psychology to change their approach to focus on positive psychology.  He wanted to understand what helped people flourish – moving from perhaps +3 to +7.

To this end Dr Martin Seligman undertook extensive research into the subject of positive psychology. The research took 3 years and combined the research of 55 academics from around the world.

Outcome

The outcome of the research was a report. “Character strengths and virtues: a handbook and classification”.  Character strengths lie deeper than personality.  Personality sets out how you prefer to behave, whereas character strengths include traits that reveal themselves only in specific circumstances – traits like honesty, bravery or kindness.

While personality is easier to spot, it’s largely static and slow to evolve. Character, on the other hand, takes longer to discern but is easier to change. That’s because character is shaped by beliefs, and with enough effort and motivation, changing one’s perspective and view of the world can lead to a shift in one’s character.

VIA Character research identified 24 Character Strengths that were agreed upon across all differing cultures and varied nationalities.
 
VIA continues to advance research into positive psychology to this day, and has been accepted into the International Positive Psychology Association, as well as the International Coaching Federation and the Coaching Institute at Harvard Medical school.  All of VIA's research and findings ‐ even those that go against their current understanding ‐ are published publicly.

How is an understanding of your VIA Character Strengths useful?

The research shows that once an individual understands their own Character Strengths, applying these strengths can lead to greater individual flourishing, academic achievement, and workplace success, as well as other benefits.

Major corporations such as IBM, Coca Cola, PWC and the US Military use the VIA Strengths system because they have seen benefits that can come from the recognition and encouragement of a person's strengths.

Character strengths are trait‐like, in that they are used in day-to-day activities almost automatically. The research shows, however, that over time an individual can learn to better utilise their strengths to improve their sense of self and can learn how to flourish.