Rebecca spent seven years in Allen & Overy’s business development and marketing team in London and Paris followed by 13 years with EY, latterly as Global Director specialising in business strategy, people and organisational change.
In 2018 Rebecca left the corporate world to focus on consulting, coaching and facilitating. Rebecca sits on several boards and is a keen advocate of women’s economic empowerment.
What made you want to swap corporate life for entrepreneurial ventures?
I loved my twenty-five years in professional services, working in the city and overseas for a few years, too. However, I reached a point where I needed more autonomy. With my husband working for himself and the evolving caring needs of my family (both young and old) my personal life was every bit as demanding as my professional one which also involved a lot of travel. I began to experience acute burnout exacerbated by underlying undiagnosed early onset perimenopause. These factors were catalysts in my decision to move into the next stage of my career.
How did working in corporates shape your leadership and coaching philosophy?
It shaped my philosophy hugely. At EY, I delivered a great deal of internal coaching and learning facilitation, which introduced me to a variety of ideas and approaches. I also got heavily involved in the women’s economic empowerment agenda, which involved building the EY’s market facing award winning global platform. The platform supported women not just in big businesses, but those in entrepreneurship, the public and the third sector, too. I knew that when I stepped away from the corporate world, coaching and leadership were the areas I would carrying on working in.
This stage of my career has been an iterative process with lots of reflection, trying things out and seeking out areas with genuine interest and viable market opportunities. The hardest part in making the transition was to avoid approaching the next stage of my career in the same way I approached the earlier stages. Rather than throw myself all in, I made a point of making time for my family, looking after my health, focusing on quality work and not allowing myself to be too stretched in multiple directions.
What’s your advice for in-house lawyers looking to position themselves for leadership roles?
To quote Marshall Goldsmith (US executive leadership coach and author), remember that ‘What got you here won’t get you there.’ Figure out what you want, why you want it and how you’ll go about getting it. See this as a values-based exercise – what type of leader do you want to be?
A lot of my work with leaders is around identifying their values, the gaps in their experience and building on their strengths. I introduce the concept of the ‘personal boardroom,’ which is about improving access to relationships, insights and introductions – it’s these relationships that prove key to accelerating your leadership and career.
This is particularly relevant to women who, because they wear so many hats across their personal and professional lives, do not necessarily have the natural access or prioritise investing in these relationships. But it’s vital to prioritise relationships that will open doors for you. Approaches like sponsorship, and the express backing of senior leaders in the organisation through careful talent pipeline management, are also very powerful.
How valuable can non-executive directorships (NEDs) be for people with leadership aspirations?
They can be invaluable for several reasons. Firstly, for people who may feel stuck in large organisations, a NED role enables you to crystallise the value you bring and gives you stretch if you need. Secondly, it will expose you to different types of leaders from whom you can learn as well as the challenges around reaching a consensus through debate.
Another benefit is that a NED role has the opportunity of expanding your professional network. This can be helpful for professionals who are looking to transition into a career change medium to longer term – or into semi-retirement while still making a contribution they can feel a sense of achievement and value from.
What type of organisation would you recommend for a first NED role?
If you’re looking to achieve the aforementioned through your first NED role, then I’d advise targeting established organisations typically in the third/Not for profit sector with a reasonable, stable and ideally growing turnover rather than a startup or scaleup. You want to be exposed to experienced board members and a sound governance structure (incl an audit committee, etc).
There are also great benefits to working in what are seen as unsexy, unglamorous sectors. Here you’ll find professionals and board members who do the work because they care deeply about their cause and develop creative solutions to their challenges – it really helps as a NED to care about the purpose of the organisation. It’s a fantastic learning opportunity and one that can lead to a whole range of further opportunities, potentially both paid and voluntary.
What key skills should aspiring leaders develop?
This maybe a controversial answer but for professionals the ability to manage your exposure is vital. Impactful leaders in professional services make time to consciously develop and curate their profile and presence both externally and internally through mediums like storytelling. And on a human level, to actively listen this requires stepping out of the comfort zone of being an expert.
How do you see coaching and mentoring changing in the years ahead?
There is so much talked about the disruptive impact of technology. But when it comes to coaching and mentoring leaders, I don’t think it will change massively. Yes, technology will take up some of the space absolutely. However, when it comes to working in the leadership space it’s often a lonely journey, leaders have a deep need to be heard and supported through personal interaction and that I believe won’t change.
You have a multitude of business interests – how do you switch off and recharge?
We have a campervan and travel extensively around the UK and mainland Europe. We’ve campervanned as far north as Copenhagen and as far south as Florence. I also love the theatre. I have three theatre trips booked this week alone.
Join CLL and Rebecca for our joint webinar on the 30th of September.
'From expertise to strategic leadership: Evolving your approach' will guide you through the steps necessary to make the transition from a technical role in the legal team to a leadership position.
We’re often advised to be more strategic, but what does that mean? And how do we achieve this when, so far in your career, you’ve been recognised and rewarded for your technical expertise and ability to deliver?
Understanding the concepts, tools and techniques that empower you to show up as a leader will help you unlock the next stage of your career.
So join us for this session and learn more about:
- Strategic leadership - what is it?
- Preferences, versatility and saboteurs - what are they and what role do they play?
- The journey from technical expert to strategic leader - the essential toolkit; and
- Practical tips, tools and resources to support you post session.
Register here.
