With ongoing economic turbulence and rising geopolitical instability, businesses are urgently searching for leaders capable of steering them through this prolonged uncertainty – and Kirstin Follows believes in-house lawyers are uniquely equipped to take on that role.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, Kirstin Follows, executive general manager for Australian Unity Trustees, highlighted how in-house lawyers are uniquely positioned to step up within their organisations, providing the steady, strategic guidance businesses need to navigate periods of volatility with confidence and clarity.
In the same episode, she opened up about her rise into leadership, sharing candid insights and practical lessons for in-house lawyers aiming to secure a top seat at the decision-making table.
Follows shared that in-house lawyers are equipped to take on broader leadership responsibilities to help businesses steer through persistently choppy waters, noting how they possess “those types of skills” needed to navigate complexity with confidence and clarity.
But while strong technical skills are essential, she emphasised that in-house lawyers must also be willing to stretch beyond their comfort zones – embracing new learning, tackling unfamiliar challenges, and stepping confidently outside the boundaries of their traditional role.
“I think you have to be prepared to learn new things and open yourself up to learn things that you might not have done before. But I think you definitely have the skills to be able to do that,” she said.
Reflecting on her own experience, Follows stressed that taking on leadership and its added responsibilities becomes far more sustainable when the organisation’s mission genuinely resonates on a personal level.
“But I do think you need to be somewhere where you have a real deep love of the work that you do and the kind of work that is the output of where you’ve been, maybe advising, and that may make it so much easier,” she said.
By instilling a strong alignment between professional work and personal purpose, Follows emphasised that true success and the essence of effective leadership converge.
“If you can figure out what the things are that you love to do and what gives you purpose as a person as well as in your career, if you can meld those two things together, you’re a big winner,” she said.
But passion alone isn’t enough to stand out or rise as a leader within a business.
Follows emphasised that in-house counsel aiming for executive roles must be proactive and consciously position themselves as someone the business can recognise as a credible leadership figure.
“If you don’t ask, you don’t get. I think you also need to look around and think, well, what’s the footprint that I have here with the business that I’m currently advising?” she said.
“Would I be someone that they would come to if there was an opportunity or a role? If no, then it’s like, what do I need to do to make sure I might be that person?
“Does that mean I need to be a bit more practical and hands-on. What can I do to demonstrate that I would be a person who would be able to make those sorts of practical decisions?”
