Lawyers Job Crafting

Job Crafting involves a bottom up change made by an individual person to their own work role. Adopting the STAR [Situation, Task, Action, Review] framework we can explain it as follows. The Situation is the work role. The Task is the opportunity to make small changes to a job. Which can better align the job with a person's preferences, strengths and values. Yet the basic structure remains (as in the Job Description). Adjustments are simply made to ensure a better fit. It's like adjusting the size of a suit. The Action is to modify the work tasks, relationships or mindset and is employee driven not imposed by the organisation. the Review stage involves analysing the success, in terms of the initiator's wellbeing, work enjoyment or professional development. This is an iterative process.

Job crafting can help a lawyer better align their work for their own interests, wellbeing and needs. This will sometimes be done secretly, without the knowledge of their organisation. Alternatively the legal organisation may choose to disregard the positive work initiatives, tweaking, a lawyer introduces even though it is aware. This later approach highlights the findings in my PhD findings that lawyers often undertake informal leadership work which is not recognised, rewarded or supported adequately by their legal organisation. Their motivation in doing this work is to achieve better work outcomes. For their own sense of achievement as well as to contribute to the legal organisation.

Legal organisations can fuel the success of their people, in part, by undertaking the following four activities set out in this diagram.

More clarity about who, what, when, why and where such small changes are occuring offers a sound base upon which to create opportunities for crafting conversations and personalised check-ins with lawyers about the opportunities they identify to improve their work role.

Legal organisations that tap onto this often hidden resourcefulness can benefit also with enhanced retention, efficiency and effectiveness, collaboration and constructive feedback into processes and procedures. This will become increasingly important with the advent of AI and software legal practice tools. We will explore this further when we consider Role Sculpting.

What are your thoughts about this approach to role improvement for lawyers?

regards

Deb H