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In-house leaders are increasingly expected to adopt a strategic viewpoint. They are not only hired to give legal advice, but also to drive business objectives. To succeed, in-house leaders need to prioritise lasting goals over immediate incentives, think long-term, and define the commercial direction of organisations. In short, in-house leaders need to embrace strategy.

But what exactly do we mean by strategy? What does it mean to be strategic? Such questions are at the heart of the recent ³ÉÈËÓ°Òô report, created in collaboration with leadership expert Dr Paul Hughes from the (CCL).

‘Becoming a strategic in-house leader’ gives vital information about the strategic skills in-house leaders need to develop. It shows that in-house leaders need to master strategic thinking, strategic acting, and strategic influencing. Below we take a closer look at each.

Three core skills for strategic in-house leaders

It will be helpful to first define leadership. is best understood as a social process that allows people to cohesively work together to produce collective results. Leadership is not an individual enterprise, but stems from interactions between people.

Effective leadership results in three outcomes. Direction means that the leader has found a common agreement on what the collective wants to achieve. Alignment means that the leader has co-ordinated and integrated different aspects of work. Commitment means the leader has influenced people to make the success of the collective a personal priority.

In-house leaders should ensure the direction, alignment, and commitment of their team supports the creation of organisational value. They can ensure that by developing three skills mentioned below, adapted from CCL’s Strategic Leadership Model.

Strategic in-house thinking

Strategic thinking is about understanding one’s position. It is about how a person makes sense of their organisational in-house legal leadership role. It means developing the ability to think about how they can create organisational value, within the wider structures of the business. It also requires thinking about what that all means personally and professionally.

Strategic in-house legal acting

Strategic acting is about influencing and impacting stakeholders to generate value. That means appreciating how actions play a larger part in the complex organisational ecosystem, in which teams are often matrixed and undergoing constant change. It also means influencing your team and influencing how your team influences others across the organisation.

Strategic in-house legal influencing

Strategic influencing is all about how an individual exercises strategic, not simply personal, influence. That means how an in-house legal leader influences the organisation in fundamental and wide-reaching ways, often with no connection to value generating activities of the in-house function. The influencing aims to maximise value generation in the long-term.

Below you can see how the model works, with each skill working alongside the other skills, with reference to direction. alignment, and commitment. 

How the model supports strategic leadership

The above model aims to help in-house leaders move from box ticking – complete focus on the functional elements of the in-house leader role – to considering wider strategic objectives. The success of a strategic in-house leader depends on embracing the latter, finding success by utilising the above skillsets, and ultimately maximising long-term value generation.

The focus on ‘box ticking’ is understandable. The functional side of leadership is often readily quantifiable, with immediate incentives. Strategic goals, on the other hand, often lack incentives, with reward and recognition coming in the long-term, if at all.

That’s precisely why strategic thinking is so important. It requires leaders to look at the bigger picture and to keep sight of all the important legal and commercial elements, allowing them to make the best – not simply the easiest – decisions for their organisations.

That won’t appeal to all budding in-house leaders. Some may still prefer to focus solely on the functional, sticking with reliable legal work rather than delving into the ambiguity of the commercial world. But successful in-house leaders of the future will need to do both.

In-house leaders will need to offer reliable advice, balance paradoxical tensions of the role, and continue to address wider organisational concerns. That will depend on embracing the three skills mentioned above, developing them over time, and using them to improve the direction, alignment, and commitment from the team.

Read the full report ‘Becoming a strategic in-house legal leader’ to understand how in-house leaders can add even greater value to their organisation.

Practical support for in-house leadership

 is packed with practical content to support your development and thinking around effective in-house leadership. The  is a great starting point, whether you are new to leadership or seeking fresh perspectives as an experienced General Counsel.

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