I've had a number of guests on this show speaking about leadership. A large part of this is that I'm very interested in the subject. But I also feel that this is a skill set that is often neglected in the legal profession. As lawyers, we learn a lot about our craft in law school and even more once we are in practice.  As professionals, we are taught to analyze the law and help our clients to identify legal risks. Our job is to be skeptical and to apply dispassionate reasoning to the situation so that our clients can protect themselves from legal exposure and comply with the law.  We work to get our clients the best possible outcome whether it is in a litigation matter or in a corporate or real estate deal.  We help our clients to achieve their personal or business objectives in a way that avoids legal risk or accomplishes their legal objectives. But the same skills that we cultivate in practicing law can interfere with our ability to be an effective leader. Whether you are a managing partner, a practice group leader, running your own law firm, serving as a general counsel, or managing other members of the legal team as an assistant general counsel, you need a different skill set to be successful. In particular, emotional intelligence is one skill that you need to cultivate in order to be successful in a leadership role. In this episode, Susan Schwartz provides great insights on that subject. Susan Schwartz is a leadership coach and management consultant. She equips technical experts and teams with the skills they need to become excellent leaders.  Her tagline is :  Transforming expert professionals into emotionally intelligent leaders. Additional Resources Episode 129-Law Firm Leadership with Kristi Royse 15 Tips For Leadership Success  Episode 121-John Buckley on Building Your Executive  Presence    Episode 103-Ben Sachs on Building High-Performance Legal Teams  Episode 80-Leadership for Lawyers-Moving Up in Your Law Firm or Corporate Law Department