I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Travis Schultz (now an OAM recipient) of Travis Schultz & Partners for an episode of The Resolution Room. In just thirty minutes, we covered significant ground in what was an honest conversation covering Travis’ professional story and the key lessons he has learnt along the way.

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If I had to distil my takeaways (for more broader application), these would be at the top of the list:

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Leadership and personal development are inseparable. Travis stepped into leadership early, and like many of us, learnt a lot on the job. Travis is not alone - most good leaders openly acknowledge they were 'green' when they first took on leadership, and there is no substitute for learning in the role (including making all those mistakes!).

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Shaping culture is often as much about what you want to avoid as what you want to create. Travis and I shared this similarity - our early experiences in the profession influenced us quite profoundly, starkly reminding us of the behaviours and attributes we wanted to steer clear of as leaders.

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Play to your strengths but keep an eye on critical weaknesses. Travis recognised that while leadership was part of his role, he also thrived as a legal technician and made a conscious effort to keep honing those skills. Certainly, some weaknesses may be career-limiting and worth addressing, but don’t lose sight of what fuels your passion and expertise. In my coaching work, I have seen leaders light up when talking about their strengths.

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Have a clear strategy and stick to it. When founding a firm, Travis spoke about knowing (and underestimating) the ‘gap in the market’ he and his team were seeking to address. It’s always easy to get distracted by flashy new opportunities or approaches (new shiny things in marketing comes to mind). Acknowledging this tendency, it is important to stay true to your core approach and be clear on what you do, and what you don't do. Particularly salient if you are fortunate enough in business to achieve early growth and success - don't be distracted by the sugar hits and stay disciplined in terms of your strategic clarity.

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Don’t avoid the hard conversations. Whilst autonomy in a team is important, it needs to be balanced with accountability. Both Travis and I have, at times, let things slide to avoid difficult conversations. This interpersonal conflict aversion only serves to erode culture over time. Avoiding these conversations (however comfortable it may seem in the short term) does not benefit you, the person concerned or the team more broadly.

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Travis and I parted company in how we described the business of law. Whilst he deliberately avoided calling their firm a ‘business’, I am more comfortable with the notion that a law firm is both a professional undertaking and a business. Nonetheless, what I took away from Travis is that if you are clear about your contribution and your firm’s core purpose, the business metrics will follow.