Want to win a Sponsor? There are 3 things you need to do:

1. Identify the right Sponsor Candidate
   
2. Build a Sponsorship Relationship
   
3. Hold a Sponsorship Conversation
   

These 3 steps form what we call inside BE THE FIRST, the Sponsorship Triad, and they form a simple actionable process for getting the right support from the right people to guarantee you achieve your progression goal.

In last week's episode of Legal Imposters I introduced you to part 3 of the Sponsorship Triad: the Sponsorship Conversation. In it I gave you an actionable framework for getting a potential sponsor to commit to advocating on your behalf.

This week we're talking about the step before: the Sponsorship Relationship - what it is and why it's absolutely critical to the Sponsor winning process. (I also explain why I tackled part 3 first, before coming to this part 2)

In addition to walking you through the 3 simple steps to winning a sponsor, here's what you'll learn:

• The no.1 objective when building a Sponsorship Relationship
• 3 scenarios where building the Sponsorship Relationship is the answer
• 9 ways to win over a potential sponsor
• 3 ways you get stuck trying to win a sponsor (and what to do instead)
• 3 trust-building essentials every Sponsorship Relationship depends on
• 5 commitments to ask of your Sponsor

Happy listening.

P.S. If you're a mid to senior level black lawyer and you want to progress in the next 6-12 months, join BE THE FIRST and start prioritising this sponsorship work now. Enrolment for the January 2026 class opens in December so now's the time to get ready. For more details on what the programme is, who it's for and why it's the no.1 solution for navigating the challenges of being a black lawyer, click here.

Let's talk about Sponsors. Why you need one and how to win one.

You don't have to have a Sponsor to progress to the next level. But having a person of influence invested in you and going out to bat for you Is going to make achieving that promotion significantly quicker, easier and likely to result in success. Especially if you're a black lawyer. 

There are 3 steps to winning a sponsor:

1. Identify the Right Sponsor 
   
2. Earn trust by building the Sponsorship Relationship; and
   
3. Get a firm commitment to sponsor you by having the Sponsorship Conversation
   

Together these 3 make up the Sponsorship Triad, a model I teach you inside BE THE FIRST that makes the work of winning a sponsor so clear and actionable, you'll wonder what you'd ever have done without it. 

In this week's episode of Legal Imposters we focus on part 3 of the Sponsorship Triad: The Sponsorship Conversation. 

Heres what you'll learn:

1. The common mistakes lawyers make when seeking a Sponsor
   
2. The 3 parts of the Sponsorship Triad and how they work together
   
3. The purpose of the Sponsorship Conversation and why never to assume you have a Sponsor without one 
   
4. A framework for holding a Sponsorship Conversation you can start using today, including examples from Clients inside BE THE FIRST
   
5. The top 3 commitments to seek from your Sponsor
   

Happy listening. 

Caroline 

P.S. if your a black lawyer, you want to progress within the industry and you don't have, sponsorship I can help you with that. Join BE THE FLIRST and ll teach you a simple framework for winning a sponsor so you get to support you need to progress to the next level. Click for details  

It's never too soon to think about Business Development.

But when should this be your main focus? And what should you do about Business Development when you've been told to focus on something else?

This week on Legal Imposters, inspired by a client inside BE THE FIRST, we're talking about the importance of building your book of business and what to do when, for reasons personal or professional, you're unable to make this your primary focus.

When you're at the very start of your career, this doesn't matter so much.

But what do you do when you're trying to build your business case for promotion and you're told by the Partner you work for not to focus on Business Development?

This was the dilemma facing my client.

If this has happened to you, you're in the right place. Even if it hasn't, knowing what to do when Business Development can't be your main focus is going to ensure you're never left scrambling around for a business case because of all the relationships you've neglected to build over time.

How you avoid this is simple: you keep your Business Development at a simmer. Just as you would a saucepan of hot water, you maintain a low level of activity that enables you to focus your attention elsewhere without neglecting your Business Development altogether.

This has two advantages:

1. When the time is right to make Business Development your primary focus, all you have to do is turn the heat up. The water is already simmering. It takes relatively little effort to bring it to the boil. So it is with the low level Business Development activity that you've been maintaining all along. It takes nothing to ramp up your relationship building to full capacity. Your relationships are already warm. All you have to do is step things up and call them in.
2. When the time comes, you'll have highly developed relationship building skills. This ensures you're not having to learn these skills in the exact same moment you want to use them. You've acquired them over time through the simple act of keeping your Business Development at a simmer.
   

So how do you do it? How to keep your Business Development at a simmer so you can focus elsewhere?

Below are 4 suggestions to get you started.

1. Stay connected to peers and those you already know
   
2. Deepen relationships with the clients you currently serve
   
3. Watch and learn from those who already do it well
   
4. Develop your understanding of how the business operates by filtering actions and decisions through a business lens
   

What else could you do? Can you think of more? Share your ideas in the comments.

P.S. If you're a mid to senior level black lawyer and you want to progress to the next level in your career, I can help you with that. Join BE THE FIRST career progression coaching for black lawyers and learn the 5 vital steps to progressing your career as a black lawyer and be coached by me every step of the way. Enrolment for the September 2025 class opens 21st August 2025. Save this date to your calendar and make sure you follow me on social media so you don't miss the announcement.

The February 2023 class of Imposter Syndrome Coaching for Lawyers is OPEN FOR ENROLMENT

Join me.

If you want better balance, more confidence, more recognition and to lawyer with more ease this year, you have to sign up.

Just imagine.

• No more feeling like all you ever do is work.
• No more feeling anxious and stressed all the time.
• No more waiting to feel confident before you seize opportunities;
• Or thinking youre not where you want to be, or should be, in your career.

Just you, rising to the challenge of the career you worked so hard for and fulfilling your potential along the way.

Here's what you get to ensure your progress is inevitable in this programme:

The 6 step Progression Process that makes success inevitable

The Imposter Toolkit for getting out of your own way when your Imposter Syndrome is triggered

The Success Skillset Weekly Coaching to keep you on track

Consolidation Months for the busiest times of the year

Group Exponential so you get further faster and grow your network

Slack Community to keep coaching out of your inbox and away from social media

Session Recordings for when your schedule clashes with your coaching time.

Every one of these features have been thoughtfully developed to make your progress inevitable.

Join me.

Sign up to the February class of Imposter Syndrome Coaching. We are open for enrolment until Wednesday 18th Jan.

Click the link below to take the next step:

https://carolineflanagan.com/imposter-syndrome-coaching/

Not sure this programme is right for you? Book a free consult with me here (lawyers only):

Book a free consult

P.s. Places are limited and for lawyers only.

In Tuesdays Masterclass I taught you how to be less stressed, more confident and get more of the recognition you deserve this year. I covered EVERYTHING you will need to progress your law career in 2023.

Listening to the replay is worth your time. One attendee described it as a gift and thanked me for the "transformation" it had given here.

She got all of this for free. Tune in, and you will get it too.

Youll get:

• A clear understanding of what Imposter Syndrome is and how it is holding you back in your career
• The reason youre not progressing as quickly as you should or as easily as youd like
• The 6 step process to progressing your career
• How your Imposter Syndrome will try to stop you (and what to do when it does)
• How to implement everything I teach you right now, to guarantee your progression this year.

The February class of Imposter Syndrome Coaching is open for enrolment until Wednesday 18th Jan. SIGN UP now to make 2023 the year you get out of your own way and start achieving your potential.

Click the link below to find out more:

https://carolineflanagan.com/imposter-syndrome-coaching/

Not sure if this if for you? Book a call with me here (lawyers only):
https://calendly.com/carolineflanagan/free-consult

P.S. Places are limited and for lawyers only.

If you want to progress to having Better Balance and Lawyering With More Ease this year, start getting up early.

Getting up early has been a regular routine of mine for years and it's the secret to why I feel calm and in control of my days, why I can respond to the unexpected and why I almost never feel overwhelmed.

It is one of the simplest and fastest ways to get better at MANAGING YOUR TIME. And when you're good at managing your time, you won't just have MORE of it, you'll feel more IN CONTROL of it.

And you know what that means -

• More time for the other important things like friends, family, fitness and fun
• feeling a lot calmer throughout the day and
• being better able to respond to the unexpected or when things don't go as planned.

In other words, you do your day job with more ease.

Tune in now to find out:

• 6 reasons why getting up early is a must
• 4 things you need to stop doing in the mornings right now
• 3 common mistakes to avoid when getting started
• 5 objections your brain will offer you to keep you where you are (and how to answer them)

In Imposter Syndrome Coaching for Lawyers I teach you how to get up early as part of a proven strategy to get you Better Balance and to get you Lawyering With More Ease this year.

The February class is open for enrolment until Wednesday 18th Jan. SIGN UP now to make 2023 the year you get out of your own way and start achieving your potential.

Click the link below for details

https://carolineflanagan.com/imposter-syndrome-coaching/

Not sure if this programme is for you? Book a call with me here (lawyers only):

https://calendly.com/carolineflanagan/free-consult

P.s. Places on the programme are limited and for lawyers only.

So you want to get fit for 2023!

So you join a new gym or renew your old membership. You find a new form of exercise youre convinced youre going to love, or you sign up with a new fitness coach who youve been eager to try.

All of this seems like the right approach to achieving your fitness goal, but is it?

Lets face it, the reason youre not already as fit as you want to be or exercising as regularly as youd like is NOT because you dont have the right membership. Or because you havent found the right fitness coach.

Its because youre Overworking.

Overworking is a secret sign of Imposter Syndrome. Its the work you do that adds little or no value because its driven by fear, and which means work takes you longer than it should. Perfectionism. Not delegating. Labouring over the simplest email. These are examples of Overworking and the reasons why you are not making time to exercise.

So if youre serious about getting fit this year, dont look to your gym membership or your choice of fitness coach, look at how you manage your time.

Managing your time is the key to achieving your fitness goals. It forces you to be more efficient (so you stop overworking), ensures you are putting your work out sessions in your calendar and it means that when the moment comes to don your work out gear and get out of the house, you feel safe and in control enough to step away from your work.

In this episode of the podcast I explain the importance of managing your time and I give you 3 strategies to help you do that in a way that will transform your productivity and make it easy for you to honour your commitment to getting fitter.

Tune in to learn more.

Think Imposter Syndrome is your weakness? Think again

Feeling like a fraud.
Thinking your success is down to luck.
Worrying that any minute now youre going to be exposed.

Welcome to Imposter Syndrome.

Experiencing Imposter Syndrome feels like a weakness. It feels like a problem you have to fix before you can succeed.

But Imposter Syndrome isnt your weakness. Theres a way to use it to your advantage to progress your career - by making it your strength.

This episode of the Legal Imposters podcast is a recording of this week's free Masterclass: How To Make Imposter Syndrome Your Strength (and use it to progress your career).

It covers:

• What Imposter Syndrome is (and what it isnt).
• How to tell if you have it (and how to be sure you dont).
• Whats causing your Imposter Syndrome.
• How Imposter Syndrome is holding you back.
• What resisting Imposter Syndrome is costing you.
• How accepting your Imposter Syndrome will elevate you.
• How to use Imposter Syndrome to progress your career.

A proven strategy

In this episode, I teach you the simple 3 step strategy I teach paying clients inside Imposter Syndrome Coaching for Lawyers.

When you implement this strategy, youll have everything you need to make Imposter Syndrome your strength. This session gives you practical advice you can start implementing immediately.

The January 2023 class of Imposter Syndrome Coaching for Lawyers is ENROLLING NOW.

Apply here

You must be a lawyer to apply.

P.S. Don't delay. The application deadline is Thursday 15th December, 2022 at 13.00 GMT.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Hey Legal Imposters! Today I'm offering you the opportunity to PRE-ENROL for the January 2023 class of Imposter Syndrome Coaching. Doors open to everyone (as long as they're a lawyer of course) on 6th December. But Im giving you the opportunity to pre-enrol TODAY.

This means getting your application in first. Which means I'll review it first. Which means as long as you meet the requirements, you'll be first in line when it's time to offer places on the programme.

Places are limited, so take advantage! Go straight to the application form here: Imposter Syndrome Coaching Pre-Enrolment Form

Right, let's talk about Making Imposter Syndrome your strength.

This episode is a Call To Action! I'm calling on you to stop resisting your Imposter Syndrome and focus all your effort and attention on Making It Your Strength.

This is the unique solution to your Imposter Syndrome that will get you out of your own way, and set you up to fulfil more of your potential.

You won't find this solution anywhere else.

In this episode:

• The 4 common mistakes people make about Imposter Syndrome
• Why getting rid of your Imposter Syndrome will devalue who you are
• How devaluing who you are is negatively affecting how you work
• How valuing who you are is the key to working at your highest level
• Why making Imposter Syndrome your strength is the only solution you'll ever need.

REMINDER: As a podcast listener you're invited to PRE-ENROLMENT for the January 2023 class of Imposter Syndrome Coaching. Places are limited and will fill up quickly. Doors open to everyone (lawyers) on 6th December, but you can enrol TODAY! Click the link to access the pre-enrolment application page now:

Imposter Syndrome Coaching Pre-Enrolment Form

Why do you need to change the way you think about career progression goals?

1. Many of you HAVE no career progression goals at all.

• Youre floating along
• You have no intention or direction
• Maybe it hasnt occurred to you that you should.

1. A lot of you have this ideathat career progression is only about getting a promotion.

1. Some of you do have a career progression goal, but its not the right one.

1. You have a career progression goal, its the right one, but the way youre chasing after that goal is going to make it unsustainable when you get there.

So youre either

• underestimating the IMPORTANCE of career progression and/or
• youre taking such a narrow a view of it, (I.e. that career progression = promotion) that you are missing out on the VALUE of other forms of career progression.

This means you are denying yourself the opportunity to create the results of:

• Being in a better place in your career today than you were yesterday
• Or at the end of this year than you were last year
• And to have as your future goal: the ambition of being in a better place in your career at the end of 2023 than you are the beginning.

In this episode of Legal Imposters, we cover:

• Why you should ALWAYS have a career progression goal.
• Why its really important to make sure that your goal is the RIGHT goal.
• How to choose the right goal by focusing on the 4 Pillars of Career Progression, the concept we teach in Imposter Syndrome Coaching.
• What the 4 Pillars of Career Progression are and how to use them.

In my Imposter Syndrome Coaching programme, you do a Progression Audit to work out which of the 4 pillars needs the most immediate attention, and we spend 6 months progressing that pillar first.When you do the work to progress one pillar and this has a knock on effect of progressing the other pillars too.

You can get started RIGHT NOW with identifying your progression goal for the next 6 months.Im giving you FREE ACCESS to the Progression Audit Form (the exact same one we use when you join in Imposter Syndrome Coaching) to everyone who joins my Waitlist. .

To access your audit now, join the Waitlist. Add your details there, and a link to the Progression Audit will be sent straight to your inbox.

And make a note! Enrolment for Imposter Syndrome Coaching opens on 6th December. So head over to the waitlist and get your Progression Audit. This is your opportunity to be ready for when doors open on enrolment.

So you think you have Imposter Syndrome. But why does it matter? Why should you care?

Because Imposter Syndrome is impacting your career, more than you realise.

It is often tempting to blame a lack of career progression on external factors; the legal industry, your firm, your boss or the culture. And of course, these all play a role in your experience. But as long as you are only focused on these external factors, the systemic issues, you are:

• Overlooking your own role in creating the results youre getting, and
• Giving away your power or your ability to create different results for yourself.

In episode 4 of Legal Imposters, I explain how the results you are seeing in your career are actually caused by behaviours driven by Imposter Syndrome, and how, as long as you are waiting for external factors to change, you will keep on getting the same results.

This episode covers:

• What the unwanted results of Imposter Syndrome are.
• How Imposter Syndrome makes you show up to your job.
• How to recognise whether this applies to you.

The good news is, once you understand what Imposter Syndrome is and how it is holding you back, you can get started on implementing a solution that will change all of this for you and the results you are getting in your career.

Enrolment for the next Imposter Syndrome Coachingprogramme is coming soon. Get on the wait list here.

If you're enjoying this podcast, like and subscribe - and dont forget to tell all your lawyer friends and contacts to tune in!

So you dont feel like a fraud? You know you work hard and you deserve your success.

But theres more to Imposter Syndrome than just feeling that you shouldnt be here.

Theres a long list of secret signs which suggest you could still have Imposter Syndrome and that its holding you back in your career. If youre going to fulfil your potential at work, you need to know what they are.

In episode 3 of Legal Imposters, I reveal these signs - the work behaviours that are stopping you from progressing and which indicate that you might have Imposter Syndrome. I explain what these behaviours have in common, and why they may well stem from Imposter Syndrome.

Once you recognise these behaviours as signs of Imposter Syndrome, its great news, because:

• You have a name for it, you now know what to call these feelings.
• Youre now in a position to find the solution.
• Youve found the process in my Imposter Syndrome Coaching programme that will help you implement that solution.

The next enrolment for Imposter Syndrome Coaching is coming soon. If youve identified yourself in any of those behaviours I've mentioned in todays episode, you need to get on the waitlist!

If you're enjoying the podcast, subscribeso you dont miss any episodes and tell all your lawyer friends and contacts to tune in!

How do you know if you have Imposter Syndrome?

Its vitally important to find out because:

• it validates your thoughts and feelings, and
• it helps you to identify the right solution.

In this episode of Legal Imposters, I explain the classic signs of Imposter Syndrome as identified by Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in their 1978 paper on high achieving women. It was here that they coined the term the imposter phenomenon.

For some of you, these symptoms will resonate immediately. But if they dont, stay tuned! There are other signs, especially for lawyers, which I call the secret signs of Imposter Syndrome. Well be covering those in the next episode. SUBSCRIBE to Legal Imposters now so that you dont miss them!

Understanding that you have Imposter Syndrome is just the beginning. Fear, anxiety, stress and overwhelmare holding you backso understandably you want to get rid of it.

But theres a way to make it your strength and use it to your advantage in your career.

This is where Imposter Syndrome Coaching for Lawyers comes in.In Imposter Syndrome Coaching, we follow a simple, practical process for progressing your career when you have Imposter Syndrome. Enrolment for the next programme opens soon.

Join the waitlist so that youll be the first to know!

Building relationships with people who are different to you is one of the 5 vital steps to progressing your career as a black lawyer and it's exactly what I teach you inside BE THE FIRST. But what do you do when it doesn't work?

This was the question one of my clients brought to coaching inside BE THE FIRST and it's the question I'm answering for you in this week's episode of Legal Imposters.

You know the experience: you reach out to a partner in another office who you hope will send you more work; or you take a potential client to an event with a follow up over lunch and in either case, nothing happens. So you throw your hands up in despair and declare:

"I've tried but it's not working"

"I've been making the effort but I'm not getting anything out of it"

This, my friend, isn't relationship building. It's transaction chasing.

Transaction chasing is when you go through the motions of building the relationship but you're focused on what's in it for you.

Transaction chasing will keep you busy, but it won't bring you the support you need to progress, the opportunities to showcase your value or the clients to support your business case.

None of this comes from the transaction.

It comes from the relationship.

Relationship building isn't about you and what you can get out of it, it's about the person you're building the relationship with. It's you getting to know them as a human being, discovering what they want, need and care about and finding as many ways as you can to add value.

There's more.

It's not enough to know them. You have to let them know you and be willing to keep building the relationship for as long as it takes for connection to form.

This is how you build relationships that progress your career.

P.S. If you're a mid to senior level black lawyer and you're struggling to build the relationships that will launch your career to the next level, I can help you with that. Join BE THE FIRST career progression coaching for black lawyers to learn the 5 vital steps to progressing your career as a black lawyer and be coached by me every step of the way. Enrolment for the September 2025 class opens 21st August 2025. Save this date to your calendar and make sure you follow me on social media so you don't miss the announcement.

Welcome to Legal Imposters! The brand new podcast for lawyers who are making Imposter Syndrome their strength and using it to their advantage in their career.

In this episode I kick off by challenging 3 myths you may be harbouring about Imposter Syndrome:

• That its just you and that everyone else is confident and capable.
• That Imposter Syndrome is a problem you need to get rid of or fix.
• That Imposter Syndrome is a sign of weakness.

I then set you up for what you can expect in the coming episodes which is going to transform:

• The way you think about your Imposter Syndrome.
• The way you think about YOURSELF
• The way you think about what it takes to succeed in this industry.

So if you're a lawyer and you're ready to stop holding yourself back, Welcome to Legal Imposters! I'm so excited youre here and I look forward to serving you every week.

Make sure you SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss an episode. And DO PLEASE tell ALL your lawyer friends! Noone should be suffering with their Imposter Syndrome. Everyone needs to make it their strength.

P.S. In Imposter Syndrome Coaching for lawyers you follow a simple 3-step process for making Imposter Syndrome your strength and using it to your advantage. Enrolment for the next programme opens soon. Click here to join the waitlist and be the first to know.

"I think it went well" is not how you should be talking about your latest success or achievement! Showcasing your value isn't just about the showcase (a training event you delivered, a panel event you moderated, for example) it's about how you talk about it, gain confidence from it and how much your value increases as a result of it.

None of this is evident from "I think it went well".

"I think it went well" is a lazy rendition of something you worked hard to prepare for and successfully delivered. Not only does it undermine your success, it devalues your contribution.

As a black lawyer who wants to progress to the next level, you can't afford to do this. Evaluating your own performance and being able to talk about it with confidence and ease is essential. Don't wait for others to connect the dots between the work you did and the successful outcome that was created and recognise this as value. You've got to connect the dots yourself and make it easy for all to see.

If this sounds daunting or hard, don't worry. I walk you through exactly why and how you need to do this in episode 97 of the Legal Imposters' Podcast: "I think it went well"

Inspired by a client inside BE THE FIRST whose evaluation of a client panel event she organised and moderated was "I think it went well", this episode will tell you everything you need to know about getting value out of showcasing your value.

You'll discover why showcasing your value is such a huge opportunity and learn a 4 step process for getting the most out of every showcase.

P.S. If you're a mid to senior level black lawyer and showcasing your value is something you struggle with, join BE THE FIRST and let me help you with that as part of a career progression strategy that will take you to the next level in your career.

Enrolment for the September 2025 class opens on 21 August 2025. Save the date and follow me on social so you don't miss the announcement and you get your application in before the deadline. And if you want a head start on the programme, complete the BE THE FIRST Progression Audit to discover how ready you are to progress and which aspects of your career need your attention right now. Click here to complete your free Progression Audit today.

Are you ready? We're going to increase your visibility and we're committing to it right now.

In today's episode of the Legal Imposters Podcast I introduce you to the 30 Day Visibility Challenge - a challenge to get you out of your comfort zone and into the spotlight where people can see you, get to know you and keep you front of mind.

I know this is daunting. I know the thought of it makes you want to run and hide. I know if there was any way to avoid it and still get the promotion you're looking for you would seize it with both hands! (Full disclosure: so would I!)

But there's no escaping the truth my friend: if you want to progress your career as a black lawyer, people need to know who you are.

This is why being highly visible is step 4 of the 5 vital steps for progressing your career as a black lawyer that I teach you inside BE THE FIRST.

It's the thing that gets you included and invited, it's the thing that influences your work allocation, and it's the number one thing that will get you the firm-wide or organisation-wide support you need to be admitted to the next level.

So why a 30-day Visibility Challenge?

The 30-day Visibility Challenge is what you do during Visibility month inside BE THE FIRST to motivate you, inspire you, support you and hold you accountable to increasing your visibility.

Because it's so much easier to step out of your comfort zone when you know a) it's for a limited period of time b) your peers are doing it at the same time (and are similarly uncomfortable) and c) you have a Coach who you trust walking you every step of the way.

So if you want to progress your career this year, join us!

You can do the challenge on your own (in the episode I tell you how), but if you're a mid to senior level black lawyer and you want to progress your career this year you don't have to go it alone. Join BE THE FIRST and let's increase your visibility together.

Enrolment for the class of September 2025 opens 21 August. Save the date and follow me on social so you don't miss the announcement and you get your application in before the deadline. And if you want a head start on the programme, complete the BE THE FIRST Progression Audit to discover how ready you are to progress and which aspects of your career need your attention right now. Click here to complete your free Progression Audit today.

How are you coming across? What perception do others have of you and is this perception working for you or against you in your career?

For some of you, this will be the first time thinking about this question.

For others of you, the idea that other people perceive you a certain way isn't new to you. But where that perception is a negative one, you most likely feel powerless to do anything about it.

We're going to change that in this episode.

Understanding how other people perceive you is important for 3 reasons:

1. Negative stereotypes are a reality - as a black lawyer if you haven't been confronted by negative stereotypes in your career then it's only a matter of time before you do, whether directly or indirectly. This is a reality of the world we live and work in, so it's important to be aware of it and have the tools to navigate it.
   
2. Other people's perception of you determines how they treat you - from the work they allocate to you, their keenness to include you or support you and their willingness to promote you, all of this is heavily influenced by the perception they have of you.
   
3. Everything you do to increase your visibility as part of your career progression strategy will turn the volume up on other people's perception of you. If other people's perception of you aligns and supports your progression goal, this is perfect. If it doesn't, then the visibility work you're doing will work against you rather than for. you. We definitely don't want that.
   

Whether you know how other people perceive you right now or not, you're going to find this episode invaluable. First, you'll learn why this topic is so important. Second, you'll discover exactly how to find out what perception other people have of you. Third, you're going to learn how to change other people's perception of you by building an intentional and authentic brand.

P.S. If you're a mid to senior level black lawyer and you're ready to build your intentional brand, I invite you to join BE THE FIRST. The next enrolment is 21st August 2025 where you'll be enrolling for the September 2025 class. In the meantime, find out if you're ready to progress by completing a Progression Audit - my free quick fire questionnaire that will reveal which of the progression pillars you need to include as part of your Progression Plan to ensure your progress is measurable and sustainable. Click here to do the Progression Audit now: https://ol05es3oldn.typeform.com/to/odMwQWzH

The question I want to ask you today is, are you ready to progress?

It's not enough to have a strategy to progress. You also need to be READY to progress.

Here's how you know you're ready:

• You balance your time, making time for the other things that matter, meaning you prioritise your self care and you take care of your personal relationships.
• You handle your day job with calm and ease. Even in the face of tough deadline, even when the unexpected happens.
• You have confidence in who you are, so you aren't dependent on external validation to know you're good at what you do and you don't make negative feedback mean something negative about you
• You feel supported, personally as well as professionally, meaning there are people who've got your back and want to see you succeed.
  

Balance. Ease. Confidence. Support. These are the 4 Progression Pillars and, although they are not the core of your progression strategy, they ARE an essential part of it.

The 4 Progression Pillars don't just support you to progress to the next level. They help you succeed there and sustain you when you get there so you're much more likely to stay there.

One of the common mistakes I see on the road to partnership or other promotion is going for the goal and sacrificing everything else on the way. This is not a clever strategy and neither is it a winning one.

Ignoring the 4 pillars while you go for promotion has a cost. It's like pressing the accelerator and the break at the same time - it slows you down, creates friction along the way so everything is harder and reduces your chance of getting there.

Today's episode is going to change all of that. In it I explain what it means to be ready to progress and I walk you through what's required.

Want to know if you're ready to progress? Complete the Progression Audit and find out today. This is the exact audit I get my clients to complete when they join BE THE FIRST, to look at their readiness to progress. Today I'm offering this audit to you free of charge so you can start the essential work of understanding where you are. Click here to complete the audit:

Complete your Progression Audit

Questions? Send me a DM on social or email me caroline@carolineflanagan.com.

What's in a name?

Everything.

Until now you thought your name was just a name.

It is so much more than that.

Your name is your anchor. It's your identity. It's your brand. It's the connection to your capability and a powerful reminder of who you are at your core.

This week on Legal Imposters we're talking about the value of your name and the potential it has to make you feel unique and valuable and confident in who you are so you show up to your potential.

But before your name can have such a powerful impact on how you feel and the work you do, first you need to claim it.

That's exactly what I help you do in this episode.

I give you 3 simple steps for claiming your name so you can connect to it, identify with it and utilise it as a confidence building tool.

I share how your name is the first (and, when used intentionally, the most important) line of your IMPOSTER SPEECH, which you build inside CONFIDENT Black Lawyers. This is the pep talk you need when your Imposter Syndrome has been triggered, to overcome the feeling of not-enoughness and give you the confidence to do great work.

If you're a black lawyer, at any career stage, and deep down you know you're capable of more, join CONFIDENT Black Lawyers and claim your name as part of a 5 step process for building confidence in who you are so Imposter Syndrome never holds you back. Click this link to discover how: https://caroline-flanagan.mykajabi.com/confident-black-lawyers

How do you speak to yourself and treat yourself?

What words and judgements are unconsciously playing, like a sound track in the back of your mind, as you go through the day?

What you say to yourself in the quiet of your mind matters. How you speak to yourself when you've made a mistake, your readiness to celebrate yourself and recognise your contribution when you have a success - all of this matters deeply to how confident you are at your core and how well you perform in the work place.

In this week's episode of Legal Imposters I invite you to turn inward and listen to your inner dialogue.

I explain how negative self talk is sabotaging your success and the importance of catching it, recognising it and changing it so you become your own champion. 

Being your own champion isn't about being cocky or arrogant.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary desribes a champion as someone who vigorously supports and defends a person (or cause).

This is exactly what I encourage you to do from this moment on: vigorously support and defend yourself, in the face of both success and failure, so you have the confidence to fulfil your potential. 

P.S. If you're black lawyer, at any level, and you're tired of undermining your own confidence with self criticism and judgment, CONFIDENT Black Lawyers is for you. In it I walk you through a proven process for connecting to your capability so you become your own greatest champion and have the confidence to succeed in a white world. Click this link to join now: https://caroline-flanagan.mykajabi.com/confident-black-lawyers

Telling yourself there aren't enough hours in the day

Frustrated by the uncontrollables that sabotage your plans and throw you off track

Wanting to progress to the next level but not having the time to dedicate to it

Having too much to do and too little energy to do it with

If this is you, you're going to love this week's episode of the Legal Imposters' Podcast: Expanding Your Capacity

In it I define expanding your capacity so you can do, think and feel at a higher level. Think lifting weights in the gym. Currently (thanks to historic shoulder issues) the heaviest I can lift over head in a shoulder press is 10kg. I want to progress to 12kg. To do that I need to expand my capacity to lift weights above my head i.e. I need to get stronger!

So what does this have to do with being a black lawyer? Well there are 4 reasons why expanding your capacity is a skill you want to build:

1. You want to progress your career, which is going to require more of you to get there (time spent building relationships and increasing your visibility for example) AND more of you when you get there (more responsibility and bigger deals, for example)
2. You're underestimating what you're capable of - giving in too soon when things don't happen when and the way you want them too, or setting goals that are too small, so you're performing way below your potential.
   
3. So you can grow! Growth brings increased discomfort. If you want to grow, you need to increase your capacity to experience the inevitable fear and doubt that comes with stepping out of your comfort zone.
   
4. So you can lawyer with more ease. If you're struggling at your current level, expanding your capacity will mean doing your day job with calm and ease, without the stress and anxiety.
   

Here's what I cover:

• The difference between capacity and capability and why they both count
  
• The 3 game changing results you create when you expand your capacity
  
• How to expand your capacity in 4 simple steps, starting today
  
• What the IMPOSTER SPEECH is and how capable you feel when you use it
  
• The lifetime value of expanding your capacity which makes it the gift that keeps giving year after year
  

Questions about this process? Send me a DM on social media or reply in the comments.

P.S. If you're a black lawyer and you're ready to expand your capacity, join CONFIDENT Black Lawyers, the only confidence building programme that helps you succeed in a white world. Click here to join: https://caroline-flanagan.mykajabi.com/confident-black-lawyers

You need confidence NOW.

Currently, confidence feels like a nice to have. It feels optional. You know it's important. You know you need it and you want to build and increase it, but it doesn't feel urgent.

But building confidence IS urgent. It's both urgent AND important.

That makes building it, getting more of it, has to be at the top of your priority list.

In this episode I explain why.

I explain how every day you aren't building your confidence is another day lost to overworking and overthinking. Another day of unnecessary anxiety and stress. Another day edging closer to burn out.

How every day without confidence in who you are is another day thinking it's harder for people like us.

Feeling like you don't belong.

Needing everyone around you to change their behaviour.

Waiting for other people to validate you.

Every day without confidence in who you are means another day hiding from opportunities that have your name written all over them.

It means another day labouring away working twice as hard while your white peers are being seen and getting promoted, and you are being left behind.

Another day thinking negative feedback means something negative about you, making you defensive, launching you into yet more overworking, thinking the only answer is striving harder for perfection.

I know this feels like the way things are. I know you're resigned to this. But all of this is optional.

You don't HAVE to have another day like this.

Build confidence NOW and you will change all of this.

The minute you prioritise confidence you'll feel better instantly.

Just the decision to take ownership of your confidence will change you.

You'll feel a fire in your belly and start feeling stronger at your core. This switch can happen in an instant. It doesn't take days or weeks or months. Building confidence NOW means feeling better NOW.

It means less stress and anxiety, NOW.

Letting go of the need to be perfect, NOW.

It means working smarter, NOW.

Receiving negative feedback without getting defensive, NOW.

It means taking up space and being visible NOW, and attracting the recognition and support you need to progress, NOW.

None of this is months away or years away. It's one decision away.

Not the decision to WANT confidence (wanting confidence doesn't bring you any closer to being confident!).

It's the decision to prioritise confidence and build it NOW. Today. Literally this minute.

If you're a black lawyer, whatever your level, join CONFIDENT Black Lawyers NOW so you can build confidence NOW. In it I walk you through a step by step process for building confidence in who you are so you can overcome Imposter Syndrome and have the confidence to do great work and fulfil your true potential. You're just a click away. Click this link right now, in this moment, to join: https://caroline-flanagan.mykajabi.com/confident-black-lawyers

There are 3 things you need in place to guarantee your career goal:

1. A clear goal
   
2. A strategy that will get you there
   
3. A system that will keep you on track
   

You may have a goal and a strategy. But do you have a system for staying on track?

If you don't then this week's episode of Legal Imposters, where I introduce you to the Monthly Progress Review, is just what you need.

The Monthly Progress Review (MPR) is exactly what it claims to be: a chance to pause and reflect on the progress you've made over the past month (as well as the progress you haven't or where you've been getting stuck) in a way that supports you to keep going and keeps you on track.

The MPR has so many benefits. It helps you recommit to your goal. It helps you see what's working and notice what isn't working. It ensures you celebrate the progress you would otherwise discount, ensuring you stay motivated and keep taking the right action. Most usefully, it's a framework for holding yourself accountable for what you said you were going to do last month and what you plan to do going forward.

It doesn't matter how motivated you are, things will always get in the way of your goal - busyness; life's distractions; emotional discomfort, fatigue. No one is immune to these challenges. The difference between those who achieve their goals and those who don't is the system that keeps you on track when these challenges come up.

If you're a mid to senior black lawyer who wants to progress within the industry, the coaching and support you receive inside Be The First is one part of that system. The Monthly Progression is another.

In this episode:

1. 10 reasons the Monthly Progression Review (MPR) is critical to your progress
   
2. The 4 universal factors that will get in the way of your goal (and what to do about them)
   
3. How often you should review your progress
   
4. A 4 question framework for conducting an effective MPR
   
5. Small steps to make your MPR easier and more effective
   

P.S. If you're a mid to senior black lawyer and you want to progress to the next level in the next 6 to 12 months, I can help you with that. Book a strategy call with me via the link below and let's get clear on your goal, the strategy you need to get you there and the system that will keep you on track. Click here to book now.

When you tell yourself you're not enough

When you tell yourself "I shouldn't be here" and you're afraid of being found out

You need an IMPOSTER SPEECH

Every time you strive to make your work perfect to prove that you're enough

Every time you procrastinate doing the work from the fear of being exposed

You need an IMPOSTER SPEECH

When you do everything yourself

When you put off going for a promotion

When you side step opportunities you know deep down are right for you Every time you second guess yourself

Every time you take feedback personally

Every time you beat yourself up over a simple mistake

For all these times and more, you need an IMPOSTER SPEECH

An IMPOSTER SPEECH is the speech you give yourself when your Imposter Syndrome has been triggered and you're questioning whether you're enough.

In this episode I talk about what it is and why you need one now.

The IMPOSTER SPEECH takes you out of "not enoughness" and the actions you take as a result that slow you down, stifle your potential and hold you back in your career (see above list!)

It takes you out of this "not enoughness" and connects you to the version of you who is capable of anything you set your mind to so you have the confidence to do your best work -

• the version of you who is accomplished and knowledgeable
  
• who is driven and motivated
  
• who is resilient and resourceful
  
• who is determined and purposeful.
  

This version of you is CONFIDENT.

This version knows exactly what to do.

This version of you does great work.

This version of you doesn't need to overwork or overthink

This version of you seizes opportunities and makes themselves visible This version of you never judges you, and instead is your biggest champion

You need to access this version of you NOW.

Every day you are not this version of you is another day holding yourself back and performing beneath your potential.

Change this right now with an IMPOSTER SPEECH.

P.S. I've created a step by step process to help you build your IMPOSTER SPEECH and I walk you through every step inside CONFIDENT Black Lawyers. If you're a black lawyer and you want to meet the confident version of you, click this link to discover howhttps://caroline-flanagan.mykajabi.com/confident-black-lawyers

What do you say to yourself when you've just been promoted or just starting a new role and your brain offers you thoughts like "I shouldn't be here" and "I'm going to be found out"?

At times like this, it's tempting (and some people will recommend you do this) to remind yourself how hard you worked to get here.

But this is not the answer to Imposter Syndrome. This does not give you the confidence to get to work.

What you need instead when your Imposter Syndrome is triggered, is your IMPOSTER SPEECH.

Your Imposter Speech is a sequence of empowering thoughts about yourself that connect you to your capability and empower you to get to work.

This isn't something you make up on the spot, in the moment when your Imposter Syndrome has been triggered and you're in full doubting mode. This is something you create from a process that connects to who you are at your core, when you're in confidence mode.

In this Live I explain what the IMPOSTER SPEECH is, why it works and what it requires to create it AND, if you're a black lawyer and you're ready to overcome Imposter Syndrome this year, I present an unmissable opportunity to create your own IMPOSTER SPEECH live and in person with me on 31st May 2025 at CONFIDENCE Live!

CONFIDENCE Live!

Saturday 31s May 2025 at The Conduit, London

10.00 am - 16.00 pm

Grab your tickets TODAY via this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/confidence-live-with-caroline-flanagan-tickets-1360809591119?aff=oddtdtcreator

Do you keep comparing yourself to others and despairing that you come up short?

Do you tell yourself everyone else has it easy, but for you it's always hard?

Everyone else is naturally confident, but you're overwhelmed with self doubt?

Opportunities fall into other people's laps but you can't catch a break?

Success comes easily for others, but for you it's always a struggle?

This is overthinking and if you don't have a way to solve for it it's going to stifle your potential, slow you down and maybe even keep you stuck.

If this resonates you're in the right place.

In episode #87 of the Legal Imposters Podcast I explain exactly what to do to nip comparing and despairing in the bud so you can focus on your goal, take action to achieve it and perform to your true potential.

Here's what I cover:

1. How you know you're comparing and despairing so you can catch it the next time it happens and you know how to solve for it

2. When comparing and despairing is a sign of imposter syndrome and how it is keeping you stuck

3. Two solutions that may help and one solution that never fails

4. How to get started right away

P.S. If you're a black lawyer and you're ready to stop the overthinking that is holding yourself back, CONFIDENCE Live! on Saturday 31s May 2025 at The Conduit, London is your opportunity, seize it now! You will follow a proven process for Remembering who you are and then build your unique IMPOSTER SPEECH so you'll always have the confidence to get to work. Places are limited. To avoid disappointment, grab your ticket today. Click this link to book your spot https://www.eventbrite.com/e/confidence-live-with-caroline-flanagan-tickets-1360809591119

The Confidence Gap is the gap between the confidence you've earned and the confidence you feel when it's time to get to work.

How wide is yours and what are you doing to bridge it?

Here's why this matters:

1. The Confidence Gap is the measure of your unfulfilled potential - so the bigger the gap, the more you are capable of beyond your current performance

2. When you're doubting yourself, or not performing to your potential, the Confidence Gap shows it's a confidence issue, NOT a capability issue. Good to know, so you can solve the right 'problem'

3. That restless, frustrated feeling you get when you think about your career progression? That's the Confidence Gap at play - calling you to close the gap. Telling you you're capable of more.

4. Your Confidence Gap isn't fixed in stone. Closing the gap so you fulfil more of your potential is something you can start doing today.

In episode 86 of the Legal Imposters Podcast I show you how.

Here's what you'll learn:

1. How to close your Confidence Gap

2. The difference between confidence in WHO YOU ARE, and confidence in WHAT YOU DO (and which should come first)

3. How to start closing your Confidence Gap today

4. Why you need to get started right away

P.S. In CONFIDENT Black Lawyers I help you build confidence in who you are, so you can overcome Imposter Syndrome and perform to your true potential. Enrolment is open. If you're a current or aspiring black lawyer, whatever your level of seniority, join now. Click the link in my profile for details.

When they constantly redline and correct your work, what do you do? What do you make it mean?

The mistake I see you making is taking it to mean something about you- that you're not good enough, that you don't deserve to be where you are and that any minute now you're going to be found out.

This is classic imposter syndrome and if you don't have a way to overcome it, it will undermine your confidence, sabotage your performance and hold you back from fulfilling your potential.

In this episode I explain how this can happen and exactly how to avoid it so you learn from all those redlines through your work vs. being undermined by them.

P.S. Looking to build your confidence as a black lawyer? Enrolment is open. Click HERE to join CONFIDENT Black Lawyers and build confidence in who you are so you can overcome Imposter Syndrome and be confident in what you do.

#confidentblacklawyers

#impostersyndrome

#bethefirst

#blacklawyers

#lawyers

#attorneys

#careercoach

#lawyercoach

You think your success is down to luck. You fear that any minute now that luck is going to run out and you'll be exposed. This is a classic sign of Imposter Syndrome and it's holding you back from performing to your potential.

It doesn't have to be this way. There's a way of viewing the role of luck in your success that is true, empowering and gives you the confidence to succeed: Own it.

Listen to this episode to discover how.

In it I share:

1. How your thoughts about the role of luck are holding you back
   
2. The 3 common mistakes to avoid when your brain offers you the thought: My success is down to luck
   
3. What it means to "own" the role of luck in your success
   
4. The 3 simple steps to owning your luck that will transform the way you think about luck and how you show up in your career.
   

In CONFIDENT Black Lawyers we take your thoughts about the role of luck that cause you to play small and we challenge them with thoughts that empower you and give you the confidence to succeed. Click here to discover more.

Do you umm and ahh over decisions?

Do you spin in confusion about what to do?

Does it take you weeks and months to decide?

Do you only make decisions when things are critical or urgent?

Have you ever gone to make a decision only to realise it's too late? 

When you finally make decisions do you regret not having made them earlier?

If any of these are you then youre in the right place.

If you want to progress your career you have to get better at making decisions proactively and implementing them quickly. Every day that goes by when you're undecided and unsure, is another day you're not taking ownership of your career and not making progress towards your goal. 

In this episode (a replay of my recent LinkedIn LIVE) I'll be using the example of deciding whether to join the May cohort of BE THE FIRST to illustrate:

- 3 reasons you're struggling to make a decision

- why the wrong decision is better than no decision

- the magic that happens as soon as a decision is made

HAPPY LISTENING.

P.S. The next enrolment for BE THE FIRST - the career progression programme for mid to senior black

lawyers is coming. Be the first to know when doors open by joining the waitlist. Click here to join

The most common mistake I see black lawyers making is thinking you have to work twice as hard as your white peers to progress.

This thought may have got you this far. But it won't get you where you want to go.

Working twice as hard sets you up as the workhorse and sends the message that you are a safe pair of hands.

This is fine if you want to stay where you are.

But if you want to progress to the next level, you need a completely different strategy.

This week I'm bringing you a replay of my recent LinkedIn LIVE: "Stop working twice as hard!" where I talked you through:

1. How you know youre working twice as hard

2. Why working twice as hard won't get you promoted

3. What to do instead if you want to progress to the next level

P.S. BE THE FIRST May 2025 is open for enrolment until midnight (UK) 9 April. If you're a mid to senior level lawyer and you want to progress your career this year, now is the time to join.

Coaching starts on Tuesday 6th May 2025 at 2pm via Zoom and we meet the same time every week for 6 months (excluding August).

Add these dates to your calendar. Click this link in my profile to apply today - before tomorrows application deadline. For programme details and how we work together click here

How do you succeed in a white world without working twice as hard? Let me show you how.

This week I bring you the answer to this million dollar question in a replay of today's Webinar: How to Succeed in a White World (without working twice as hard).

Here's what you'll learn:

1. The no.1 mistake that is holding you back from the success you deserve
2. The 5 vital skills that are the only skills you need to progress to the next level
3. The unstoppable mindset that will keep you on track and ensure you succeed.

And don't miss the IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

Enrolment for the May 2025 cohort of BE THE FIRST opens today for 6 days only, so get your applications in today. AND there's a special bonus offer for my Podcast listeners so make sure you listen until the end.

Questions? DM me on social or email me directly caroline@carolineflanagan.com

You know you want to progress your career. In fact, you're planning to join BE THE FIRST so you can learn how to do just that, but you're telling yourself now is not the right time -

"I've got too much on"

"I'll do it after this big project"

"I'll wait until things quieten down"

These are just some of the reasons I hear that you're not prioritising your career progression.

If this is you, you're not alone. A number of my clients in BE THE FIRST said exactly the same thing when they first discovered the programme. Only to tell me, within weeks of joining:

"I should've joined earlier!"

"I wish I'd know this before"

Don't let this be you.

This week's episode is a call to action to stop waiting for the right time to progress your career and instead to make now the right time to join the next cohort of BE THE FIRST Progression for Black Lawyers.

In it I explain the number 1 mistake you're making when you decide to put off joining to a later date, the suffering you're prolonging and the life changing results you're delaying - and I give you a simple 3 step process for finding the motivation to get started today.

For everything you need to know about joining BE THE FIRST and making now the right time to get started, join my free webinar: Be The First - How to succeed in a white world (without working twice as hard). This webinar is free but you must register to attend. Click here to register

You'll learn:

Why you should stop umming and ahhhing over going for that next promotion

How working twice as hard is limiting your potential

The 5 vital skills to succeeding in a white world

The powerful mindset shift that ensures your success

Why now is the right time to start

Includes a 30 minute Q&A

This Webinar gives you everything you need to succeed and tells you precisely how to implement it. 

You'll discover the exact process my clients follow inside BE THE FIRST which is transforming their way of working and accelerating their careers. 

I'll also share all the key details for the upcoming enrolment for BE THE FIRST May 2025 - who it's for, what it does, when to join and why - if you're a mid to senior level black lawyer who wants to progress - this is the room you want to be in.

I cover alot in this Webinar, so make sure you allow 90 minutes on your calendar and remember to bring all your questions for the Q&A. 

Register here

What are you doing to make sure the most important asset in your work, in your life, in the family that you hold together, the people you support, the clients you serve, those you love and the things you care about - in other words YOU - what are you doing to ensure you are taking care of your own needs?

Here's why this matters:

The more senior you get, the more is going to be demanded of you

The less time you have and the more you need to get done

The more people you will lead and the fewer people you will have to follow

The less time you will have for yourself and yet the lonelier it will sometimes feel

All of this makes taking care of yourself not just a requirement, but a responsibility.

Here's what I see:

You don't talk about self care openly with other leaders, you think it's just you

You don't ask for help with self care, because you think you should be able to figure this out on your own

The result is that far too many leaders are leading from a place of exhaustion, depletion, running on empty and teetering on the bring of a health issue.

If this is you you're in the right place.

In today's video I'm going to help you change this.

In it I teach you the value and importance of looking after your physical and mental health and I introduce you to the Self Care Protocol - a tool I teach my clients inside BE THE FIRST to ensure they never neglect their self care and they show up in their lives as the best leaders they can be.

In this episode:

1. What the Self Care Protocol is and how it works
   
2. Create your unique Self Care Protocol in 3 simple steps
   
3. What to expect when you attempt to follow the protocol
   
4. 4 powerful tools from inside BE THE FIRST that will keep you on track
   

This episode gives you everything you need to get started on your Self Care Protocol today. Want feedback on your Self Care Protocol? Why not share yours on Linkedin or IG or send over for me to take a look?

P.S.

If you're a mid to senior level black lawyer and you want to progress your legal career I invite you to join BE THE FIRST. I teach you everything you need to succeed to the next level, including the self care strategy that will sustain you along the way. Click this link to book your free strategy call with me today and let's talk about the next step.

One of the best things you can do to progress your career is to become more valuable.

The more valuable you are, the more support you'll get, the more opportunities you'll attract and the more easily you'll progress your career.

To become more valuable you could increase your knowledge. You could broaden your experience and develop your expertise. But these can be hard to achieve when you're working all the hours and you're not being given the best work.

In this episode of the Legal Imposters Podcast I offer you an easier way to become more valuable: join BE THE FIRST.

BE THE FIRST is the career progression programme for mid to senior level black lawyers where I teach you everything you need to progress as a black lawyer and coach you every step of the way.

The minute you sign up to this programme you become more valuable.

The decision to be in the driving seat, to focus on what you can control, to stop waiting for the circumstances outside of you to change, to set goals and go to work to achieve them - these decisions change you. The version of you who reaches this level of decision is already more valuable than the version that went before.

It doesn't end there.

Every day you're in this programme - learning the skills you need to progress, implementing, getting coached when you get stuck - is another day you become more valuable. 

I see it inside BE THE FIRST all the time -

The client who was constantly overwhelmed and stressed when she joined, who is now calm, more in control and better at meeting deadlines.

The client who couldn't delegate and did everything herself who is now the delegation queen (her words!) and has time to be proactive and think strategically.

The client who couldn't speak up in meetings who is now clear about her value, engages in meetings and more willingly shares her ideas.

The client who kept work colleagues at a distance who is now building rapport with clients he never thought he could connect with. 

Transformations like this are happening every day inside BE THE FIRST. Clients are becoming more valuable every day and so will you, the moment you decide to join.

Enrolment for the May 2025 cohort is 3rd - 9th April 2025. 

If you're a mid to senior level black lawyer and you want to progress this year, now is the time to join.

If you're hoping to get internal funding for your firm I recommend you have that conversation now so you get a decision before enrolment closes and have your option b ready to go if your firm or business say no.

Stay tuned for details

Questions about BE THE FIRST? Ask me in the comments.

Showcasing your value isn't bragging. It's understanding your audience's problem and letting them know you can solve it.

Showcasing your value is important. It's not enough to work hard. Keeping your head down and hoping the right people will notice isn't enough. You've got to show them: show people how valuable you are so you can attract the support and opportunities you deserve.

You already know this. The problem is, the fear of becoming cocky and sounding like you're bragging is holding you back.

You no longer have anything to fear.

In episode #78 of the Legal Imposters Podcast I show you why showcasing your value isn't a selfish act. It's an act of service to the Partner, line manager, clients and firm you work for who all have wants and needs. They all have problems to solve and are looking for you to help them solve them.

You showcasing your value isn't you saying "look at me I'm great" it's you saying "I'm the one who can help you."

This powerful mindset shift will change your approach to showcasing your value for ever. Instead of feeling like something you're supposed to do, it'll become the thing you want to do and feel compelled to do.

I explain it all in this week's episode and I give you 3 practical steps that will move you one step closer to showcasing your value today.

Happy listening.

P.S. In BE THE FIRST I teach you to showcase your value without feeling like you're bragging. You will learn the Value Equation, a unique and simple tool for knowing your value, recognising why it's of value to others and finding multiple ways to showcase that value with ease

Enrolment for BE THE FIRST May 2025 opens 3rd - 9th April 2025. If you're a mid to senior level black lawyer and you want to progress your career this year, save the date to your calendar and stay tuned here on the podcast for details.

Are you following me on social media? Connect with me on Linkedin, IG or TikTok so you don't miss the announcement.

This week I bring you a replay of an interview with networking expert, Charlie Lawson. Previously published on the podcast in 2023, this topic is so essential and the advice he shares so valuable I'm bringing it to you again.

"You don't have to like networking to be good at it "

So says Charlie Lawson, the Unnatural Networker and my guest this week on the Legal Imposters Podcast.

Charlie is the ex-BNI boss and unnatural networking expert with 2 books to his name on doing the things many of us find hard: networking and promoting yourself.

In this episode Charlie takes the fear out of networking by explaining what networking really is (having a conversation, building relationships) and how to network when you're shy, an introvert or you just don't like networking (an unnatural networker).

You won't be surprised to learn I met Charlie while networking on LinkedIn. He is a brilliant example of the power of building relationships and the infinite potential of networking to catapult your career or business.

Tune in to find out:

1. Why I felt compelled to interview him on the podcast
   
2. What an unnatural networker is (and how many of you are out there)
   
3. Why you don't have to like networking to make it work for you
   
4. The right mindset for successful networking
   
5. A better conversation starter than "what do you do"?
   
6. Why networking is not about who's in the room.
   

Mentioned in this episode:

Books:

The Unnatural Networker by Charlie Lawson

The Unnatural Promoter by Charlie Lawson

The Networking Test - visit https://unnaturalsuccess.com/

About Charlie Lawson

Charlie Lawson is a very Unnatural Networker. Most experts talk about

networking as though it is easy to talk to strangers. Charlie helps other

Unnatural Networkers gain confidence by putting networking across from the point of view of someone whod rather avoid it completely.

His first book, The Unnatural Networker, was released in 2014, and has helped countless business owners learn how to network effectively. His second book, The Unnatural Promoter, was released in 2021, and focuses on helping people that don't like to blow their own trumpet to be brilliant at self-promotion.

Charlie is a renowned and highly regarded keynote speaker, and gained his expertise from 13 years as UK national director of BNI, the international business networking organisation. In his spare time, hell mostly be found swimming / biking / running in triathlons, while keeping his fingers crossed that Spurs finish above Arsenal in the league.

It's not enough to build relationships and grow your network. You've got to be able to take a relationship that isn't working and transform it into one that does.

As a black lawyer, progressing your career doesn't hinge on you building relationships. It hinges on building relationships with people different to you. This is fertile ground for the type of stereotyping, misunderstandings, false assumptions and misplaced expectations that can cause a breakdown in relationships that are the cornerstone of your career and therefore stop you progressing to the next level.

If you're struggling with a Partner who won't support you or a boss who seems to go out of their way to sabotage you, this episode is for you. In it I walk you through 3 common mistakes I see you making when it comes to relating to people different to you and what you can do to fix them.

This is Relate-Agility - a unique concept created from my decades of experience building relationships with people different to me which opened doors and brought in the support I needed to succeed. You'll learn all of this and more when you join BE THE FIRST Progression for Black Lawyers. The next enrolment is coming. If you're a mid to senior black lawyer, follow me on Linkedin and click the in my profile so you don't miss the details.

The conditions are never perfect. You don't have to wait for the circumstances outside of you to change. You are resourceful. You will find a way.

If you are working for a law firm or organisation that has reaffirmed its commitment to developing black talent, this is fantastic news. But what if you're not?

Not everyone is working for a firm or organisation that is willing to invest time and budget in DEI. For those of you that never have, or don't anymore (because your organisation is pulling back) I know you are feeling pretty alone and scared and powerless right now.

If this is you, don't despair. I want you to know you're not alone. I am here to guide you and remind you you are more powerful than you think.

The conditions are never perfect. There are circumstances outside of your control.

But remember: You are resourceful. You will find a way.

It's very important that you believe this. It's essential that you internalise this. Work to find existing evidence of this. Live by this and make it your truth.

When you remember you are resourceful the first thing you'll do is notice how much you CAN control:

• The relationships you build
  
• Your willingness to learn and invest in your own development
  
• How determined you are
  
• Who you surround yourself with
  
• What (information) you expose yourself to
  

When you remember you're resourceful the second thing you'll do is work with what you've got.

This might be practical (when I didn't have a desk to study at or a bed to sleep, I found 4 spare tyres and used those instead)

It might be situational (e.g. you're a paralegal struggling to get your training contract, great! you have a foot in the door)

It might be personal (e.g. building relationships is your superpower, so use it to grow your network and attract more opportunities)

Believing I'm resourceful and connecting to that resourcefulness is how I became bigger than my circumstances and achieved impossible goals. This works. It worked for me. This will work for you too.

P.S. If you're a black lawyer and you're feeling powerless and alone, let me help you. In CONFIDENT Black Lawyers I help you reconnect to your power and remember how resourceful you are, so you can be bigger than any circumstance. So you can achieve impossible goals. The next enrolment is coming. Get on the waiting list so you get all the details. Click here to join

Relationships are the cornerstone of every successful legal career. It's through the relationships you build at work that you attract the support you need, invite the opportunities that excite you, keep people on your side and enjoy and perform better in your role.

But it's harder to build relationships when you're the only one. You have fewer obvious points of connection and the differences between you and your white peers make building relationships feel difficult and exhausting. Whether it's how you spend your holidays, what you do at the weekends, the food you and your family eat or the path you took to get where you are - all of these differences can create a barrier to connection when you don't have the skills to overcome them.

It's not surprising you dread networking events.

No wonder you'd rather network with people who look like you.

But it doesn't have to be this way. You can have all the advantages that your white peers have through their connections and their work relationships. All you need is a step by step process that teaches you how to build relationships with people different to you.

I've created that process just for you. It's called Relate-Agility and it's going to change your experience of relationship building forever.

I've taken everything I've learned about relationships and connection from decades of being the only one in the room and building relationships with people different to me. Since being the only black pupil in an all white school at the age of 5, to being the only one in the room as a finance lawyer in the City of London, the ability to build relationships with people different to me has been one of my superpowers and has been instrumental in my success.

Now I've broken down what I do and how I do it into a simple process that teaches you exactly how to do the same. That process is called Relate-Agility, and I can't wait for you to learn it inside BE THE FIRST.

In this session:

1. Why building relationships are so important for your career and should be one of your top priorities even at the junior level
   
2. Why it's harder to build relationships when you're the only one
   
3. How Relate-Agility, my unique process for building relationships with people different to you is going to transform your approach to connection and empower you to walk into any room and connect with any one.
   

P.S. In BE THE FIRST I teach you Relate-Agility, the art of building relationships with people different to you so you have the relationships you need to support you and sustain you in your career. If you're a mid to senior level black lawyer and you're ready to progress to the next level, BE THE FIRST is the coaching programme to be in. The next enrolment is coming. Book a call with me today and let's talk about your next steps. Book here: https://calendly.com/carolineflanagan/bethefirst

You don't have to become someone you're not when you become Partner. You can do partnership YOUR WAY.

One of the reasons you're hesitant to go for partnership is because of your fear of who you have to become to get there and how you'd have to behave to stay and succeed there.

You worry you won't be able to be authentic.

You worry you'll have to become a different type of leader

You worry that becoming partner will involve sacrificing the things that are important to you - like your work life balance and your weekends.

If this is you, you're not alone. I hear this all the time and it's one of the reasons why mid to senior level black lawyers join BE THE FIRST when they are thinking about progressing their career and unsure about the next step.

For those of you who are new to me and my work, BE THE FIRST is my signature career progression programme designed specifically to support mid to senior level black lawyers to fulfil their potential within the industry and navigate the black experience all the way to the top. If you're a mid to senior level black lawyer and you're ready to progress to the next level - whether that's a promotion to partnership or GC - this is the programme for you. Click here to find out more.

The question of whether to go for partnership came up in BE THE FIRST earlier this week when, during our month-end Progression Review, one of my clients announced to the group: "I am certain I want partnership and I am 100% sure it's in my control to do it my way"

This would be an amazing show of confidence and certainty from anyone. The fact that it came from a client who, just 3 months earlier, was leaning towards NOT being partner because of who she believed she'd have to be and the sacrifices she thought she'd have to make, is astounding.

This was such a transformation (and one that has occurred many times in BE THE FIRST) that I had to share it with you to show you that it's available for you too.

Helping my client make this shift from feeling swept along by her career and by other people's expectations of her, to feeling that partnership is something she is choosing and is fully in control of, was simple.

I coached her on her track record in her career and showed her how being authentic had in fact been her winning strategy. From there she was able to see that not only was being authentic and leading her way going to be possible, it was also the thing that was most likely to help her get there. (In BE THE FIRST we pay serious attention to understanding what's working and what you need to keep doing to progress).

I then coached her on her confidence in her value, and how being authentic would bring more of that to the table.

Lastly i coached her on her relationship to her career. I showed her that if her career was a train, it wasn't something that could ever run away from our out of control of her, because she was the driver. At any given moment, she gets to decide how fast it goes and the direction it will take.

As a result of what coaching helped her see and understand about her success to date, my client starting feeling and showing up more confidently than ever before, adding value like never before - all by doing it her way.

If you've been struggling with the idea that you'd have to be someone you're not to become partner, this video will calm your fears and give you the confidence to go for partnership as who you are.

Questions about progressing to partnership? Let's chat. Book a call with me and let's talk about what authentic partnership means to you and how I can help you create it. Book here https://calendly.com/carolineflanagan/bethefirst

You know you need to speak up in meetings. You know it's an opportunity to showcase your value, be visible and to advocate for yourself, your team and that important project you are championing. It also happens to be the one piece of feedback you're given over and over again.

The problem is you hate it. You feel so anxious and stressed at the thought of it. You dread it in the days leading up to it and suffer your way through to the end of it.

So instead of contributing you stay silent. You withdraw, make yourself small. You disengage and disconnect which makes it impossible to listen and that in turn makes it even harder to contribute anything of value.

The worst bit? How you beat yourself up after the meeting for not having said anything at all.

This is exactly the scenario I coached my clients on in today's BE THE FIRST Coaching session so in this session I want to share how I helped her solve it.

Here's what you'll learn

1. The value of speaking up in meetings and why it's an essential career skill
2. The importance of solving for not speaking up vs. waiting for the circumstances (how meetings are run; the culture and expectations in meetings) to change
3. The way you are showing up to meetings outside work when you feel safe and valued is a superpower you can use in the workplace
4. The importance of processing the discomfort and negative emotions you feel when you think about speaking up in meetings
5. How to create your own safety so you become the person who can walk into any room and speak to anyone.

Struggling with speaking up in meetings? Share in the comments.

P.S. In BE THE FIRST I teach you how to speak up in meetings as a way of increasing your visibility and showing them how valuable you are so you can progress to the next level. If you're a mid to senior black lawyer and you want to progress within the industry BE THE FIRST Progression for Black Lawyers is the coaching programme for you. Book a free consult with me to find out more https://calendly.com/carolineflanagan/bethefirst

In the final part of the Overwhelm Series I bring you: Adapt the plan - the essential follow on to planning the week that allows you to respond to the unknown and the unexpected and still feel in charge of the plan.

Adapting the day should only take you a few minutes and can be done at the beginning of the day before you get to work. Resist the temptation to launch into fire fighting mode. Even fire fighters have a plan and know what they will do first and what to tackle next!

Together with planning the week, adapting the plan is a skill you can learn that you'll keep benefitting year after year. Building these skills will :

- give you more control over your work

- more time for the other things that matter

- increased capacity for your other work and for the demands you'll face at the next level

- and, because you're calm, in control and are better at managing your time, it will make you so much more valuable as a lawyer.

P.S. In BE THE FIRST I teach you Time Control - a set of skills that give you control over your time so you feel more in control, avoid overwhelm, have the capacity to grow to the next level and have more time for the other things that matter. If you're a mid to senior black lawyer and you want any of this, BE THE FIRST Progression for Black Lawyers is the coaching programmae you want to be in. Book a free consult with me to find out more https://calendly.com/carolineflanagan/bethefirst

Hello and Happy New Year! It's great to be back!

Today I'm talking about setting your intention for 2025 so you create all the results you want this year.

This isn't about setting new year's resolutions. It's about the thoughts BEHIND your new year's resolutions that are the difference between you giving up on your shiny new gym membership 3 weeks into January, and sustaining your new commitment to health and fitness for the entire year. Big difference!

I had a rocky start to the year in that, unusually for me, I went into it thinking "I don't know what I want this year" and "What if I fail" (and a whole host of other fears). But thanks to the coaching tools I have (and which I teach you inside BE THE FIRST and CONFIDENT Black Lawyers) I can catch these thoughts and redirect my brain to thinking more intentionally and powerfully so that 2025 is everything I want it to be.

Have you set your intention for the year? What results do you want to create for yourself in 2025? How will you keep going with your resolutions this year? I answer all these questions and more in today's recording.

Happy New Year and happy listening.

P.S. If you're a black lawyer and you want to build the confidence to succeed this year, join CONFIDENT Black Lawyers - my foundational programme for black lawyers at every stage of their career. DM me on LinkedIn if you have questions or alternatively, click here to sign up directly: https://caroline-flanagan.mykajabi.com/confident-black-lawyers

Let's talk about procrastination -

Doom scrolling

Online shopping

Burying your head in the sand

Ignoring the task until it's on fire and screaming for your attention

These are just some of the ways you are procrastinating your work and, in so doing, creating unnecessary pressure, missing opportunities and jeopardising your chances of promotion.

If this is you and you're tired of holding yourself back, tune into this week's episode of Legal Imposters because I know exactly how to help you.

You'll learn that the symptom of procrastination and the underlying cause of procrastination are two different things calling for different solutions.

Want quick relief from your procrastination now so you can get your work done today? Stay with the hard.

Want to break the recurring habit of procrastinating so it stops holding you back in your career? Remember who you are

Stay With The Hard and Remember Who You Are are both tools that work and belong in your toolkit. In this episode I focus on Stay With The Hard and walk you through a simple 3 step process you can use right now to get that work you've been avoiding done today.

I also introduce you to Remember Who You Are - the process for overcoming Imposter Syndrome so you:

• get quicker at catching yourself in the act of procrastinating
  
• build resilience to doing hard things so procrastination happens less often
  
• stop being the person who always procrastinates and become the version of you who gets to work and gets it done
  

Happy listening

P.S. If you're a black lawyer, whatever your level, and you're tired of procrastination holding you back, I invite you to join CONFIDENT Black Lawyers, the online programme where you learn to overcome the root cause of your procrastination and build the confidence to perform to your potential. Click here to learn more

The better you are at managing overwhelm the more in control you will feel and the better you'll perform.

This session is part 2 (Plan the week) of a 4 part series to help you manage overwhelm at one of the busiest times of the year (and any other time you need to).

In it I teach you one of the simplest and most effective tools for managing your time so you stop feeling overwhelmed and so your experience of being a lawyer - and other people's experience of working with you - is a better one. Here's what we cover:

1. The no. 1 mistake I see lawyers making in how they think about controlling time
   
2. How to spot when you're descending into overwhelm (the earlier you spot it, the easier it is to prevent or stop it)
   
3. How planning the week affects not just your ability to manage overwhelm but also improves your prospects for promotion
   
4. A step by step guide to planning your week so the important things get done and you find time for the other things that matter.
   

P.S. In BE THE FIRST Progression for Black Lawyers I teach you Time Control where you learn how to take control of your time so you can perform to your potential and so your progression is both measurable and sustainable. If you're a mid to senior black lawyer and you're ready to progress to the next level, this is the programme you want to join. Book a free consult with me to find out whether BE THE FIRST is for you. Book here: https://calendly.com/carolineflanagan/bethefirst

Feeling overwhelmed? You're not alone. Almost everyone I've spoken to these past few weeks (clients included) has commented on the alarming speed with which time is passing and how little control they feel they have over it.

Nobody said lawyering would be easy.

But there are times when even the most efficient and resilient struggle under the weight of the pressure to deliver and the relentless seemingly endless demands being made of them. The last quarter of the year / the festive season / countdown to year end combo - this is one of those times.

It's hard not to feel overwhelmed. To think there's too much to do in too little time and you've got nothing left to give. You may even be questioning your career choices and whether this is something you want long term.

If this is you, you're in the right place.

This week is the first in a 4-part Overwhelm Series I'm bringing you to support you through one of the most challenging times of the year (even if it's also one of the most festive and fun).

In this episode I share a simple process for getting out of the crisis of overwhelm - when you've reached your limit and you've got nothing left to give - and into the feeling that time is yours and you get to be in charge of it. Here's what I cover:

1. How you know you're experiencing an overwhelm crisis and what it feels like in your body
   
2. How your thoughts about time make it harder to manage your time
   
3. The simple mindset shift that will change how you feel and give you authority over your to do list
   
4. The 4 easy steps you can take right now to get out of overwhelm today
   

Happy listening

P.S. In BE THE FIRST you learn Time Control, a toolkit of time management strategies that support you to perform well, deliver on time and find more time for the things that matter outside work. If you're a mid to senior level black lawyer and the fear of overwhelm is the reason you're not progressing your career, book a free consult with me and let's talk about how I can help.

Click this link to book into my calendar https://calendly.com/carolineflanagan/bethefirst

Hello and welcome to CONFIDENT Black Lawyers. In this session I explain what it is, who it's for, what you get when you sign up and why it's exactly what you need at this stage of your career.

If you have any questions on the programme, DM me on social or via the comments below and I'd be happy to answer.

INVITATIOIN TO JOIN:

If you're a black lawyer and you're tired of self doubt holding you back in your career, join CONFIDENT Black Lawyers, the new online confidence building programme for black lawyers at every stage of their career, where I give you a proven process and a practical tool for overcoming Imposter Syndrome so you have the confidence to succeed in a white world.

Here's what you get::

• 6 months instant access to the entire online programme which you can work through in your own time and at your own speed, as many times as you want or need to
  
• Membership of the CONFIDENT Black Lawyers Club, a community of black lawyers inspiring and supporting each other
  
• 20 live group coaching sessions over 6 months, where you get coached or learn from hearing others get coached
  
• A private podcast where you can listen to coaching replays
  
• Easy access to a curated pool of trainings and resources
  

Click this link to join: https://caroline-flanagan.mykajabi.com/confident-black-lawyers

This week on the podcast it's my pleasure to share the live recording of last Friday's live webinar: How to be confident.

Where are you on your confidence journey?

• are you anxious and worried all the time?
  
• are you confident at home with family and friends, but a shadow of yourself when at work
  
• do you know you're good at what you do but something is still holding you back from showing up to your potential
  
• or perhaps you are confident where you are but when you think about progressing to the next level you're full of doubt
  

Wherever you are on your confidence journey you're going to have all your confidence questions answered in this recording:

Here's what we cover:

1. Where you are on your confidence journey
   
2. What confidence means to you and why you want it
   
3. How Imposter Syndrome is holding you back in your career and what you can do to change it
   
4. The powerful way to build confidence in who you are and the skills you need to get there
   
5. CONFIDENT Black Lawyers - my new online programme where you build the confidence to succeed in a white world
   

P.S. CONFIDENT Black Lawyers is now OPEN FOR ENROLMENT. If you're a black lawyer and you want more confidence, join today.

What you get:

The Course: 6 months instant access to the entire confidence building programme to work through at your own speed and in your own time - fits perfectly into any schedule

The Coaching: 3 x live group coaching calls on the CONFIDENT Black Lawyers process every month. Can't attend? Don't worry - audio recordings of each session will be available via a private podcast for members only, so you can listen at a later date

The Community: membership of the CONFIDENT Black Lawyers community - a growing community of black lawyers all supporting and inspiring each other on their confidence journey

Duration: 6 month programme

Your investment: 600

Doors are open

Join now. Link in bio. 

https://caroline-flanagan.mykajabi.com/confident-black-lawyers