National Women in Law Awards: Kelsey Mayo
Poyner Spruill LLPPartner (Since 2015)
December 03, 2018 at 04:38 PM
3 minute read
What was your route to the top? While many things have contributed to my success, my passion for the work and a great sponsor have been two significant factors. I took to the world of employee benefits immediately—I simply reveled in the complexity of the area and the reward in helping others understand it. This enjoyment has led me to devote time to endeavors such as sitting for actuarial exams, advocating for positive legislative and regulatory change, and becoming a nationally recognized speaker on benefits and executive compensation. Although these endeavors arose from a personal passion, they have contributed to my success by giving me a unique ability to add value to clients because of the depth of my expertise and industry connections. In addition, the importance of having a great mentor and a sponsor cannot be understated. I've had the great fortune of working with four partners, all of whom were committed to my success. One partner in particular became my mentor as well as my sponsor within the firm. When I was an associate, one of our large clients needed to change relationship attorneys, and he successfully advocated with management that I should be given the role, despite being only a mid-level associate. Similarly, as he decided to step back in advance of retirement, he pushed me to the forefront of other significant relationships. This gave me significant opportunities to develop meaningful relationships with important clients and a meaningful voice within the firm that comes with that.
What keeps you up at night? (i.e. What are your biggest business-related concerns?) A lot! I tend to intuitively see the inefficiencies and opportunities in processes and am always looking for solutions (even when I'd rather be sleeping!). My number one concern is nearly always how do we best serve this client, how can we improve the outcome, how can we ensure a great experience, and how do I bring along the team necessary to produce the best outcome.
What is the best leadership advice you provided, or received, and why do you think it was effective? Treat everyone, especially staff, with respect and appreciation. I've been told since I was a child that the most important person in the office is never the one in the corner office. We all work together as a team and my staff know that their opinion in the running of our practice is equally valid. I think bridging the hierarchal structure allows for freedom of expression and more creative thinking, which produces more positive outcomes for both the staff and our clients.
Looking back, what do you wish you had known when you started out in the legal profession? I wish I had known that I would be a manager on day one so that I could have invested time beforehand developing some basic management skills. I was lucky to have a wonderful staff who were happy to teach me to be both a lawyer and a manager and a mentor to give me honest critical feedback to develop these skills over time.
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