Dan Kayne is General Counsel (Routes) at Network Rail, which owns, operates and develops Britain's railway infrastructure. Kayne has established himself as a conductor of change with a passion for human leadership.

In 2019 Kayne founded the O Shaped Lawyer initiative which has brought together leaders from across the legal industry with one core purpose – to make the legal profession better for those who use it, are just entering it, and who are already in it.

He discussed with Global Leaders in Law what it means to be an O Shaped Lawyer and why change is needed, the importance of kindness in business, the impact of COVID-19 on agile working, the importance of trust to empower an in-house team, and strategies to increase the diversity of thought within a team.

GLL: Do you consider it to be part of your role as a GC to be a business strategist? How do you pass this mindset onto members within your team? 

Dan Kayne: Yes, in fact, I would say that understanding and contributing to the business strategy is a core part of a General Counsel's role.  If you are not involved in shaping, supporting and developing the business strategy then the organisation is missing out on the value you can contribute and your team is less likely to be able to provide advice that is aligned to the organisation's objectives.

We pass on this mindset to the rest of the team by setting out a very clear vision and purpose for the legal function. When I started in the role the team agreed that our purpose was simply to provide an excellent service to our customers.  Our vision has a similar customer oriented slant to it – we want to 'consistently exceed our customers' expectations'.  It is really important to develop this service mindset early on in a new role.  It brings the team together behind a common goal and provides the framework for what we do and how we do it.

GLL: What does it mean to be an O Shaped Lawyer and why is change needed? 

Dan Kayne: The O Shaped Lawyer began when I was looking to recruit someone into our team in early 2019.  We were looking for an individual who could come in and hit the ground running, who could engage well with the business and build credibility from the get go.  Whilst talking to our Group General Counsel I mentioned the 'T Shaped Lawyer' a concept which has been around for a while – someone who has deep technical expertise (the I) and the ability to work collaborate with other experts (the crossbar of the T).  I felt that didn't go far enough and that we needed someone who is more of an all-rounder – I light-heartedly suggested that alphabetically this is more of an O than a T – and so the O Shaped Lawyer was born!

The traditional lawyer has always been taught to be a technical expert above all else but I have always struggled with that narrow focus.  I passionately believe that how legal services are delivered to the customer is at least as important as what the law is.  In truth, the how is probably more important than the what, because there are many great technical lawyers to choose from, but a limited pool of those who can combine the technical with the behavioural.  In my view, it's what sets the very best lawyers apart from the crowd.  There is little point in knowing all the law if you have little idea how to dispense the advice in a way that demonstrates you appreciate both the business requirements and the needs of the individual customer you are advising. It is the how which enables you to distinguish between a traditional lawyer (the ordinary) and an O Shaped Lawyer (the extraordinary).  Lawyers are very intelligent people (the smart) but often lack compassion and emotional intelligence (the heart).  It is the smarts and hearts who will thrive in the future – that is why we are working with universities and law schools to try and embed the O Shaped principles into a lawyer's development from the start.

We spoke to 18 leading General Counsel about lawyer skills which led to us publishing our GC report that identifies the 12 Attributes of the O Shaped Lawyer.  The programme focuses on two workstreams. The first is the education stream I have already referred to and the second is the practice stream that looks at the relationship between law firms and their clients.  We are conducting real-time, real work, pilots between law firms and in house teams which have at their core the application of the O Shaped Attributes.  We are already seeing the value of working in this way, with participants highlighting more open and constructive discussions with their own teams and with their customers.  Discussions about feelings, emotions and compassion have been taboo as far as the legal profession is concerned – showing emotions being seen as a weakness or a vulnerability that could compromise career prospects.  Such as mindset leads to many talented people leaving the profession for something more personally fulfilling rather than financially rewarding.   The O Shaped Programme is working hard to change that.

GLL: Is kindness an attribute of the O Shaped Lawyer and why is kindness important for business? 

Dan Kayne: The O Shaped attributes don't specifically refer to kindness, but it is implicit in one of the 12 core attributes of the O Shaped Lawyer – empathy.  We have adopted the mantra of 'people first, then lawyers' which is about recognising that we are all human beings who experience the same feelings as everyone else – the lawyering is just what we do.  We have a profession struggling with difficult conversations around diversity, inclusion and mental health. The legal sector has some of the highest rates of stress, anxiety and depression of any profession, and tackling these issues requires a concerted upstream campaigning effort which embraces the 'people first, then lawyers' approach.

I want our profession to start being recognised as one that is compassionate and caring as well as highly competent.  It's important to recognise that showing kindness and compassion isn't about going easy on people or encouraging a reduction in productivity.  In fact, it has the opposite effect.  It leads to a more engaged and productive workforce, something that clients and prospective clients can see and really value from the law firms they work with.  It makes people happier and makes good business sense – this should become a non-negotiable.

GLL: What are the key leadership qualities that are needed from the GC of the future to ensure that the in-house team achieves the skills identified in the O Shaped Lawyer? 

Dan Kayne: I am a big believer in empowering people as much as possible.  I have seen so many examples of individuals who have become so used to the hierarchy in our profession that they have become stifled.  It is incredible to see just how they flourish when they are given responsibility, supported and trusted to get on with it.  People are amazing – we just need to give them space and the opportunity to show it.  Aligned to empowerment is my passion for creating an environment where my team feels safe to try new things, to share experiences (good and bad) and to really enjoy their work.

GLL: Please can you outline the five key behaviours of the O Shaped Lawyer? 

Dan Kayne: 

GLL: What does resilience mean to you as a leader and how have you created a culture of wellbeing and resilience? 

Dan Kayne: Our focus is on delivering a great service to our customers but if you don't have a team that is healthy and engaged then you can't possibly hope to achieve that objective – your team must come before everything.  

Since we have been in lockdown following the COVID outbreak, we have moved to more regular, shorter and virtual meetings.  Each week we complete, and anonymously discuss, the output of a pulse survey which checks in on a number of indicators such as productivity, connectivity and health and wellbeing.  Because we have created a safe environment, the team is comfortable in sharing their own personal experiences of managing through these unprecedented times.  Hearing that others are going through the same challenges as you are, sharing how you are dealing with them and supporting one another through them is a great way of creating a resilient culture.

GLL: How are you and the team adapting to working at home, is this change here to stay? Any top tips for ensuring you keep up engagement and productivity?

Dan Kayne: As a function, we have been geographically agile for a while and that has worked well because we trust and support each other.  I am not concerned about where my team work from provided we can continue to meet our objectives and deliver against our vision.  All I ask is that we maintain regular contact both from a well-being point of view and knowledge share. To achieve an agile team you need to focus on outputs not inputs so we don't measure the hours put in, we measure the performance of the team in meeting our customers' needs.  We will continue to do this.

During the crisis we have seen great examples of people we work with putting people at the heart of their approach.  I love how video meetings have opened up peoples' home lives and we encourage kids and pets to join our weekly meetings.  Whether these positive behaviours will continue everywhere once the current crisis remains to be seen.  I hope so. We have all proved that it's possible to not only manage this way, but even thrive.

GLL: What are your key tips for creating a legal team that is agile and can respond to fast-moving events? 

 Dan Kayne: In my previous answer I touched upon the importance of trust.  No General Counsel can do it all but must rely on a trusted team that you have empowered. The key is for the team to share knowledge and experience. As I have said, it is essential to allow individuals the freedom to deliver work in a way that they feel is appropriate for the customers they serve.  If you are able to mindfully delegate, it increases your team's agility to serve the customer efficiently and effectively, provided you are also coming together as a team to share best (and worst) practice.

GLL: What strategies have you implemented to increase the diversity of thought within your team?

Dan Kayne: We have spent a considerable amount of time creating a psychologically safe environment for the team.  This allows everyone to freely share their perspective and voice their concerns without fear of being criticised.  This isn't easy and requires everyone to trust each other which is a continuous process of empowerment and assurance.  I once heard the saying that "trust is built in tea spoons and lost in bucket loads" – I believe that.  We are not complacent about the benefits of a psychologically safe working environment and I will always do everything I can to maintain it.

ALM's Global Leaders in Law was started over ten years ago by general counsel, for general counsel. Now, it is a private network designed to support general counsel as they, in turn, support their companies. With GLL's combination of business leadership training and peer networking, they help the general counsel and their teams navigate the C-Suite and their business' shareholders – both in the event of a crisis and in the day-to-day running of the company. GLL help members make key contacts, drive legal business initiatives, streamline and incentivize their team and, in turn, hone their departments into a clear value-add for their companies as a whole.