In-house leaders are so focused on supporting their teams amid the chaos and stress of the novel coronavirus outbreak that they might be at risk of neglecting their own well-being, according to a new report from Deloitte. 

"The No. 1 thing I'm hearing from the chief legal officers and general counsels is that they're concerned for their teams," said Lori Lorenzo, research and insights director for Deloitte's chief legal officer program.  

"I was just interviewing a GC the day before yesterday, and I asked, 'How are you managing the stress of this situation?' Her immediate response was to lay out how she was supporting her team. The primary concern is, 'Is my team OK, and am I providing the support that I need for them?'"

But GCs also need to be taking care of themselves if they want to be effective leaders, noted Lorenzo, who co-authored a new white paper, "Leading through the pandemic: Well-being for chief legal officers."

The report offers insights from psychologists, executive coaches and other experts about how in-house leaders can take better care of themselves while also being strong leaders. The report encourages chief lawyers to take time to focus on themselves by, for instance, meditating, getting enough sleep and setting boundaries for technology use. 

"Right now, we are all experiencing grief and loss—loss of the norms as we knew them, loss of routines, loss of special events or traditions, and for some, loss of loved ones who get sick or die as a result of COVID-19," Jen Fisher, Deloitte's chief well-being officer, states in the white paper. 

"None of that is good, but what gives me hope is that this collective experience is empowering a more open dialogue about well-being, about mental health, about self-care, and even about work-life integration," she adds. 

When she gets GCs to talk about themselves, Lorenzo said they've indicated that they're "enjoying the opportunity to be invested in the response and recovery strategy." 

She adds, "While they acknowledge that it is long, hard, new territory, most of them are relying on some of the ways that they've always managed stress. Delegating to their team and making sure they're communicating frequently and often so they're not caught by surprise, to the extent that you can avoid being caught by surprise in the middle of a pandemic."

The report cites a recent COVID-19 impact survey from Morrison & Foerster, which found that 67% of 110 GCs respondents reported that their workload had increased amid the pandemic and nearly half said the novel coronavirus was having a "severe impact" on business. 

Based on the conversations that she's had with in-house leaders, Lorenzo was optimistic that GCs and CLOs were beginning to focus a little more on their well-being, which, in turn, will make them better leaders. 

"Do I think people are going to do every single thing on the checklist? Probably not," she said. "But I do think there is a level of awareness that these things are important and an interest in executing on at least some of these tips and tactics."

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