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Creative Success Now Audition Script

Anna was a lawyer struggling at her job due to a lack of available work. During a coaching session, she realized her passions were for managing people and solving complex problems creatively. She used these strengths to get more work at her firm by networking with other lawyers. She was then given the opportunity to work on a high-profile pro bono case matching her skills. This led to her being appointed deputy monitor of the case. Tired of restrictions at her new company, Anna started her own successful consulting firm focused on her passions.

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Jayne Rowney
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99 views

Creative Success Now Audition Script

Anna was a lawyer struggling at her job due to a lack of available work. During a coaching session, she realized her passions were for managing people and solving complex problems creatively. She used these strengths to get more work at her firm by networking with other lawyers. She was then given the opportunity to work on a high-profile pro bono case matching her skills. This led to her being appointed deputy monitor of the case. Tired of restrictions at her new company, Anna started her own successful consulting firm focused on her passions.

Uploaded by

Jayne Rowney
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter Five

¬
Play To Your Passions And
Strengths

T
he year was 2012, and the place was my coaching office on the
Upper West Side of Manhattan. That’s when and where I met
Anna Friedberg.
Anna, a gregarious lawyer with a wide circle of friends, had just
started her first job at a large New York law firm. This was at a time
when the recession had dramatically cut the demand for legal services,
and law firms had hired too many young associates. Anna had only billed
seventy hours in the last six months, whereas the firm’s expectation
was 200 hours a month.
She was in danger of losing her job and was really stressed. Plus,
she lacked confidence in her legal skills and did not know if she was up
to the task. But Anna had just come from a clerkship with a prestigious
federal judge. She was great at and passionate about cultivating and
managing relationships and creatively solving problems. She also loved
to make things happen. As scared as she was, she was determined to
come out on top.
That’s when she walked into my office. I asked Anna to define
what success would look like. “I want to start my own business where
I can manage people and solve big problems,” Anna said.
“What are you passionate about?“ I then asked her.
42 | CREATIVE SUCCESS NOW

“That’s a hard question,” she replied.” I can wrap my brain around


pretty much any subject, so I don’t think I have a passion.”
“Let’s explore a few more ways to define passion.” I replied.” What
excites you about your work?
Anna thought for a moment and said, “I love to nurture meaningful
relationships. I love solving hard problems and coming up with creative,
out-of-the-box solutions. I get really excited when I am managing
people around a project in order to come up with the best result.”
“Here’s what we can do to sort out your career challenge,” I
observed. “You need to build up your confidence and focus on what
you are really good at. You need to find ways to use your passion for
people and creative problem-solving. Then, we need to find the best
match between your strengths and your ideal job. In the meantime,
let’s work on how you can make the most of your experience at the
law firm.”
It wasn’t easy for Anna. The monthly billing requirement in a slow
economy meant that there was not a lot of work at the firm. The threat
of losing her job weighed on her heavily.
At first, her hours did not increase. But Anna put her people skills
to work and reached out to more senior lawyers in her firm to let them
know that she was available to work on their cases. Since she was so
likable and reliable, she began to get more work. She dove into her
work and did a great job. As her work increased, so did her hours—and
so did her confidence.
She also was on the lookout for cases that matched her problem-
solving and people skills, as well as her commitment to being of
service. Then she learned that the firm had taken on a big pro bono
case challenging violence at the notorious prison, Rikers Island—the
world’s largest jail complex. This was the ideal match for Anna.
There were multiple parties involved in the case, represented by
a host of lawyers. Moreover, the case presented a complex series of
challenges on issues that really mattered to Anna. And there were no
easy answers. Anna was thrilled. This was her opportunity to put her
passions and strengths to use.
CHAPTER 5 | 43

Anna dug in and cultivated excellent relationships with the lawyers


and their clients. She worked hard to come up with creative solutions
to the many challenges of the case. And she ended up being the point
person to organize the case and manage the work so that everyone had
a meaningful role to play.
Her breakthrough opportunity came when the case was settled.
The case was put under the supervision of a federal monitor whose
role was to oversee the settlement and make sure that the parties
complied with the terms of the settlement agreement. And guess who
was appointed Deputy Monitor?
Anna.
It was not possible to do this work at a law firm, so Anna took her
business to a consulting company. It was great to have the security
of the company as she made the move from law firm life into the
business world. Anna immediately got to work and hired a team. They
did a great job for their client, and Anna felt an enormous sense of
accomplishment. But Anna was frustrated by the management at her
consulting company, which was holding her back. She realized that it
was time to start her own venture and run her business independently.
It was a big move, but Anna was really good at making things happen
and communicating her vision to others. So Anna made a decision to
leave the company and start her own firm, named Tillid, taking her
existing team with her.1
Today, Tillid is a success, and Anna relishes her role as a business
owner, managing not only her team but also her complex array of
clients, creatively working on the solution to a critical social problem
and making the world a better place.
What helped Anna? Playing to her passions for people and complex
problem-solving and her strengths as a communicator, relationship-
builder, and a person who makes things happen. That’s what gave her
the boost of confidence she needed to up her profile at her law firm, go
after the right kind of work, and then leave the security of a law firm
and a consulting company to start and run her own business.

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