Thank you for your participation in yesterday’s energizing and thought provoking brainstorming session. As I stated at the beginning of yesterday’s session, empathy is a hard word to think about because it is an emotional quality. I studied the board afterwards with Caroline and we made changes, which I welcome you to review and provide us feedback.

I want to focus on culture and the aspects of culture that support empathetic interactions. In my opinion, culture would be the foundation for elevating a more empathetic experience within a firm. When I introduced the board yesterday, my contribution was that we align core values with our current workforce and expand or build on what we already have in place. So when I look at the attributes of culture on the whiteboard, these core values support empathy:

• Respect
• Honesty
• Inclusiveness
• Openness
• Thoughtfulness
  
  

When you look at your firm’s core values, do they reflect these qualities? In light of the great shifts we have all recently experienced in our work life, is it valuable to remind everyone how important it is to abide by these values, especially with this new lens?

What are your thoughts?

–Bea Seravello, Partner and Co-Head, NewLaw Practice