GC Critical Skills is the station that forces General Counsel to pause, reflect, and actively assess whether they possess the skills required to lead a modern legal function. It’s not about legal knowledge alone - it’s about the broader leadership toolkit needed to manage complexity, drive transformation, and deliver measurable value to the business.

The role of the GC has evolved dramatically. Today’s GC must be part strategist, part technologist, part motivator, and part operator. They must understand legal operations, data analytics, workflow automation, and legal tech. They must be able to lead change, manage performance, and communicate legal value in business terms. And they must do all this while still being the organisation’s top legal advisor.

This station is about intentional skill acquisition. It recognises that the skills required for GC success are constantly shifting - and that waiting for those skills to arrive organically is no longer viable. GCs must now treat their own development as a strategic priority, regularly auditing their capabilities and building a plan to close gaps.

The GC Critical Skills station is not just about survival - it’s about elevation. GCs who embrace this mindset become transformation leaders, not just legal managers. They become the kind of leaders who shape the future of the legal function—and who are recognised across the business as indispensable.

The scope of the GC Critical Skills station includes:

◼️Identifying the full spectrum of skills required for modern GC leadership

◼️Conducting regular self-assessments and gap analyses

◼️Building a personal development plan aligned with strategic goals

◼️Acquiring fluency in legal operations and performance management

◼️Developing legal tech literacy and data analytics capabilities

◼️Enhancing leadership, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills

◼️Building business acumen and commercial awareness

◼️Creating a culture of learning and development within the legal team

In GLS legal ops, the GC Critical Skills is considered a "Repeater" resource within legal operations.

A Repeater Resource: Supports multiple legal functions, ensuring that structured legal requests improve contracting, dispute resolution, compliance, and advisory services.

A well-structured GC Critical Skills enhances legal team productivity, reduces wasted time, and improves service delivery across the organization.

The best practice features of the GC Critical Skills station are as follows:

◼️A GC-led skills framework aligned with business and legal transformation goals

◼️Regular self-assessment and feedback loops to identify skill gaps

◼️Access to targeted learning resources and expert coaching

◼️Integration of skill development into performance reviews and career planning

◼️A balanced focus on technical, operational, and leadership capabilities

◼️Active engagement with legal ops, tech, and business strategy communities

◼️A culture of continuous learning embedded within the legal team

◼️Clear metrics to track progress and impact of skill development

The GC Critical Skills station delivers the following value to the Business:

◼️Improved strategic alignment between legal and business objectives

◼️Faster decision-making through commercially aware legal leadership

◼️Enhanced stakeholder engagement via confident, credible communication

◼️Greater agility in responding to regulatory and market changes

◼️Increased innovation driven by legal tech and operational fluency

◼️Stronger risk management through data-informed legal strategies

◼️Cost savings via smarter resource allocation and process optimisation

◼️Higher leadership impact from a GC who operates as a business partner

The GC Critical Skills station strengthens the legal team ecosystem by:

◼️Empowering the GC to lead with clarity, confidence, and credibility

◼️Creating a culture of development that attracts and retains top talent

◼️Improving team performance through better leadership and management

◼️Enabling transformation by equipping the GC with change leadership skills

◼️Enhancing morale through visible investment in leadership capability

◼️Driving operational excellence via legal ops and tech fluency

◼️Supporting succession planning and career growth within the team

◼️Building resilience in the face of increasing complexity and demand

The GC Critical Skills station is essential for:

◼️Legal departments seeking strategic alignment with the business

◼️General Counsel aiming to lead with authority and measurable impact

◼️Legal teams undergoing transformation or restructuring

◼️Organisations investing in legal operations and performance metrics

◼️Businesses requiring agile, empowered legal support

A legal team operating without a GC Critical Skills strategy will face a wide range of inefficiencies including:

◼️Leadership gaps that undermine team performance and morale

◼️Poor stakeholder engagement due to lack of business fluency

◼️Missed opportunities for tech-driven efficiency and innovation

◼️Inability to scale legal services with existing resources

◼️Reactive management rather than proactive leadership

◼️Low credibility in strategic decision-making forums

◼️Talent attrition due to lack of development and direction

◼️Reduced influence of the legal function across the business

The GC Critical Skills station is a technology-leveraged station. It requires:

◼️Legal tech literacy to evaluate, adopt, and lead tech initiatives

◼️Data analytics fluency to interpret performance metrics and inform strategy

◼️Familiarity with legal ops platforms and workflow automation tools

◼️Integration with enterprise systems for seamless collaboration

◼️Digital leadership to guide the team through transformation

◼️Use of online learning platforms for continuous skill development

◼️Tech-enabled performance tracking to measure leadership impact

◼️Cybersecurity awareness to protect legal data and systems