Changing your mindset can change your business

Interview with Hans Jørgen Bender, Partner at Selmer

Hans Jørgen Bender didn’t take the typical path to becoming a successful partner in a law firm. It was during his years in the Norwegian Police Academy that he realized he had a knack for academic work. And so, in his early days as a police officer, he also attended law school. Since that turning point, his career has led him to the prosecutor’s office in Oslo, into the business of Boston Consulting Group, and finally to a career with the law firm Selmer – where he’s been for the past 13 years.

Today Hans Jørgen is a partner at Selmer, where he is focused on employment law, primarily. He’s been a partner for approximately half of his time at the firm, and says that while he enjoys the people and the team, being a partner requires an additional skillset that doesn’t come quite naturally.

As a partner, Hans Jørgen saw a need to become better at attracting and retaining new clients for his firm. He had been very successful in his role so far, but felt he needed to do more to develop his commercial skills – in an effort to achieve greater success for the firm.

He said, “At 48 years of age, it’s easy to get stuck in old habits. I wasn’t quite sure what I should focus on and what I should change, but I knew that I needed to be better at marketing our firm’s services to be an even better partner.”

As a lawyer with years of education under his belt, Hans Jørgen was a bit skeptical to the idea of coaching as a way to improve himself. But with a slight push from his sister-in-law, Hans Jørgen decided to entertain the idea of a professional coach. Once he opened the door to it, he realized that there were many successful people who were benefiting from a coach, and that this could be the help he needed to develop a so-far untapped skillset.

“By working with Jon Erik as my coach, he helped me to become more focused and to stop doing things that don’t directly link to what I want to achieve. I realized that overall, I had the right focus but needed to re-prioritize,” said Hans Jørgen.

Following his coaching sessions, Hans Jørgen has put in a larger effort on marketing, pitching and client work.

“We work hard on our cases, but it’s also important to get new business. I now have a much more structured and dedicated approach to this, due to a change in my mindset,” he said.

Hans Jørgen’s change of mindset has helped him to grab opportunities and put in the extra effort to acquire new clients. It’s easy (for lawyers) to sit behind their desks and solve complex legal issues, but Hans Jørgen is also very aware that he needs to market himself and his firm to achieve even more.

As Hans Jørgen aptly described it, “A professional coach is someone you can talk to about your professional life. It’s a way to air out issues, talk through them and get over them – and then continue on with what’s truly important.”

Coaching is a way to get more out of even the most senior of employees, tapping into their full potential. Hans Jørgen is an example of how many leaders can get so caught up in the running of the business - the small, everyday issues - that they can sometimes miss out on the bigger picture. Hans Jørgen dared to explore how small changes to his mindset could have a big impact on the success of his law firm.

According to Hans Jørgen, “For me, it was the right time and the right coach.”

Hans Jørgen Bender, Partner at Selmer