Law Office of Maija West

Getting to know tribes in the areas where you live and work is an important part of leadership etiquette. And, it is not a mystery to do so. Check out native-land.ca to understand the Indigenous territories of your area, then search the tribe's name to learn more. Once you have relations established with specific tribes, then they will tell you if you have it right or not. Managing attorney, Maija West, was trying to figure out to how to say hello to a Costanoan Indigenous leader this week, and discovered this resource. And miSmin Tuuhis to you all today! https://www.encyclopedia.com//encyclopedias-alma/costanoan

Hello all! A new job posting is up, by one of our community partners. Please feel free to share! https://www.idealist.org//63b0ae6d688949ad8b09099f68b371c2

Hello all! It's not too late to do your 2020 reflections to make sure your business or team incorporates the many lessons into this year's goals. And, my, there were so many lessons from last year, right? Take a moment to share one of your lessons with us. One of ours was "being resourceful." https://maijawest.com/reflections-on-our-resources-from-20/

While we shared this post last month with our law office circle of clients and community partners, we are sharing this post again today, in honor of these challenging times. We hope you will find it helpful to you and your communities of influence. https://maijawest.com/generosity/

#tiptuesday Using non-committal statements can signal to others that you are unreliable and threatens credibility. Reliable statements from leaders require honesty and clarity. Examples of non-committal, unreliable language include, I should be able to, or That should be fine. Even if you don’t have the answer right away, make an agreed-upon time to discuss the issue when you will be able to give a clear answer. Instead of using unreliable statements, replace them with reliable statements, such as: I will", "I will not", or "I will check my calendar and give you a response later today". Phrases such as these provide a clear understanding of what to expect from us. #businesslaw #forwardthinking

#tiptuesday Establishing boundaries is a central practice of being an effective leader. As Brene Brown states in her work, "a boundary is what's okay and what's not okay" (Brené Brown, 2018). We cultivate trust by using clarity in communicating what we expect from others and what they should expect from us. One important step in achieving this is by making the responsibilities of employees clear and accessible. Use written job descriptions to build strong boundaries by defining the expectations for each employee on your team, so that everyone knows their lane. A contract is meant to ensure that both parties' needs are met. #forwardthinking #businesslaw

Client Spotlight Client shoutout to Carmel Family Dental! Thank you to owner Hilary Fritsch, DMD, for contributing to our February newsletter. "We at Carmel Family Dental work hard to create an environment that is not only fantastic to visit as a patient but also a fun and fulfilling place to work. So much of that depends on company culture, excellent communication skills, teamwork, and great leadership. Maija West has been hugely instrumental in creating that environment with us." #ClientSpotlight

Alysia, our Senior Paralegal and writer, has published her first book, Regina Rabbit Makes a New Friend. We interviewed her to hear more about her story. This is the first publication to be followed by many in the Regina Rabbit series, each with a theme that will be relatable to kids and their parents. Most of the content of the books is based on what she and her 8-year-old daughter learn together. We're excited to see what's next for the series!

We are glad to see our National leadership for attorneys (the American Bar Association) taking a position to encourage our industry to learn more during this time. #aba https://www.americanbar.org//membership/equal_opportunity/

If you don't receive our newsletter, you might not have read our post. We offer it to you today, in the context of our times, in support of all of us becoming more reliable to ourselves, and to each other. Reliability. Having a reliable team starts with you. You do what you say you will do. At work, this means staying aware of your competencies and limitations, so you don’t over promise and are able to deliver on commitments and balance competing priorities. Brené Brown...* Like many of you, I have been helping my family face mental and physical health challenges these past few months and have consequently been bouncing back and forth between my personal and professional obligations. This experience has been a constant change and some themes have emerged, that apply to both of these worlds. One of the themes that really came to the surface for me is the concept of reliability. It turns out, our personal and professional leadership goals can be quite powerful if we build reliability into their fabric. An example of this, is the use of specific phrases and how they can be indicators of a choice to avoid being reliable to oneself and others. This week, our country, still quite fragile from the continued economic and health challenges of COVID-19, has been hit again with the death of George Floyd, a 46-year old Black man, who died at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis. Protests have erupted across the Country, including here in Monterey County. I have been listening to what Black leaders across the country are saying right now, and one of the continued messages that I have heard is for white folks. The message is: do something. For some of us, the idea that we as white people can make a difference in the lives of Black people, might be new information. For others, this is old, old news. Read more here: https://maijawest.com/reliability-having-a-reliable-team-s/

All. Today is rescheduled in honor of #blackouttuesday Please swipe to next image to see actions that your might consider taking this week. @groundstudiolandscape @ Monterey, California

We are pretty excited to have Bernard Trainor, founder and visionary of @groundstudiolandscape join us this Tuesday at 1 pm PST. You should expect a great conversation about forward thinking leadership in these times + how landscape can help save us all. Join us for lunch on Tuesday! #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneur #forwardthinking #groundstudio #monterey #californiabusiness #covidtransformation

Today! Live at 1pm! Our guest today is Jennifer Kuyper, CA banker and PPP loan superhero. Join us in a rich discussion on navigating business during this time. Specific info on loan forgiveness, repayment and treasury updates *will* be discussed. If you were awarded a PPP loan, this one is for you! #ppp #ppploan #businessowner #covid19 #businesswoman #forwardthinking #buylocal

Hello all! In case you want to see what resources we are making available online, for free during this time, please check out our Instagram page with "daily legal" videos + free PDFs for entrepreneurs who are currently working and providing essential services. Hugs! https://www.instagram.com/lawofficemaijawest/