The Wright Firm, PLLC

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝟐𝟎𝟐4 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐃! For many years, many industries have said that remote work cannot be done. Numerous excuses for the failure to embrace remote work are lack of productivity, ideas come better in person, so on and so forth. There may be some truth to these excuses, but the truth is, remote work is here to stay. As of August 2023, 12.2% of U.S. workers are fully remote. • Hybrid work: 32% of workers prefer a hybrid work schedule. • Remote work preferences: 65% of workers want to be remote all the time. • Company remote work: Only 11.1% of private sector businesses are fully remote. • Industry remote work: The technology industry has the highest percentage of remote workers, at 67.8%. • Gender remote work: In 2022, 41% of women worked from home compared to 28% of men. • Remote work balance: 71% of those who work from home all, most, or some of the time say it helps them balance their work and personal lives. To make this effective for your small business, it is imperative that you have a remote worker policy. There are some basic principles that you want to follow when creating your policy: (1) Agree when employees should be available; (2) provide guidance on responding to emails and messages; (3) how to deal with team meetings and overall office communication; (4) decide what is considered meeting productivity goals; (5) technology requirements; and (6) how to deal with confidentiality. Questions? I can help! Comment below or send me a DM! #thewrightlawyer #BusinessLaw #RemoteWorkLaw #LegalAdvice #EmploymentLaw

Business In A Minute: Do you have remote workers? Watch this quick video to find out he 5 Most Common Legal Issues! Questions? Here to help. Leave a comment or just DM! #thewrightlawyer #EmploymentLaw #HRLegal #WorkplaceRights #LaborLaw #EmploymentRights #LegalHR #WorkplaceCompliance #EmployeeRelations #DiscriminationLaw #FairEmployment

Do you know if you have the right business tax status? If not, let's talk in the DMs! #thewrightlawyer #BusinessFormation #LLCFormation #SCorp #CCorp #LegalBusinessStructure #StartupFormation #CorporateLaw #SmallBusinessLegal #EntityFormation #LegalAdviceForBusiness

One of my “bucket list” items was to be more visible in the legal community. This started with me providing legal education in the area that is near and dear to my heart; Nonprofit organizations. This started with me creating and presenting Continuing Legal Education topics for Lawyers, the Lawyer who Love Nonprofits Facebook Group, a contributing author of the Texas Business Organizations Manual 2020 and 2024, and now this!! Thankful to be selected by Thompson Reuters and my colleagues as a Super Lawyer.

Part 5: Leadership as Advocacy – Standing for Yourself and Others As I reflect on the experiences that have shaped my leadership journey, one thing stands out more clearly than ever: leadership isn't just about making your own mark—it's about creating space for others to do the same. And for someone like me, an introvert who spent much of my career avoiding the spotlight, learning to advocate for myself has transformed the way I advocate for others. In many ways, introverts can feel overlooked in traditional leadership environments. We tend to let our work speak for itself, but in a world that often values volume over substance, that’s not always enough. Over the years, I've learned that true leadership requires a delicate balance: not only do I need to ensure my own contributions are visible, but I also need to recognize and uplift those who, like me, may struggle to be seen. This realization has shaped my approach to leadership in recent years. I make it a priority to know the people on my teams, especially those who may not always feel comfortable raising their hands or stepping forward. I’ve learned to ask questions that go beyond “What are you working on?” I ask: What excites you about this work? What part of this project makes you proud? What are your goals, and how can I help you achieve them? These questions aren’t just about extracting information—they’re about helping people articulate their value. I know how it feels to be overlooked, to watch others—often the loudest in the room—get credit for ideas that don’t always reflect the most effort or thought. Because of that, I’m now more intentional about ensuring that the quieter voices, the introverted but diligent contributors, get the recognition they deserve. I’ve also made it a point to be a visible advocate for others. When someone on my team does great work, I make sure the right people know about it. If there's an opportunity to shine a light on a contribution that might otherwise go unnoticed, I take it. Whether it's sending an email that calls out a team member's effort or speaking up in a meeting to highlight their work, I make sure their voices are heard, even when they’re not the ones shouting. **See Comments for the Rest of the Post**

Part 4: Reclaiming My Own Identity – Breaking the Mold After my difficult experience working with Edward, I spent a lot of time reflecting on what went wrong. The truth was, much of the pain I felt wasn’t just about him or our dysfunctional working relationship—it was also about me. I had let myself become defined by someone else’s spotlight, retreating further into the background, thinking that was where I belonged. That realization hit hard. I knew I had to make a change. Not just in how I approached leadership, but in how I saw myself. For years, I had been comfortable with staying behind the scenes, letting others take credit for what I helped build, and thinking that as long as the work was done, my role didn’t need to be recognized. But after the Edward experience, it became clear that being invisible came at a cost. People need to see the impact of your work in order to understand your value. Staying quiet and unseen had left me without an identity, even among people who had known me for years. I knew it was time to step out from the shadows, even though it wasn’t where I naturally gravitated. I began by intentionally asserting myself in new ways. In meetings, I made sure I contributed, even if it felt uncomfortable. I took ownership of my projects, ensured my name was attached to the success, and spoke up when something wasn’t right. It wasn’t easy, but with every step, I felt a little more empowered. Visibility doesn’t mean changing who you are at your core. I didn’t have to become the loudest person in the room or adopt a personality that wasn’t mine. Instead, it was about making sure that my presence was felt in ways that aligned with my authentic self. I became more deliberate in carving out my own space rather than allowing others to define me. This shift wasn’t just about asserting myself for the sake of it—it was about reclaiming my professional identity. I built relationships that were based on mutual respect, and I learned to set boundaries when I felt I wasn’t being treated fairly. It was about being seen, not for vanity or recognition, but because I deserved to be recognized for the work I was doing. I realized that leadership is not just about doing the work behind the scenes, but also about being brave enough to say, “This is my contribution, and it matters.” It’s about making sure your work and your presence leave an impression—not for ego’s sake, but because your value should never be overlooked. By taking ownership of my identity as a leader, I was finally able to escape the shadow of others and build my own foundation. And, perhaps most importantly, I learned that introverts like me have every right to be seen, just as much as the dynamic, extroverted personalities around us. Stay tuned for Part 5, where I’ll share how I’ve learned to advocate not only for myself, but for others, ensuring that everyone’s contributions—introverts and extroverts alike—are acknowledged and celebrated.

Part 3: The COO Role – The Weight of Being Second in Command Fast forward twenty years from my early days at the business ministry, and I had the chance to take on what I believed would be a dream role. An old friend of mine, let’s call him Edward, invited me to join his company as Chief Operating Officer. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for me – a role where I could stay behind the scenes, focus on operations, and let Edward, with his larger-than-life personality, take center stage. It was comfortable. I had no problem with being second in command. In fact, I enjoyed the idea of working in the background and making everything run smoothly while letting someone else handle the spotlight. But as comfortable as it seemed on the surface, it didn’t take long for me to realize that this role would be far from what I had imagined. Edward and I had known each other for years, but working with him in this capacity revealed sides of his personality I hadn’t seen before. His leadership style was authoritative and often dismissive, especially toward me. While I’ve always been comfortable with a quiet, more reserved leadership approach, Edward’s dynamic and outgoing persona often led to him overshadowing my contributions. At first, I brushed it off, telling myself that he was the face of the business, and I didn’t need to be seen. But things escalated. One particular incident changed everything. We were in an important meeting, and before we walked in, Edward instructed me not to speak. I was stunned. I was the Chief Operating Officer, and yet, here I was, told to stay silent in a meeting where my expertise was crucial. I didn’t know how to respond – my introverted instincts kicked in, and I nodded, feeling both hurt and angry. But inside, the frustration was building. During the meeting, I was asked a direct question, and I froze. I knew the answer, I knew I should have spoken up, but I hesitated, remembering Edward’s earlier instruction. I gave a brief, half-hearted response, and when the meeting ended, I felt a mix of anger and disappointment in myself. **See the Comments for the Rest of the Story**

Part 2: The Church Business Ministry – Learning to Speak Up One of my earliest leadership lessons came right after law school. I was eager to apply my legal skills and volunteered to be part of the newly-formed business ministry at my church. The ministry felt like a perfect fit for me; I had a deep interest in both business and my faith, and I saw an opportunity to create something meaningful. Naturally, I wanted to contribute in a way that combined my legal expertise with biblical principles, and so I set out to build a curriculum that blended the two. The ministry’s leader ("Anne") was a dynamic woman, known for her extroverted and charismatic personality. She was chosen to lead, likely because of how easily she could engage people, how comfortable she was in front of a crowd. While I liked Anne personally, I noticed that she wasn’t much for the details. As someone who thrives on detail and structure, I took it upon myself to create a thorough and engaging program that connected biblical teachings to practical business matters. I built lessons around employment issues, contracts, and ethical management. To be honest, I was quite proud of the curriculum. The first few meetings went well – people seemed engaged, and I could tell that the content was resonating. But Anne? She seemed detached and uninterested. Despite my excitement and the positive feedback we were receiving, Anne’s lack of involvement grew more and more obvious. Before I knew it, the meetings stopped altogether, and the business ministry came to an abrupt halt. I was disappointed, to say the least. I had invested so much into making the ministry a success, but it just faded away. When I voiced my concerns to the pastor, he decided to appoint another leader. Looking back, I realize that I didn’t speak up for myself enough. As a young professional, I believed that people like Anne and her successor were the “right” choices for leadership because they had those loud, visible qualities that I lacked. I stayed in the background, thinking it was enough to do good work, hoping that the quality of my efforts would speak for itself. But it wasn’t enough. The ministry needed more than just good content – it needed someone like me who was committed and passionate about its success. What I lacked at the time was the confidence to say, “I can lead this. I care about this. Let me show you how I can make it work.” Instead, I let myself fade into the background and accepted the decisions made by others. This experience taught me a tough but invaluable lesson: If you care about something, you need to advocate for yourself. You need to show others why you’re the right person for the job, even if you aren’t the loudest or most extroverted person in the room. I didn’t do that when I was younger, but over time, I learned how important it is to make your voice heard – especially when you have something meaningful to contribute. If this resonates with you... leave me a comment of your thoughts!

Part 1: The Silent Struggles of Introverted Leadership As someone who identifies as an introvert, I have spent most of my life and career struggling with the expectations that come with leadership. Leadership roles seem predicated on being seen, commanding attention, and speaking up – all things that feel foreign and exhausting to someone like me. Frankly, if I had my way, I would work in a cave, come out only when necessary, and retreat to the safety of solitude as quickly as possible. But the reality of our professional world often demands something different. For those of us who are introverts, being acknowledged and valued doesn't necessarily mean we want to be constantly in the spotlight. We often bring a different kind of strength – quiet confidence, thoughtful strategy, and a strong focus on the details. Yet, we live in a world where people with dynamic personalities, who command rooms with their energy and presence, are often the ones who get noticed. And for many years, that disparity left me frustrated. Early in my career, I thought I could navigate around this by simply focusing on the quality of my work. After all, isn’t excellence enough to be seen and recognized? Unfortunately, it’s not always that simple. I've had several experiences where I felt sidelined because I didn’t fit the mold of a “typical leader.” Each of these incidents, though painful, shaped how I approach leadership today – not just for myself, but for those around me. In this series, I want to share three pivotal leadership lessons I learned along my journey. These moments helped me find my voice, even when it was uncomfortable, and allowed me to redefine what leadership means for introverts like myself. From a business ministry at my church to a friendship-turned-professional disaster, these experiences taught me the importance of advocating for myself and others who, like me, don’t naturally seek the spotlight. I hope these stories resonate with those who have faced similar challenges, and offer insight to anyone who struggles with finding balance between being seen and being valued. Tomorrow, I will discuss my early leadership lesson in advocating for myself when I felt overlooked.

Wondering if merging or partnering with another company right for you? Before you get too far down the path, it's important to know what's important! How can I help?