Success = Insight + Dedication + Authenticity

Linda Republicano | Senior Director of Administration 

My degree is in accounting but my strength is in people.

One of the things I think I do best is reading people and situations, and this allows me to build teams. Although I studied psychology, I did not major in it. Soon after college, I started my family and quickly realized that my children were living and breathing case studies in psychology. Having eight sons in 12 years taught me so much about people and management. As I watched each of them relate to the world and to each other, I learned how various personality types responded and related to each other. When I am at work, I often see one of those personality types and I think, “Oh I know you—I had one like you.” 

The administration team is the heart of the firm.

I see my team as the heart of the firm in so many ways. The attorneys serve our clients. The finance team makes sure we can pay our bills. The IT Department keeps us up-to-date and running. The Marketing/BD team puts us on the map and keeps us relevant. What does my team do? We’re counted on to implement many of the initiatives and assist wherever needed. My primary goal is to make sure each of my team members exemplifies service leadership. I want us to be one of the reasons people like to work in this firm and are proud to work in this firm.

Every day starts with, “Ok, who needs me the most now?”

I make lists at night of what I think the next day is going to look like. It never looks like that! I’ll have an agenda and priorities for the day and then the day begins, and it quickly detours and highlights the true priorities for the day. Each day is full of so many different things ­­­­– like employment issues, team building issues, facilities issues, recruiting, interviewing, welcoming new staff and attorneys, hosting an event or implementing a new system so we are more effective and efficient. Often my Office Administrators reach out late into the evening asking, “hey, do you have a minute?” because they’re trying to balance a work relationship between staff members or attorneys, or they are trying to assist a struggling employee. Relationships are so much of what my team does. I’d like to think they always have each other’s backs and that they are empowering their staff members to grow, to dream and to reach for the stars. My job is to build a team nationwide that takes care of each other even when no one is looking and a team that shows up as their best selves every day.

I like helping people find the answer.

I often say, let’s talk it through. I start by asking, “what do you want?” So many times, that is the question people do not stop to ask themselves. I want to put the spotlight on what the goal is. If we begin from there, we can work backwards to discover the steps we need to take to arrive at the goal. If you don’t know the goal, how are you ever going to get there?

Show up as your authentic self at work.

If you are not working together and rowing in the same direction, no matter how much talent you have on a team – the team will not work. One will not find success. Working together is key. Additionally, I cannot stress enough how important it is to be authentic in your thought, be authentic in your deeds and show up as your best self each day. Be genuine and real and your team will be well and – by extension – do well.  I know the workplace is not your home and the coworkers are not your family, but it is a place where you are going to spend a large part of your day and it is a lot easier to focus on the work when you are real. You should feel comfortable and safe at your workplace – and if you are not then it is time to make a change.

The day I showed up at Fisher Phillips, I walked into my office and felt it. It was an “a-ha” moment of “Oh yeah. I’m supposed to be here. This is where the next chapter of my journey begins.”