Hi, and welcome to The Former Lawyer Podcast. I'm your host, Sarah Cottrell. I practiced law for 10 years and now I help unhappy lawyers ditch their soul-sucking jobs. On this show, I share advice and strategies for aspiring former lawyers, and interviews with former lawyers who have left the law behind to find careers and lives that they love.

Hello, everyone. Today, I'm going to talk about a question that comes up somewhat frequently when people are thinking about joining the Collab. I wanted to talk about it because based on the conversations that I've had, I'm guessing that there are quite a few people out there who have a similar question. Also, spoiler alert, I'm an introvert so this question is something that I totally understand.

The question I'm talking about is people wonder, if they are an introvert, is a group program like the Collab going to work for them. Again, like I said, I totally understand this question. I am an introvert myself, which people sometimes are surprised by. Especially people who haven't met me before, if they meet me and they find out that I host a podcast, then at some later point, I mention the fact that I'm an introvert, they are surprised because the perception is like, “I guess if you are willing to talk in public, then you can't be an introvert.” I don't know, unclear, but the point is I am most definitely an introvert. I totally understand what it is like to feel drained by interactions with people, even if you enjoy interacting with people.

Let's talk a little bit about why I think group programs can actually be really great for introverts and what you can expect if you are someone who is introverted, and you're thinking about joining a group program, like the Collab or any other group program. I think one of the biggest misconceptions about group programs when it comes to the intersection with being introverted is that being in a group program means you're just going to be interacting with people all of the time or that you're going to have to tell all of these people all of your deepest darkest secrets and feelings. That feels overwhelming, which is totally understandable.

But the reality is that with a group program really, you just have that additional community component. For myself, speaking as an introvert, yes, interacting with people can be draining for me but that doesn't mean that I don't benefit from and enjoy having a community around me. The thing with something like the Collab, which is self-paced is that you go at your own pace. You can work at whatever pace works for you. We have, at least, one monthly call. We actually are about to start having two monthly calls because we're going to be having one at our usual time of 8:00 PM Eastern, then we're going to have another one at 3:00 PM Eastern to just create more space or more availability for people who have different schedules or in different time zones. For example, I have a lot of UK listeners and followers.

Anyway, all of that to say, we do have group calls every month where I leave the call and coach, and help people answer questions that they have and these sorts of things, and people often share things that they are working through, things that are going on with them and those can be extremely helpful. In fact, a lot of people will join the Collab for the framework and the resources, then they'll come to the calls and they'll say, “These calls are amazing. This is the best part of the program. Just getting to hear other people have similar experiences to me and to feel like I'm not alone is so powerful,” which all of those things are true.

But the reality is that if you come to a call, one, you do not have to participate in the calls if you don't want to. That's just an option. It's there to support you but it's certainly not something that you have to come to everyone, you have to come to any of them. That's absolutely a decision that you can make. If it's something that supports you, wonderful. If not, that's also great. I'm very much a fan of allowing people to make the choices that work best for them. But also even on the calls, you are not required to share any more than you want to. Generally speaking, we check in with everyone who's on the call but if you are just wanting to listen or whatever, people always have the freedom to do that.

I think that's really important for people to know because I know that one of the things that I do not love is if I'm in a situation where I feel like there's this pressure to be a certain way or to share a certain amount, especially depending on my level of comfort with other people. Now, granted, to be clear, you probably can guess based on this podcast that at this point in my life, I am pretty transparent, authentic, and open in pretty much every circumstance, but yeah, everyone has their own comfort level. I think that that's a really important thing for people who run programs to be aware of.

I certainly am very aware of that for myself running this program. Again, like I said, I am an introvert, so when I'm leading these calls, certainly, I'm not bringing to the calls any expectation of like you need to be extroverted and that needs to look a certain way because I am not extroverted so I definitely don't look or act that way, and that's great. Of course, we have people who are introverted, extroverted, ambivert, and everything inside of the Collab.

All of this to say, if you're an introvert and you're thinking about a group program or you're wondering whether it would really work for you, I just think that it is important for you to know that there are a lot of ways in which being part of a group program can actually in many ways be more beneficial for you because you do have that ability to modulate your involvement as opposed to a situation where if you're doing one-on-one coaching, you show up and you do need to be prepared to talk basically the entire 30 minutes or 45 minutes or hour or however long the coaching call is, and that can be draining for some people who are introverts.

Hey, it's Sarah. I'm popping in here to remind you that I have created a free guide, First Steps to Leaving the Law for anyone out there who is just like, “Ugh! This job is the worst. I need out. Where do I start?” Which is exactly where I was when I realized that I didn't want to be a lawyer. You can go to formerlawyer.com/guide, sign up, and get the guide in your inbox today. When you grab that guide, you get on my email list, which is the way I keep everyone the most up to date about everything that's happening with Former Lawyer. It's also the best way to get in contact with me because I read and respond to every email. If you are ready to figure out what's next for you, go to formerlawyer.com/guide, download the free guide, First Steps to Leaving the Law, and get started today.

If you've been wondering if a group program can work for you if you're an introvert, I, this introvert is here to say absolutely, it can. There are a lot of benefits to being in a group program that you aren't going to get in other types of programs or settings. I think that so long as you are in a program that is understanding of the fact that different people bring different things to the table and extroverted, introverted etc., it can be a really helpful experience to be in a community where when you do need that community support to ask questions for networking purposes, all sorts of things like that, that it's available to you.

It actually can be helpful because for example, as an introvert, for me, doing a lot of cold outreach for example is quite draining and being in a program like the Collab actually can give you access to resources that you might not otherwise have that can take some of that pressure off. You still will have to do networking and informational interviews because those are things that are really super important but I think the benefit of being in a group program, especially one that's run by an introvert is that there will also be people who can sympathize and empathize with the ways in which some pieces of that can be very draining. You have a place to share those feelings and be affirmed.

That's just a little bit that I wanted to say. For all my fellow introverts out there who are wondering, “Is a group program really going to be the thing for me?” I think it absolutely can be. I think it can be a great experience. If you are thinking about the Collab and you're an introvert, and you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. You can just email me at [email protected]. If for whatever reason, you are a person who is like, “You know what, I really would prefer to do one-on-one,” whether you're introverted or not, there are lots of reasons why people might have that preference, I have started working with a very limited number of lawyers one-on-one.

I typically on board one one-on-one client a month. You can go to the website, in the menu, there's a one-on-one option drop-down that you can look at and see the information. If you're interested, book a consult call, and we'll chat about whether it might be a right fit for you. To all of my introverts out there and all of my extroverts, and all of my lawyers, I hope that you have a great week. I will talk to you next week.

Have you watched my free masterclass, The Simple 5-Step Framework To Identify An Alternative Career (That You Actually Like!)? In this master class, you'll learn the proven framework that I use with all of my clients to help them identify an alternative career. You can watch the masterclass right now, just go to formerlawyer.com/masterclass, sign up, and get the link to watch. Once you've watched, message me or email me and let me know what your biggest takeaway was from the class. I would love to know.