You need to be able to love, or at least get satisfaction from, the fact that you never know what you might need to help your organisation deal with next. That’s the fun of it…the most challenging aspect is how you can still peer round corners and move forward the things that are important but not urgent, while dealing effectively with the immediate important and urgent items.

The hybrid nature of law in the Middle East is unique. One morning you’re dealing with a civil law concept in Cairo, in the afternoon it’s a DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre) common law dispute in Dubai, and by evening you’re navigating the rapid regulatory evolution of Vision 2030 in Saudi. Culturally, business here is still done over coffee and trust. If you can’t navigate the Majlis (translated as ‘sitting place’ to connect and discuss) as well as you navigate a Master Service Agreement, you’re only doing half the job.

I used to lead the “textbook” way…the polished corporate version of myself who thought every answer had to be airtight and every email had to sound like it was blessed by a panel of retired judges. Life humbled me. Hard. Now I lead with a mix of precision and humanity. I don’t pretend complexity doesn’t exist. I don’t pretend to be invincible. I don’t pretend every deadline is reasonable just because it’s written in a slide deck. My team sees a leader who sets boundaries, names reality, and expects others to operate like adults. The shift is simple: I stopped performing leadership and started practicing it.

When you go in-house you become part of a multi disciplinary team—all charged with running a business—so your role is not to explain the ‘why not’, it’s coming up with the what, the how, the options, the risk assessment or trade-offs, and then—and this is critical—communicating clearly and concisely. I always keep in mind the brilliant quote, “I would have written a shorter letter, but did not have the time”.

I believe it is so important to build strong and trusting relationships with business colleagues so that we are working together and the legal team is not siloed from the rest of the business. I am so proud when a team member is recognised by the business for their part in problem-solving an issue or getting through a tough project as part of a wider team. Less about business partnering and more about being part of the business!

In a crisis, your demeanour sets the tone. The business does not want to see its GC flustered or reactive. Nor do third parties who you want to instil confidence in (lenders, regulators, M&A counterparties). I learnt this during Thomas Cook’s financial collapse. When the worst happens—and it did—it puts everything into perspective. You survive, and you grow, and staying calm makes everything easier to manage.