Super Lawyer Jon Vegosen on Culture and Leadership
Jon Vegosen played Division I collegiate tennis at Northwestern, joining the team as a walk-on freshman and earning selection to the All-Big Ten Conference Tennis Team his senior year. Jon was a founding member of Chicago law firm Funkhouser, Vegosen, Liebman, and Dunn; and has been designated as a Leading Lawyer and Super Lawyer in Employment Law for many years. The consummate volunteer leader and servant, Jon has served as Chairperson of the Board, President, & CEO of the United States Tennis Association, Board Member and Vice President of the International Tennis Federation, and since 2015, serves as Chairperson of the Board of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Jon has been inducted into four athletic halls of fame: Northwestern University Sports; the ITA; the USTA/Midwest Section; and the Chicago District Tennis Association. In this episode of Down 40 Love, Jon shared many invaluable stories from his illustrious and invaluable advice for anyone who wants to take their lives, careers, and businesses to the next level. Here are a few of Jon’s thoughts on culture. 5 KEYS TO BUILDING A VALUE-DRIVEN CULTURE 1: Create Transparency and Fairness Culture is critical in the workplace because it shapes the environment where employees interact. Culture impacts their behavior and is a factor in overall organizational performance. If there’s a culture of transparency, openness, and fairness, employees will have greater trust, faith, and confidence in the organization. If it’s a closed kind of society, they’re going to have the opposite reaction. 2: Inspire a Sense of Purpose An upbeat and positive workforce culture inspires a sense of purpose, belonging, and teamwork. When employees or teammates are in accord with the mission, goals, and values of the organization, they’re more likely to be engaged, they’re more enthusiastic about the work they’re doing, and they’re more likely to remain with the organization longer. 3: Invite New Ideas When a culture invites new ideas and is open to change, it can make employees feel valued, inspire greater creativity, and result in better performance. 4: Learn by Osmosis When I started working at a law firm, I would regularly be in a partner’s office to discuss a legal matter or research I was asked to do. While I was sitting there, the phone would ring and it would be a client. The calls were on speaker phone and the partner would discuss whatever the client wanted because you want to be responsive. So I received a terrific education by osmosis about how to deal with clients. Those experiences were insightful and invaluable. I’m quite concerned with so many people working remotely these days, learning by osmosis is being utilized less and less. 5: Provide First-Rate Service and Advice Culture is not only important internally, but it’s also important externally—for the organizations, clients, customers, the people that they serve. My approach to serving clients is to be highly responsive to them with a high mission of service. I provide clients with first-rate service and advice. And because I care about them, I help them with things in their personal and business lives that may have absolutely nothing to do with legal issues. It’s my intention to bring joy into their lives.
