Page 225 - 2019 - Leaders in Legal Business (n)
P. 225
Executing the Plan
Everything about a law firm rests upon it being able to achieve its objectives. Individual
lawyers are focused on serving their clients; even quality non-billable initiatives take second or
third place. Executing the plan is like going to the gym. “I bought the membership... Isn’t that good
enough? ... What do you mean, I have to go there? Well, I was going to go, but a client called.”
The good news is that if you have clarity as to the plan and leave the lights on (an expression
I like to use with my clients, meaning that they remain aware of where they stand relative to what
they want to achieve), you will find that they are very capable of executing the plan, much to the
delight of everyone involved.
Accomplishments must be tracked. If you ask even the leadership team what they have
achieved over the last year, there is an uncomfortable restlessness as they try to recall specifics.
Teams that keep a running inventory of achievements have much more self-respect and better
internal communications. They also have objective improvements to report, like increased
profitability.
Leadership and Management Training
“I'll come to your weekend course if you can teach me to golf like Tiger Woods.”
Leadership and management are about taking a group of people for whom you are responsible and
making them better than they would have been without you. Yes, managing ferociously
independent, critical, and analytical lawyers is worse than herding cats. (Patrick McKenna and I
wrote the book “Herding Cats” a long time ago, and I’d be happy to send you a complimentary
copy.) Notwithstanding the challenges, leaders who spend some time getting involved
with those whom they lead can have a very positive impact on the outcome. In fact, I am aware of
a global study that indicates that success is more dependent on the group leader than any other
factor.
Training a leader over a weekend is inadequate; the process has to be ongoing for a period
of time of a year to 18 months, and has to involve individual feedback based on ongoing
performance as a leader.
Performance Enhancement
The managing partners’ lament, “You don’t tell them anything different from what I’ve
been telling them for years, but for some reason they listen to you.” (This is where it really helps
that I was a managing partner and can completely empathize.)
Performance enhancement fails in most firms because of the “knowing versus doing gap.”
As lawyers, we are so cerebral that we think we can solve any problem with the powers of our
minds. A delicious discussion is better than a medieval feast.
In order to dramatically enhance the performance of an individual, the individual needs to
want to improve. I ask for firm leaders who are offering performance enhancement training to
require an email application. It is a short email, and the elements are simple. “Tell me why you
want assistance, what you hope to achieve from it, and what the firm will achieve from it. Please
touch on your objectives as you answer these questions.”
Firm leaders make the frequent error of saying, “Sally or George really needs this kind of
help... I am going to strongly encourage them.” Sally or George will succumb to the pressure and
210
Everything about a law firm rests upon it being able to achieve its objectives. Individual
lawyers are focused on serving their clients; even quality non-billable initiatives take second or
third place. Executing the plan is like going to the gym. “I bought the membership... Isn’t that good
enough? ... What do you mean, I have to go there? Well, I was going to go, but a client called.”
The good news is that if you have clarity as to the plan and leave the lights on (an expression
I like to use with my clients, meaning that they remain aware of where they stand relative to what
they want to achieve), you will find that they are very capable of executing the plan, much to the
delight of everyone involved.
Accomplishments must be tracked. If you ask even the leadership team what they have
achieved over the last year, there is an uncomfortable restlessness as they try to recall specifics.
Teams that keep a running inventory of achievements have much more self-respect and better
internal communications. They also have objective improvements to report, like increased
profitability.
Leadership and Management Training
“I'll come to your weekend course if you can teach me to golf like Tiger Woods.”
Leadership and management are about taking a group of people for whom you are responsible and
making them better than they would have been without you. Yes, managing ferociously
independent, critical, and analytical lawyers is worse than herding cats. (Patrick McKenna and I
wrote the book “Herding Cats” a long time ago, and I’d be happy to send you a complimentary
copy.) Notwithstanding the challenges, leaders who spend some time getting involved
with those whom they lead can have a very positive impact on the outcome. In fact, I am aware of
a global study that indicates that success is more dependent on the group leader than any other
factor.
Training a leader over a weekend is inadequate; the process has to be ongoing for a period
of time of a year to 18 months, and has to involve individual feedback based on ongoing
performance as a leader.
Performance Enhancement
The managing partners’ lament, “You don’t tell them anything different from what I’ve
been telling them for years, but for some reason they listen to you.” (This is where it really helps
that I was a managing partner and can completely empathize.)
Performance enhancement fails in most firms because of the “knowing versus doing gap.”
As lawyers, we are so cerebral that we think we can solve any problem with the powers of our
minds. A delicious discussion is better than a medieval feast.
In order to dramatically enhance the performance of an individual, the individual needs to
want to improve. I ask for firm leaders who are offering performance enhancement training to
require an email application. It is a short email, and the elements are simple. “Tell me why you
want assistance, what you hope to achieve from it, and what the firm will achieve from it. Please
touch on your objectives as you answer these questions.”
Firm leaders make the frequent error of saying, “Sally or George really needs this kind of
help... I am going to strongly encourage them.” Sally or George will succumb to the pressure and
210
