Growing Law Firm Leaders: The Time Has Come
By Beverly L. Weise, M.B.A.


In today’s fast-changing environment and global economic downturn, the need for leadership has never been greater. Yet, identifying and purposefully developing lawyers with leadership potential is not often among the top agendas of many law firms, taking a back seat to more immediate priorities, like bringing in new clients, satisfying existing ones, and managing costs.

As law firms grow larger, more sophisticated and expand their geographic footprint, the business of running a law firm grows in complexity. The tremendous changes in the economy are affecting the legal profession and in turn are producing a climate of great uncertainty.

Granted, it may be tough for some firms to even think about developing future leaders as they remain in a state of flux in the current economic climate. But the crisis won’t last forever. It is precisely during periods of rapid change and increased unrest in the external environment, Harvard Business School professor of leadership and change, John Kotter, asserts, that the need for leadership is most important.

Those firms who use this time prudently to develop their leadership base will be best positioned to navigate the current crisis and hit the ground running once the crisis lifts.

In November 2008, Leadership Talent Solutions, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm experienced in both corporate and legal environments, conducted a global survey with 18 countries in four regions to learn more about how law firms are addressing their leadership issues:
1. How emerging leaders are identified, and to what degree is that process linked to the firm’s business strategy
2. Who has primary responsibility for identifying—and then developing emerging leadership talent
3. What are the preferred methods for transforming “smart lawyers” into effective leaders

From across regions, the results were consistent in many firms. The leadership challenges that have grown in importance most significantly over the past five years include: driving profitability, attracting and retaining high-performing talent and continued struggles smoothing inter-generational differences. These challenges are then compounded as many firms lack well-defined methods to identify and foster leaders long-term. With baby boomers preparing to retire and younger lawyers becoming more mobile, the leadership bench for many firms is beginning to grow weaker as these changes occur.

Identifying Emerging Leadership Talent

While more than half of the firms surveyed have developed a defined set of values, qualities and skills to guide them in identifying leadership talent, only half have aligned those competencies with the firm’s strategy and culture.

Yet, in a similar global study of 636 companies conducted in 2007-2008 by CPP, Inc., a leadership assessment firm, systems of leadership identification were much more evolved compared to most law firms. 69% (72% in North America) of manufacturing, financial services and other industries surveyed indicated that they currently define leadership competencies within their organization to help them determine the kind of leaders that will be successful in their particular organization.

What’s more, there is no consistent process among law firms on how emerging leaders are identified. Executive Committees, Practice Group Leaders and Managing Partners may all have a role in identifying potential talent. In nearly a quarter of firms, no individual or group formally takes on that responsibility.

While in comparison to other industries, the CPP study reported that 53% of companies surveyed globally (and 60% in North America) have a formal leadership development process in place.

Developing Emerging Leadership Talent

By far, the preferred choice for developing leaders in law firms include “on-the-job leadership experience” and the use of “internal mentors.” Though these methods have become the norm in many firms, they remain, now more than ever, incomplete. In relying on basic, default methods, firms continue to miss the bigger picture in developing more evolved leaders.

Not all firms subscribe to the belief that they should even invest in identifying and developing leaders for the future. As one Executive Committee member of a midsize U.S. firm stated: “We believe that talented partners who are interested in leadership roles, in general, must build their own constituencies.”

In Latin America, too, there is some resistance to investing in developing leadership talent because, as one partner of a Latin American firm stated: “we don’t focus on developing potential leadership talent because the top talent inevitably leave to start their own law firms.”

Yet this underlying philosophy that “leaders are born, not made” has not been promoted as a means to success in other industries.

The majority of researchers today believe that the origins of leadership go beyond genes and family to other sources. Work experiences, hardships, opportunity, education, role models, mentors and coaches all go together to create a leader.

Current research suggests that experiences on the job play an important catalytic role in crafting a leader’s behavior. There seems to be no substitute for learning through doing, making mistakes and improving with time. Emerging leaders need opportunities to lead, to take risks and to learn from their successes and failures. These opportunities become most valuable with the added support and guidance of an executive coach.

Strengthening the Leadership Bench with an Executive Coach

Though firms may generally be on the right track by placing talented individuals in leadership positions and providing them with internal mentors, this approach remains high-risk.

There can be costly mistakes or missed opportunities from learning-on-the-job. If those emerging leaders are not given ongoing, concrete support, they may miss vital opportunities to reflect on their learning, enhance their skills and gain new insights – all of which help to accelerate an individual’s readiness in assuming a key leadership role.

With outside guidance from a trained executive coach, this support is reinforced with fresh perspective. Executive coaching is still a rather new phenomenon in law firms; yet, in the CPP global HR survey, over 40% indicated their companies have a formal executive coaching program in place, trumping most law firms who fall behind in this proven approach to developing leadership talent.

While a senior lawyer in the firm can act as a mentor on legal knowledge, generating business, and skirting political minefields within the firm, an executive coach can provide a different kind of support. A coach can help enhance a leader’s ability to:

• Gain support and influence others
• Enhance communication with clients and colleagues
• Create stronger relationships and build alliances
• Manage change initiatives and deal with resistance to change
• Cultivate teamwork
• Navigate cross-cutural and intergenerational differences.
• Think strategically and communicate an inspiring vision


Conclusion
Law firms today are big business. With millions of dollars, euros, yen or pesos at stake and the challenges growing exponentially, the cost of making poor business decisions can be fatal during these economic times. Yet finding and developing leadership talent to run these multi-million dollar organizations lags behind the corporate world in focus and attention.
While firms may take pride in their ability to manage risks, they may be overlooking the hidden risk of not focusing more attention on identifying and proactively developing leadership talent BEFORE they are needed to fill critical leadership roles.

Though the current economic crisis has shifted priorities as many firms have begun to enter into survival mode, it is now, more than ever, a time to learn from the current challenges in order to begin to foster and develop future leaders.

An executive coach can provide the needed support and perspective to cull the learnings and hone leadership skills. This relationship will begin to not only add value in helping transform a smart lawyer into a successful leader, but also can provide the needed competitive edge that every firm needs.

Beverly L. Weise, M.B.A., President, Leadership Talent Solutions has more than 25 years experience as an executive, leadership consultant and coach, both nationally and internationally. She has served as Executive Director of Interlaw Ltd., an international association of law firms; the Corporate Director of Executive Planning and Development at Northrop Grumman; Executive coach in health care, law, aerospace, non-profits, and hospitality; and as a change management consultant, facilitator and international speaker.
Visit her website at http://www.LeadershipTalentSolutions.com