DEVELOP SUPERSTARS THROUGH LEADERSHIP TRAINING©

"We need to figure out how to hire more Karens and Robs," a hiring partner of a major law firm told us. "They are our superstars!" He was chagrined by our answer when we told him that superstars are made, not born.

Success in any human endeavor begins with potential. The success paradigm explains that potential is applied through action. Action leads to results. Results then inform belief. Belief leads to greater potential. And the cycle repeats.

Every lawyer you hire has great potential. That potential can be used to encourage significant positive action toward developing a satisfying legal career. Positive action develops skills. Strong results reinforce the belief that success is possible and that the lawyer has the potential for even greater success.

However, the same cycle will repeat itself in negative ways. Lawyers who are perceived to have little potential to develop as strong players in your practice often take very little action, get limited results, and reinforce their own negative beliefs, as well as those of firm management.

Were your superstars successful because you believed they were stars and treated them that way? And were your mis-hires unsuccessful because the firm believed they had less potential from the outset?

Superstars are perceived to have great potential from their very earliest assignments and fulfill that potential. For others, an early mis-step often marks an associate's career for years. Such associates either leave the firm earlier than the firm can profitably let them go or remain ineffective and a drain on morale.

All lawyers can be superstars and mid-career slumps can be avoided by appropriate leadership training. New lawyers must first learn basic skills and to manage themselves. They must learn to complete their work timely and well; master, sharpen and broaden their professional skills; learn the law; learn to plan; perform punctually; meet client expectations; develop and perfect quality of work; and reliability.

All of these skills can be taught and learned by lawyers. Superstars get the one-on-one mentoring that helps them to develop such skills. Other, less successful lawyers do not receive that informal apprenticeship. A structured training program that delivers such training to all lawyers serves the firm, the lawyer and clients by giving every lawyer a better chance to develop into a strong performer.

An individual superstar must move from managing herself to managing others. This is the step where superstars often stumble. They have been successful and are comfortable in that role. They want to repeat that success by continuing to do work far below their levels of ability and billing rates. They refuse to push work down to lower levels, doing a disservice both to the firm and their clients.

In any service business, such as law practice, significant success requires the development of a first class team. Building a successful legal practice is assured if the lawyer can develop into a team builder. Teambuilding begins with development of individual skills. But it doesn't stop there. To manage others, one must learn skills related to planning the work, selecting good people, setting objectives, holding others accountable for results, and offering feedback. This is a shift from doing to getting work done through others. Mastering these skills is essential to increasing revenue and client base.

Senior lawyers must value managerial work and not just tolerate it. Each level of work must be understood and valued for its contribution to the overall success of the team, department and firm. Leading Lawyers learn to motivate, coach and measure the work of others. They are mentors to others and seek mentors for themselves. Lawyers who develop these skills multiply their revenue production geometrically. Lawyers who never move to this leadership level are a mid-career disappointment to themselves and their colleagues.

When mid-career lawyers do not develop into team leaders, it is often because they've failed to develop communication techniques that elicit trust from team members. The components of trust include dependability ("will you be true to your promises?"), openness ("can I talk freely?"), acceptance ("will you help and not judge me harshly?"), and candor ("what do you really think?").

Successful leaders in law firms understand the importance of positive framing skills. Framing is our term for perspective on issues that face lawyers daily. Positive framing is a common trait of America's top business leaders. Positive framing can build lawyers into more effective leaders. Often, lawyers only look at obstacles and identify problems. Framing is a tool that teaches lawyers to view events as opportunities and identify "what's right with it?"

Yes, we told the recruiting partner, we can help you hire superstars every time. But the real question is, what will you do with that superstar after you hire her? Unless you commit to help her develop into an effective firm leader through leadership training, you're wasting your time.

PeopleWealth can assist your Professional Development staff on a regular or consulting basis to communicate effectively with lawyers and to help lawyers design and build successful careers. If you would like further information about PeopleWealth or our services, please contact our office, e-mail us: info@PeopleWealth.com
©PeopleWealth Fall 2001