Law firms are inherently hierarchical, they have evolved that way, and this makes sense when it comes to having someone to take professional responsibility. But the flip side is that when it comes to good leadership and creating a high-performance team, there are times when the hierarchy just has to go.
There is a plethora of leadership theory out there, some of it useful, much of it interesting to those who like leadership theory. Too many leadership articles quickly become a wish list of what we’d like from our leaders, not so much about what we as leaders can actually provide. Idealism over reality.
It’s a cliché, but it is also true: change is the new constant. We live in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world where everything can become overwhelming very quickly.
Most of us are searching for certainty at some level, and this offers the modern lawyer with the opportunity to provide certainty – in the form of trust.
One of the great challenges senior lawyers face is being a leader while also ‘on the tools’. Time is at a premium. This can mean that developing your team, or even having a team meeting, can get de-prioritized, and pushed out until you can get your head above the affray – an occasion which just never seems to eventuate!
When it comes to promotion the emphasis tends to be on your technical and business development ability not necessarily on your leadership skills, and yet it’s the leadership skills that can really get your team humming.
