{"id":567,"date":"2014-07-22T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-22T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hub.findingsimple.com\/au\/importance-developing-leadership-in-law-firms\/"},"modified":"2022-08-03T16:04:44","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T05:04:44","slug":"importance-developing-leadership-in-law-firms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insight.thomsonreuters.com.au\/legal\/posts\/importance-developing-leadership-in-law-firms","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Developing Leadership in Law Firms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite the fact that lawyers are intelligent and highly qualified professionals, they seem inherently ill-adapted to leadership and management roles. Why is this the case? What impact does it have on a practice? And if firms are to survive the legal industry\u2019s current state of flux, how should they address developing great leadership in law firms?<\/p>\n

You may be a great lawyer, but are you also a great leader?<\/p>\n

In early 2014, the Australasian Legal Practice Management Association<\/a> (ALPMA) found that one of the top five issues for law firms was managing partner communication and staff management skills<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This led ALPMA President Tony Bleasdale to observe that, \u201cWhile most managing partners and partners are excellent lawyers, there are few that are natural leaders, great people managers or strong communicators.\u201d[1]<\/p>\n

Why are lawyers such bad leaders? <\/b><\/span><\/b><\/h4>\n

It is well documented by industry commentators that lawyers are simply not hardwired to be managers or leaders. In fact, the very qualities and thinking patterns that make us good lawyers are the things preventing us from succeeding in management roles.<\/p>\n

Research conducted by Dr. Larry Richard [2] at the Hildebrandt Institute (now part of the Thomson Reuters Group) indicates that, on average, lawyers score significantly higher than the rest of the population in six key behavioural traits. They are highly sceptical, autonomous, antisocial and resistant to new ideas, have a high sense of urgency and are easily discouraged by setbacks. This places them at a considerable disadvantage when it comes to leadership and managerial tasks.<\/p>\n

Compounding this, lawyers who assume management roles generally have no prior experience, formal training or mentoring. More often than not, managing partners are appointed solely on the basis of seniority or success in building a client base.<\/p>\n

The impact of poor management and leadership on a practice <\/b><\/span><\/b><\/h4>\n

Inexperienced, untrained and\/or incompetent leadership and management generally translates to high staff turnover, floundering client relationships, poor service quality and a lack of strategic direction, culture or consensus within a firm. The result is a drastically underperforming practice with frustrated partners and unhappy employees.<\/p>\n

While it is possible for firms to weather these issues for a while (and many firms do), a significant external event will eventually necessitate a make-or-break leadership response. Amid the legal market\u2019s current state of flux, firms without solid management won\u2019t be able to achieve the strategic business plan and optimal profits they\u2019ll need to survive.<\/p>\n

So what can be done?<\/span><\/h4>\n

1. Get the right people<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

While it is rare that you will find the ideal leadership candidate within your ranks, there are some attributes that will better equip a lawyer for a leadership role.<\/p>\n

Look for someone with a proven track record of:<\/p>\n