I see this often.

One or more partners at a law firm want to make the firm great.

Maybe this is how you feel?

You want the clients to be served better than ever, to build a great name for your firm, make much more money for everyone, and build a firm everyone LOVES being part of.

Sadly, in meetings, you speak, and everyone seems to listen, nod, and agree with what you, the ambitious partner, say, but nothing new happens.

Everything stays the same.

This is very common, especially with the younger partners trying to motivate the more senior partners.

This is often the case because the older partners have got into a cosy routine where they get to do their billing hours, get paid and go home.

They fear changing things in the firm that might rock the boat and cause them to be pushed out, so they promote carrying on as usual.

Even so, there is ONE main reason why ambitious partners fail to inspire and influence the other partners to build a better firm.

It’s mainly because all the partners have known eachother for years, and everyone subconsciously assumes everyone else will do what they’ve always done.

So, in conversational queues, those looking to lead growth in the firm are triggered to defend themselves and try to be ‘right’, which always causes them to be terrible at gaining the other partners’ trust.

They are basically consistently triggered and reduced to behave according to the image that everyone already has of them.

We all experience this with our loved ones. We each have a way of automatically greeting them when they come home from work. We might say, “How’s your day been?” or “How are you doing? Are you Okay?” but we always say it in the same manner and tone.

This then automatically triggers them to respond with their usual response.

Also, when we meet people we know and they ask us, “You all right?” We then say, “Yeah, all good, thanks.” Which is often just a way of avoiding telling that person what we’re really dealing with.

Now imagine this happening in a meeting between colleagues.

All that’s happening is that each person triggers automatic responses from another.

As a result, very little, if anything, new is being said in each meeting.

Now, think about how this impacts your ability to suggest a new idea, inspire your colleagues, and influence them to take responsibility for their part in implementing your new idea.

It’s nearly impossible, and so the partners looking to lead and inspire growth in the firm often don’t carry out these basic leadership and managment practices; they:

• Don’t make clear requests and agree on deadlines.
• Don’t hold team members to account for broken agreements.
• They don’t set boundaries and allow themselves to be contacted often.
• They don’t lead meetings, so no one takes responsibility for what new actions they’ll take.
• They play small to fit in and please everyone.

The impact of all this is that they lack the ability to inspire and influence their fellow partners to listen and to effectively act on their ideas, which would take the firm to new heights.

So, how do you solve this?

Firstly, recognise the automatic queues in language and stop repeating them.

Lean into the uncomfortable conversations.

If you have something to say, though with responsibility, say it.

If you struggle to get others to take action, clarify the numbers, such as the billable targets, the recorded hours, and the firm’s owed cash.

Then, you are armed with a just cause to make clear requests of your colleagues to take the required actions.

Above all this, if you still struggle to lead the change you inspire in your firm, then get in conversation with someone who has years of experience showing other law firm owners how to lead and manage their team members and colleagues effectively.

This is often something that can’t be solved alone. I, for one, always work with a mentor or a coach to ensure I don’t keep repeating the same patterns and take new and effective actions that create the truly fulfilling new results.

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