Partners May Hold the Key to Transforming Their Firms Into Sought-After Opportunities

By Marcie Borgal Shunk

Glaring statistics about associate retention, dismal track records with lateral hires and the revolving door of C-suite professionals shine a harsh light on Big Law workplaces. In high-stakes environments, harbingers of attrition may be lurking in even the most welcoming cultures. Gallup studies attribute most variability in engagement to “middle managers.” Within law firms, this suggests partners may hold the key to transforming their firms into sought-after opportunities with staying power.
Yet not all partners have the skills they need to take on the role of people management and development (let alone the mandate or predisposition). Traditional models of lawyer development — apprenticeship or osmosis (a.k.a. sheer proximity will result in growth) simply didn’t account for teaching how to motivate or develop others. Nor did they place the burden on partners, but instead encouraged the most ambitious of associates to forge their own path.
Times have changed. Structural, generational and workplace trends are redefining the professional development landscape. There is a new model emerging — one which recognizes the value of human skills in client development and talent retention and acknowledges the firm’s responsibility in helping budding lawyers build these skills. Yet today’s partners, raised by wolves (OK, perhaps not quite that dramatic), typically have notable gaps in the areas most needed today. One area, in particular, few get the training they need to be most effective in leadership.
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Leadership Skills As the Lynchpin

Leadership skills are emerging as the lynchpin to engagement, development and retention. Leadership skills include the ability to motivate a team, spearhead an initiative, manage conflict, create enthusiasm for a firmwide strategy, demonstrate the courage to make difficult decisions, and more. All of these abilities have the power to ignite transformational shifts in law firm workplaces.