The Right People on the Bus
I am a fan of Jim Collins, the co-author of "Built to Last" and the author of "Good to Great." In "Good to Great," Collins said his research team expected to find that good-to-great leaders would begin with vision and strategy. Instead the researchers discovered the leaders "first got the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats--and then they figured out where to drive it."
I can tell you from my own experience that Collins is right and for law firms his principle is even more important for smaller law firms or practice groups in larger law firms. When my former partner and I started a law firm with one associate in the early 80s, we shared a vision, values and work ethic. By the time we were over 20 lawyers, we had many of the wrong people on the bus. We never achieved the vision my partner and I had in the beginning. As practice group leader of the construction law practice group at Jenkens & Gilchrist, I started with vision and strategy. My vision was to develop the preeminent construction law practice group in the United States. I developed a strategy to accomplish the vision. There was only one slight problem. Several members of my practice group had no interest in being a part of the preeminent construction law practice group in the United States. Those lawyers actually undermined the effort.
I think it is a big challenge for law firm leaders to get the right people on the bus and get rid of the wrong people. I have not met a law firm leader who wants his or her firm to actually decrease in size.
Since I began coaching lawyers on client development, I have discovered the importance of having the right people in the coaching program. In this instance the question is whether the lawyer is coachable. I have found I can really help those lawyers who are coachable and cannot motivate those who are not. Executive coaching firms have created a list of questions on coachability factors. I decided to prepare a list of coachability factors for lawyers. If you are interested in getting my list of factors, drop me a note.
