Becoming a Great Manager

You have exceeded expectations consistently for years as an analyst. You have demonstrated diligence and excellent customer service as a project coordinator. You have been recognized as  a competent and reliable supervisor. And as a result, you have been promoted to manager.                                                                   

This scenario is familiar to many managers. Promotion into management frequently come with seniority or technical expertise instead of a demonstration of sound people management skills. The environment in today’s legal firms is fast-paced and demanding. Shrinking budgets, enormous workloads, long hours, remote working and the pressures of numerous shifting competing priorities are common. To succeed under these conditions requires more than job knowledge and seniority.

To be successful in today’s environment, managers need an inclusive and growth mindset1. In supervisory roles, one must focus on meeting everyday deadlines to achieve the goals of their department. As managers one must add a focus for building high trust relationships with staff members to create a highly functioning collaborative team. With that said, there are a few things to keep in mind when meeting the challenges of being a legal manager.

Your behavior, and the way you conduct yourself in the workplace is always being noticed by your employees. Consider yourself on stage. As a manager you set the example of behavior for your team, so stay mindful of how you model the behaviors you expect from others.  According to Jim  Kouzes and Barry Posner,  the  authors of The Leadership Challenge, the first of five exemplary practices for effective leadership is to “Model the Way.”2

Today’s legal managers need to balance conventional business demands, such as time management and leading projects, with the complexities of leading people, such as managing in a remote environment, monitoring performance, and fostering inclusive collaboration and engagement. Managing others will require you to re- evaluate how you spend your time. Setting clear expectations, providing guidance and feedback is a daily event. You do not need EXTRA time to perform these duties, you need to get skilled at “performing these duties in the time you have.”

Remember, high performers deserve guidance and feedback too. Research from Teresa Amabile and her book,  The Progress Principle remind us that “noticing progress” encourages and motivates those around us to continuously strive to do their best work.3,4 While managers certainly need to guide and redirect performance through effective feedback, stay mindful of spending too much time on  employees  not meeting expectations, and who may not be right for the position. It is common for managers to spend too much time with underperforming employees, at the expense of the other team members.

One thing you should do early on is assess why these employees are falling behind. If it is a lack of training, that is something you can address proactively. If it is that the team member is in the wrong role, that may also be an adjustment you can make. And if it is a matter of cultural fit, you can decide whether coaching or termination is appropriate. In those cases, do not hesitate to seek guidance from your Human Resources professionals at your firm.

One of the biggest mistakes both new and seasoned managers often make is a failure to delegate. Managers hold onto work for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes,  it is because they believe they are the only ones who can do the  work correctly. Sometimes, it is because, they do not think they have the “time” to delegate. Others are not confident with their approach for providing feedback or coaching once they have delegated the work. Whatever  may be getting in the way of delegating, it is critical for managers to take the time to self-reflect and move that obstacle out of the way.

As Marshall Goldsmith said in his groundbreaking book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, a great leader is one that “helps others achieve their goals.”5 This requires developing and growing  your team members.  Delegating work provides this opportunity to others. Your job as the manager is to help your team members to be successful and to be the best performers they can be.

Most of the time, the manager ends up becoming a liaison of sorts between their employees and the senior leadership team. It is of utmost importance that the manager fully understands the  concerns of employees, so  they can be effectively communicated and addressed. The most successful managers are those that support their team and “have their backs.”

As managers navigate managing up and managing down, their teams will look to them for direction and answers regarding firm policies and procedures, so It is helpful to be well versed, or know who to ask to find the correct answers. Again, someone on your Human Resources team or an Office Leader can help you find the information you need.

Ultimately, successful managers need to learn how to communicate effectively with everyone across the firm. Learning more about your own communication style and how to adapt your style so you can engage, educate and motivate others to work effectively with you and your team will set the stage for successful outcomes. Expect a variety of personalities on your team and in your firm. Your goal as a manager is to learn enough about each individual so you can create an authentic relationship allowing for open, candid and clear communication. Communicating successfully is key to your success as a manager.

With a growth mindset and a willingness to be patient with yourself and others, becoming a great manager can be one of the most rewarding events in your life.

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Natalie Loeb is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Loeb Leadership, a certified women owned business, and is a sought-after thought leader with over 25 years of experience. Specializing in executive coaching, training and development, team dynamics, diversity equity and inclusion, organizational development and culture work, Loeb Leadership has helped thousands of individual contributors, managers and senior leaders develop new skills, inspire colleagues and optimize overall performance. Natalie’s expertise informed the creation of the successful Managing for Impact training program for legal managers.

1 There are two main mindsets we can navigate life with: growth and fixed. Your view of yourself can determine everything. If you    believe that your qualities are unchangeable — the fixed mindset — you will want to prove yourself correct over and over rather than learning from your mistakes. In this mindset, the hand you are dealt is just the starting point for development. This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. Changing our beliefs can have a powerful impact. The growth mindset creates a powerful passion for learning.

2 https://www.leadershipchallenge.com/research/five-practices.aspx

3 Teresa Amabile is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration and a Director of Research at Harvard Business School. Originally educated as a chemist, Teresa received her doctorate in psychology from Stanford University. She studies how everyday life inside organizations can influence people and their performance. Teresa’s research encompasses creativity, productivity, innovation, and inner work life – the confluence of emotions, perceptions, and motivation that people experience as they react to events at work.

4 http://progressprinciple.com/books/single/the_progress_principle

5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBAG23wby5U