What can you do to make your firm a great place to work?
By: Natalie Loeb, M.S.
Law firms are so unique and interesting to us that we have spent countless hours over the past few decades learning about the people that enjoy working in them. What’s most intriguing are the similarities that exist in firms where everyone, regardless of role, feels valued, supported, and motivated. The question we’ve been exploring is what differentiates a great workplace from otherwise successful firms. We know that in all firms where people feel it’s a great place to work, there is a high degree of trust and mutual respect. You might be thinking, well of course, that’s common sense, but we feel these qualities fall into the category of “common sense but not commonly practiced.” We also understand that trust and respect are present, to some degree, in all workplaces but often they are not being prioritized across all areas of the firm, by all people. Furthermore, it is not widely understood by leaders on to how to foster and sustain a culture of trust and mutual respect, particularly because trust and respect are very personal and can’t be solved with a “one size fits all” approach.
At the core of trust and mutual respect are an awareness and appreciation of roles, personalities, working styles and perspectives that differ from your own. We refer to both awareness and appreciation because to appreciate one must first understand. That’s where you can start building a great workplace. There are, of course, many models on the market for helping firms create a great workplace. We often use the Great Place to WorkTM model or our own culture transformation roadmap, but you don’t have to wait for your firm to embrace a culture model to play your part. You just need to be curious—curious about your own strengths and limitations, curious about your colleagues’ ambitions and needs, curious about the value each role adds to the firm, and curious about finding ways to demonstrate you care for the people you work with. That curiosity will inevitably spawn dialogue across the firm, which in turn will increase awareness and appreciation–and thus trust and mutual respect. The only thing standing in your way is your commitment. So, let’s get started!
To learn more about how to initiate meaningful dialogue or to receive a PDF of our team building exercise on dialogue, please contact me at natalie@loebleadership.com.