Why Lawyers Need Executive Coaches
Natalie Loeb, MS
David B. Sarnoff, Esq., ACC
Loeb Leadership
The Launch of PLI Chronicle Column EXCELS
“Executive Coaches Exploring Leadership Solutions”
“I don’t want to be a jerk, but when associates give me crappy work, what am I supposed to do?” The partner actually used a different word than “jerk.” His tone was loud and direct. He was frustrated, maybe even angry. Time is valuable, and he was tired of having to edit or redo work. Quite simply, he wanted better results from his associates but didn't seem to know how to get it. Mental energy that was wasted on frustration and throwing work back and forth to his team of associates wasn't serving him or his clients well. He knew it, but what he didn't know was how to change it. Not until he had some time to work with his executive coach.
Traditionally, the law firm model has been a business structure that did not place great value on cultivating communication and leadership skills. Starting as first-year associates, attorneys are trained to focus most of their energies on practicing law in their area of expertise and billable hours. However, as associates become more senior, their responsibilities increase to overseeing matters and delegating work. Law school prepares one for lawyering; it does not prepare lawyers for managing teams. Many associates who are promoted to partner find themselves ill-equipped and lacking the skills necessary to delegate work to other people. However, the legal profession has started to embrace coaching, training, and development for attorneys focused around effective leadership, communication, emotional intelligence, and collaboration, among others.
The lawyers we work with are typically high achievers. For individuals such as this, not meeting high standards is a trigger that can set off “jerk-like behavior” and detract from the desired outcome. Instead of coaching the associates in the moment, senior lawyers often choose to “take the work back” and fix it themselves or cut the under- performing associate from the matter (or future matters) completely. These short-term fixes undermine the development of younger lawyers, impact morale, and affect the future pipeline of legal talent within the firm.
From the early 20th century to the dotcom boom of the 90s, law firm management styles and practices rarely changed from decade to decade. There was little in the way of disruption in the practice of law for almost a century. However, that is changing at a rapid rate. Like many other industries, the practice of law is feeling the effects of disruption as well as pressure to modernize on many fronts. Global competition, economic pressures from clients, new expectations from associates, responding to a global pandemic, and the increasing integration of artificial intelligence and smart machines have fueled a transformation and substantive changes to the practice of law.
As a result, law firms and legal departments find themselves in a position where they have to maintain a high caliber work product, increase efficiency and productivity, and retain talent. It is important to have both high-functioning administrative and management departments as well as legal practice groups. The primary way to achieve success is by nurturing and cultivating leaders at all levels of the organization. This requires a commitment from the firm to invest in professional development, leadership training, and targeted individualized and/or leadership coaching to raise the firm’s emotional intelligence.
In a study commissioned by the American Management Association, and administered by the Institute for Corporate Productivity, entitled “Coaching: A Global Study of Successful Practices 2008-2018,” researchers found that “[w]orking with an external coach is significantly related to a successful coaching experience, regardless of the coachee’s level in the organization.” The study indicated that the majority of leaders prefer external coaching (coaching provided by professional coaches outside of the firm) and that high-level employees “place a high value on confidentiality, [which] may only be possible with an external coach.” Evidence suggests that external coaches may also “be more willing than peers or subordinates to deliver painfully honest feedback to a high-level employee and go on to develop a goal-directed plan of action.”
External executive coaches have no agenda other than for the “coachee” to be successful and for the firm to leverage their talent. Executive coaches, training and development professionals, and organizational development professionals provide the tools and assessments that allow law firms to increase efficiency, productivity, and collaboration in a measurable way. Coaches and facilitators work in group and/or individual settings to align the firm so that all employees understand leadership skills and behaviors, which enables leaders to foster collaboration and ultimately make work life better and more satisfying. Law firms can also employ coaches to provide services to individuals and groups who can benefit from improved communication and presentation skills, conflict resolution, organization and time management, and management or leadership skills.
Over the past 20 years, executive coaching and management training have been widely embraced in corporate culture, and their benefits are broadly reported and documented. Law firms have been slower to accept training and development, but there are signs that this is changing as well. Many large law firms now have training for attorneys, management, para-professionals, and staff. The aforementioned training will only enhance the culture of the organization and provide employees with the tools necessary to adapt to rapid change, lower anxiety, and alleviate disruption caused by changes within the firm.
While there are many companies and law firms that regularly engage in some form of coaching and training, there are also skeptics who believe that coaching is unnecessary or a luxury. However, the AMA/Institute for Corporate Productivity study dispels this myth.
The findings revealed that “those who have received coaching were more likely than other respondents to say that their subordinates trust their leadership abilities and they're more likely to say that they set specific goals for performance at work."
In 2017, there was a record amount of law firm mergers and acquisitions in the United States. A natural consequence of a law firm merger is the need to integrate different cultures, business practices, leadership styles, and firm citizenship. Executive coaches, trainers, and facilitators can play an integral role in smoothing out the transition of two merged law firms. As a result of the rapid speed of change, technology, and economic pressures, law firms will be forced to address the issues of leadership, management skills, succession, adaptability, conflict resolution, efficiency, and culture. External professionals can be a strong asset to law firms who recognize that these services can make them function on a higher level and increase their competitive edge.
Consider the well-intentioned Managing Partner who wants to create an inclusive work culture, attract and retain talent, meet client expectations, and enhance morale. Intentions are good, but behaviors and actions matter more. An executive coach will challenge that Managing Partner to reflect on his mindset and to commit to behaviors that move the initiative forward.
How about the talented Partner you brought into your Dubai office to share his expertise and offer his insights into how to grow the business in the region. What happens when you find out that the Partner is struggling to build the necessary “sphere of influence” to be effective?
When set up correctly, executive coaching is a highly collaborative, individualized relationship between a leader and a coach. Both parties collaborate to reach an agreed- upon result with the objective of fostering sustained behavioral change and transforming the quality of the leader’s effectiveness. Coaches work with leaders to enable their rapid development while navigating the ego of the leader. Unlike training, coaching focuses specifically on the issues that the firm and leader want to work through. Thus, it becomes a more practical and efficient way to improve skills and to achieve personal and professional objectives.
Coaching focuses on shifting a leader’s mindset in a way that can translate into daily activities. The coach’s role is to create a safe and confidential environment in which the coachee can reflect on his/her behavior, contemplate the steps that are necessary to achieve an objective, and practice new skills. In turn, the coachee’s role is to identify an area they want to develop or explore during the engagement, to be willing and open to receiving feedback, and to hold him/herself accountable for behavior change. The length of the coaching engagement varies and is usually determined by the area the coachee wants to develop or explore. In short-term engagements, the coachee may have a specific opportunity he/she wants to tackle, and he/she simply needs a trusted thought partner to help shape a path forward. Longer-term coaching engagements are needed when the coachee hasn’t fully defined the opportunity or when the opportunity is complex.
At the end of an executive coaching engagement, the coachee has a heightened sense of self-awareness, greater confidence and resilience, better tools and strategies, and a more agile mindset that can effectively tolerate stress. The coachee also develops a growth mindset when it comes to giving and receiving feedback and viewing feedback as a gift that helps align one’s intentions with one’s actions. These are critical skills for partners and rising associates who lead and manage people and teams to create high- performing and high-trust teams.
In an effort to raise awareness about executive coaching, provide meaningful responses to leadership questions, and provide a useful service to its clients, the PLI Chronicle is launching an executive coaching column featuring highly experienced Executive Coaches Natalie Loeb, MS, and David B. Sarnoff, Esq., ACC.
The theme of this column is EXCELS: Executive Coaches Exploring Leadership Solutions. Natalie and David welcome questions and comments concerning day to day challenges and gaps with respect to leadership, communication, managing others, time management, conflict, intercultural competency, and building high-trust work cultures, among other topics. You are encouraged to submit your questions and comments, in confidence, to editor.plichronicle@pli.edu. Natalie and David look forward to engaging in a dialogue through their column and challenging readers to reflect, learn, and grow as they continue on their leadership journey.
Natalie Loeb, MS, is the founder and CEO of Loeb Leadership, a US-based woman- owned preeminent management and leadership development company with over 50 consultants across the globe. With more than 25 years of experience as an executive coach to influential lawyers and business leaders, Natalie is recognized as an innovator and expert in cultivating leadership within the legal profession. —“I am committed to our mission: developing extraordinary inclusive leaders.”— Natalie Loeb.
David B. Sarnoff, Esq., ACC, is an ICF certified executive coach and leadership trainer with Loeb Leadership. David spent almost 10 years in a law firm as a paralegal, law clerk and attorney, and another 17 years in executive search coaching attorneys and consulting for law firms and legal departments. David has coached law firm partners, associates, and directors, as well as general counsels. He has a particular focus in emotional intelligence and raising self-awareness and is certified in the EQ-i 2.0 assessment.
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and official policies of Practising Law Institute.
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