team relationship between the Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer. Benefits include enabling each to spend more time separately and together on achieving strategic goals (vs. spending time trouble shooting less important issues). Coaching is helpful in supporting Managing Partners to lead with courage, clarity and confidence A Managing Partner must take the lead in developing and communicating a clear and compelling future vision for the firm, aligning the Board and Practice Leaders to the vision, and holding the Board and Practice Leaders accountable for doing their part in execution. If the Managing Partner is more a politician than leader, he/she may be invested in pleasing firm partners rather than leading them. The result is weak decision making and poor strategy execution. Too often, law firms aspire to grow via M&A asking for more revenue production or leadership time from partners without executing on these objectives. An executive coach will assist the Managing Partner to lead with courage, overcome resistance to difficult decisions, and hold the Board and other key leaders accountable. Coaching is helpful in building a cohort of aligned leaders including the MP, COO, Practice Leaders, and the Board. Alignment on strategy and key priorities is necessary for firm success. Coaching helps leaders at all levels to communicate clearly, foster improved employee engagement, and drive operating and strategic execution. It also helps to avoid Managing Partner and COO burnout caused by feeling that they are carrying the entire weight of leadership for the firm How can good governance help law firm owners, Managing Partners, and COOs to make better decisions and how can this be done through coaching? Timely and effective decision making requires that owners, Managing Partners and COOs are clear about their authority and accountability for making decisions. Managing Partners often seek consensus from the Board and other stakeholders for decisions rather than seeking input, considering differing points of view, and then making decisions in a timely way. Coaches help key leaders to learn decision making processes that lead to decisions that others will commit to and be accountable for executing. Coaches also help Managing Partners discern when it is time to “call the question” and make decisions that they own and must make. Why is leadership coaching valuable for law firm partners and COOs? Success as a COO requires both strong management and strong leadership skills. COOs must lead a team of experienced executives that is capable of driving business results for the firm. At the same time, the COO must have leadership and influence skills which allow her to act as a peer with the Managing Partner, owners, and the Board. Coaching helps COOs understand their strengths and development opportunities as leaders and to use this insight to build more productive and impactful relationships with the Managing Partner, Board, owners and direct reports. What type of firms and people have you worked with and why did they hire you to provide executive coaching? Full-service business law firms. Clients have included Boards, Managing partners, COOs, Administrative Service leaders (e.g., Chief Marketing Officer and team, Chief Information Officer and team), Cohorts of Practice Leaders and Individual Partners. The most common reasons they hired us include coaching the Managing Partner and Managing Partner/COO team and strengthening the partnership between the Managing Partner and the Board. When you first start working with a new client, how is that relationship established and how do you determine the business challenges and opportunities for that client as well as organizational culture and dynamics to help the client develop effective action plans? The relationship begins with separate discussions with the person to be 12 LAWYER MONTHLY JULY 2024 Few lawyers are trained to be effective leaders.
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