Are you hiring the best people, but never really seeming to get the best out of them?
When you work in a profession that boasts structures and protocols dating back between 300 and 900 years, it can be reassuring to know that all the little difficulties of communication are taken care of in the silk and vellum of legal procedure.
Except of course that those little difficulties are there for the legal profession just as any other. The strictures that have kept the Law in the hands of experts and out of the control of history's passing tyrants no longer serve as an excuse for tyrannical hierarchies in the practice office, nor for the status of expert to override all other opinion or contribution.
The law sets a high bar (no pun intended) for brains in its recruiting, so why let the talent you've employed go to waste? People may consider the Law a vocation or even a calling, but it's also a career; and for most of the people employed in its service that's EXACTLY what the law is. Engagement can't be assumed or taken for granted; unengaged staff will never give you their full worth and will be looking around for new possibilities of challenge and development. Engaged staff will do everything in their power to optimise every resource and opportunity for the practice.
Now could be the time for for those in senior positions within law practices and companies to reassess and review their approach to leadership; to take on simple, modern management expectations and manage relationships in a meritocratic, not autocratic way. In short, to demonstrate leadership as it should be exemplified in the dynamics of the the modern workplace.
As you plan this year's CPD, are you considering some elements of management and leadership development, communication and motivation amid the legislative updates and procedural specialisms? Perhaps talking openly, but in confidence, to a training specialist would allow you to identify potential areas for attention within your practice.
Training that's all about engagement - whatever the subject...
Engaged staff
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