Leadership is a rare skill! Leaders are born not made! Leadership exists only at the top! Leaders control, direct and prod! NOT TRUE!
A leader is a person who rules or guides or inspires others. Leaders are concerned about the future and building people. Leadership is not job specific. Leadership is a philosophy. Leadership is at the top of the list in traits required by employers. And yet few understand what it means.
When we go into a law firm to assess the firm for best business practices (those business principals successful law firms have in place), we immediately try to determine who the leadership of the firm is. This may not necessarily be just the owners of the firm. It is usually one or more firm members who understand the vision of the firm and have figured out how to align their skills and those of the other people to drive the vision. We have seen mixtures of lawyers and paralegals and management come together to drive the firm as the true leaders of the firm. A successful law firm owner will have a group of leaders driving his or her vision. These people have several things in common. They believe in the firm's values, they understand the vision of the firm and they have aligned their vision with that of the firm
We are starting to see a great interest in our high performance programs on Leadership. Law firms are starting to realize that they will be driven to success when they expend the time and effort to teach everyone in the firm how to be leaders. The synergy in firm growth is directly related to the quality of the leadership of the firm.
Great leaders within a law firm, no matter what their position, share the following similar characteristics:
1. They have a passion for the vision of the firm. They can tell you what the owner of the firm is looking to achieve and they are very proactive in implementing the vision of the firm into their work ethic.
2. They have a strong belief in themselves. They are comfortable with whom they are and they do not feel a need to prove themselves to others.
3. They are constantly seeking wisdom. And they gain the wisdom by constantly improving their skills and seeking knowledge.
4. They have strong integrity and they are true to their values and their values will align with the values of the firm.
5. They nurture healthy relationships within the firm. They do not seek out relationships based on unhealthy attitudes but rather foster good relationships that enhance the people involved.
6. They have a can do attitude. They feel here is little they can not accomplish and their enthusiasm usually generates others to great enthusiasm.
7. They help others develop themselves into leaders. They have no ego.
Leaders tend to be one of three roles though it is not uncommon for leaders to switch back and forth among the roles.
o The TRAILBLAZER is the leader who is usually analyzing the field for trends. This person will be clear about the vision of the future and translate that vision into objectives. The Trailblazer communicates the boundaries, interfaces with others and encourages risk-taking.
o The ARCHITECT builds social and technical systems and sees how they work and makes them better. The Architect will write processes and align systems to the vision. The Architect builds a culture. This leader sets benchmarks for others to learn from.
o The COACH motivates and develops people. This person will normally have dynamic communication skills. The Coach sets the standards for performance, empowerment and is usually the mentor. The Coach is constantly encouraging people to go beyond themselves and is developing other leaders to help drive the vision of the firm.
Great leaders have a driving passion to realize the firm's vision. They will not allow events or circumstances to dictate what will happen to them. Leaders build and maintain relationships based on trust.
In working with people within firms from lawyer owners to associates to paralegals to legal secretaries and the management staff and support staff we have found time and time again that people are not working to their full potential. Leaders within a firm should be creating opportunities to help everyone in the firm be more tomorrow than they are today.
Can you be a leader? Absolutely! It starts today with an understanding that within each of us is a potential to be a leader. We teach leadership and we teach and mentor people in all positions within a law firm to learn to climb the leadership ladder. And our how to advice is simply.
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. You must define yourself and believe in yourself to the exclusion of all other negativity aimed your way. Good leaders are comfortable with themselves. They have a belief that they were meant to be doing what they do.
LIVE WITH INTEGRITY. Integrity is being true to yourself and your values. Thus it is important to understand your core values. This is critical to leadership. People watch what you do and what you say. Leaders do not swerve from what they believe is the right thing to do.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS. You are responsible for what you do. Leaders take responsibility for how they act, how they lead, and the decisions they make.
BE PASSIONATE. Your enthusiasm and your passion for who you are and what you do will create passion in others. You must have passion for the path you walk and when you do others follow.
GIVE UP CONTROL. You must trust yourself and trust others to also walk the path of leadership. Leaders have a responsibility to allow others to step up to the plate. You create an environment where others can act.
Great leaders in a law firm understand that it is about more than themselves. Their goal is to create a law firm that outlasts themselves. Leaders are always asking themselves Are my actions and my decisions in the best interests of the firm?
Learning to be a leader means deciding that it is a necessary career skill as much as the legal skills you have to do your job. You learn to hone your leadership skills. You take seriously the art of leadership and how to do it. Ask yourself simply this: Do you follow the leader or are you the one others follow?
