Viva la revolution

The Slovenian Marxist philosopher Slavoj Zisek, who is especially famous among ‘occupiers’ around the world, suggests that there is a new variant bourgeoisie developing – and suffering (The Revolt of the Salaried Bourgeoisie, London Review of Books, 26 January 2012). This is relevant because lawyers, all bar the aristocrats in our number, have been defined as members of that class since ?the Germanic sage himself sat in the reading room of the British Library back in the mid-19th century, stroking his bourgeois beard and smoking his bourgeois Havanas.

Zisek’s assertion caught my attention because, if true – and you don’t need to be a Marxist to take this particular rain check – it adds extra urgency to my suggestion that motivation is a key issue for the owners and managers of law firms right now.

Dying breed

Zisek’s point is that the old owner-manager bourgeoisie, which, I would submit, is represented by the average set of ‘debtquity’ partners in a law firm, is being rendered extinct. In short, the owner-manager is being replaced by ‘the expert manager’ or ‘a managerial board presided over by a CEO’ or else otherwise dying out.

Fact or fiction? Our owner-managed local shops of 30 years ago are now transmuted into Sainsbury’s, Tesco’s and other chains. And we can see greater and greater concentrations of corporate power in most fields of business. Perhaps ominously Australia’s Slater & Gordon, a stock-market listed law firm, announced it intended to buy our own Russell Jones & Walker back in January.

If Zisek is correct then we should consider his further point: “In times of crisis, the obvious candidates for belt tightening are the lower levels of the salaried bourgeoisie.” In our terms that is salaried lawyers, especially those who are not debtquity partners. They will suffer a disproportionate loss – economically and of opportunity.

If the type of situation is suggested by Zisek is not a temporary aberration, caused by the great economic crisis we are currently in, and even if it is merely perceived to be happening by observant young lawyers, then it will surely have an adverse impact on the motivation levels of many wannabe law firm owners. Realising that they cannabe now and may neverbe in the future is clearly an issue.

If the legal world is actually being sold on (or ‘out’ if you are of that persuasion) by the last generation of owner managers, then we are looking at a situation where a major psychological and motivational rewiring of professional practice generally will be required – in fact is now required. Unless we take control, we may be found wanting as a dramatic motivational crisis unfolds where the only sure-fire rules are those of unexpected consequences.

Creating and sustaining a well-motivated, productive workforce is an accepted feature of successful business development. Other things being equal, it is the prerequisite of maximal business success, but the nature of human motivation is commonly misunderstood and its importance is typically underestimated. This means that management often makes mistakes and then repeats them endlessly in myriad of inadvertent variety which always generates the same result. Opportunities, even obvious ones, are missed or underexploited.

Lawyers are rarely trained as managers, although some expensive courses now exist. Nutshell: they tell you that ‘culture and ethos really matter’ or, for an extra £5,000, they ‘really really matter’. Tip: tell your corporate guy who fancies himself as the Donald Trump of legal services to read any inexpensive, but long-established, book on good management and avoid taking the expensive course which will give him confusing letters after his name. In fact, just tell him to read any book or consider reading one to him if necessary. It will be a good start and much, much cheaper and far less potentially destructive of morale. If this fails you may need to take out a contract or impersonate him on Twitter. It amounts to the same thing these days.

Blame game

Anyhow, the business development process can also easily dissolve into a blame game. Most staff, apart from the driven few, are viewed with some mystification by management. ‘Why don’t they get it? We have done so much to help them!’ Management itself is viewed as being out of touch, unrealistic, incomprehensible, confused or plain incompetent. ‘They just don’t get it. We can only do so much!’

It is not surprising that many law firms stumble along more or less unhappily in the broad hinterland between success and failure. From an employer’s point of view: “The heart of motivation is to give people what they really most want from work. The more you are able to provide what they want, the more you should expect what you really want, namely: productivity, quality and service” (Twyla Dell, How to Motivate People, 1989). ?A bit of a twee summary but still rather neat.

Lawyers who are highly motivated are:

1. more productive;

2. more quality conscious; and

3. more service-delivery orientated.?

In short they are more of what any law firm wants.

Motivation does not require the support of some other form of perfection to make a major difference to your firm. As a private client lawyer you are as suited to motivate in this way as any other person from a different legal field or an outside expert. That ?is even if you have difficulty adding up sometimes, ?like most lawyers. It is often just a matter of taking ?up the challenge.

Motivation has two primary characteristics:

1. intrinsic;

2. extrinsic.?

Motivation is intrinsic, arising from your own personal interest or enjoyment in a task, which makes it a pleasurable experience of itself. Your interest in the history of the capital gains tax annual allowance since 1963 may puzzle your friends but delights you. Factors such as the personal desire for praise or approval can also fall into this category, which is a clue to dealing with staff properly. In any event it is a form of motivation which is from within you, so it is a bit like hunger or a warm glow from a great glass of wine.

Motivation also comes from external factors, basically your environment. Extrinsic motivation includes the need to make some money, to get and keep your job and to get that promotion. The task is less important than making the grade (remember doing your A levels), making the money (why you did your A levels), getting the reward (that nice corner office), avoiding something feared or disliked (such as having to live with your parents at age 40), beating the competition (into a pulp) gaining the applause of others (even when you are all still sober) or winning some sort of recognition (preferably involving money or an exotic holiday).

Inside out

Some research suggests that too much emphasis on extrinsic factors by employers reduces the intrinsic motivation of staff, but frankly few law firms would ever get themselves into that exotic category. The ideal balance between the two factors is not clearly revealed by research and we all react differently on account of both our own psychological wiring and our personal values. Both intrinsic and external motivation are always important to understanding how people tick and how to get the best out of them.

The nature of motivation has implications for what amounts to good leadership. It must ensure that the objective of the business is clear to all so they know what is expected of them. It must ensure that the path to the desired result is clear. That applies to the owners (ltd, LLP, partners and now PLC?), each operational and other team within the firm and to each individual employee of the business.

Leaders must establish a clearly defined and clearly stated objective as a necessary precondition to being able to motivate everyone in such a way as to align with that objective. Without this you may as well go home. But I am still amazed how few staff in law firms can answer: “And what would you say your firm’s objective is? And your place in that?”

Businesses that excel are those that consistently reward behaviours which align with that objective.
Furthermore, as the ‘usual’ means of motivation gradually becomes a facet of any given law firm culture, it is also potentially prone to a problem that arises in many strong business cultures, that of resistance to change. Leadership is required to build in means to facilitate ongoing change. But, fortunately, the nature of legal services success is now increasingly bound up with quality and service issues that can carry intrinsic motivational meaning for employees. This means that radical change in the underlying philosophy of ‘what motivates?’ is less likely to be required than adjustments in its practical application. If that were not the case then chances are you would be out of business now or will be shortly. And I have to say that I have been impressed with many a humble law firm’s adaptability in this difficult time. So, whether or not we are feeling a bit Marxist today there is still hope for old-time capitalism.

David Coldrick is a consultant at Wrigleys Solicitors