Accepting responsibility: What being a partner means

Partners set the culture of a law firm – what they believe, what they reward, what they do and how they do it determines what and how things get done.

But, a consistent problem is the lack of clarity around what being a partner means. And, in the absence of clarity, partners typically fill the gap by doing what they think it means, with all of the differences of thought and behaviour that it inevitably brings. It’s these differences in behaviour that result in firms failing to maximise their potential.

Figure 1 illustrates some of the differences in approach that can occur when partners interpret their responsibilities themselves.

So, how do firms overcome this lack of clarity and ensure the partner group set the right example and consistently deliver the performance the firm needs ?to be successful?

There have been many attempts to provide greater clarity, from sophisticated competency frameworks through balanced scorecards to highly personalised objective-based compensation systems.

The problem is that none of them (or even all of them together) ever works well enough without the critical link between partner behaviour and what the firm is trying to achieve and what the partners have to do to deliver it. Only when that overt linkage exists and becomes a part ?of every partner’s DNA do any other initiatives have a chance of working.

At the core of that linkage is the fact that the partners are the firm’s owners. They – and they alone – are responsible for the firm’s vision and its implementation. They are the people who have to ensure that, as a group, they are walking in the same direction, to the same beat, and taking everyone else with them.

Put simply, the partners have to lead. They can’t offload their leadership responsibilities onto their managing partner or practice leader just because they prefer to serve clients.

Partner responsibilities

Being a leader means that partners must do the following.

1. Make a personal economic contribution

The discussion about whether law firms are a profession or a business is still an emotive subject in a lot of circles. But, regardless of the answer, every firm has to make money to continue to exist. That means that the partners must see themselves as accountable for the firm’s financial performance.

Business management has to be a part of every partner’s capability. Every partner has to ensure his assignments are profitable and that he manages the firm’s cashflow by collecting monies when they’re due – not in the last month of the tax year, as too many partners still do.

Effective partners also use their non-billable time well. They concentrate their efforts on activities that will enhance the future value of the firm, like marketing, networking and doing pro-bono work ?that enhances the firm’s reputation in ?its local communities.

2. Bring in new business

The lifeblood of any firm is its ability to bring in new, profitable clients or expand the work it does for its existing clients. ?Not all partners are effective operating ?in an environment in which they have no pre-existing relationships, whereas some find it easy.

The key for any firm is to use its resources where it will achieve the best returns, rather than to expect everyone to be good at everything. However, regardless of the environments in which they best operate, all partners must bring in new profitable business that enables their firm to grow and develop – and, critically, provide security of tenure for ?the firm’s people.

3. Bring the firm’s resources to clients

Successful firms introduce different service lines to their clients – and their partners find it very much second nature to do so.

The failure of some partners to do this is one of the most complained-about issues in firms. To overcome it, partners have to trust their fellow partners to do as good a job as they would if they introduce them to their clients.

To gain that trust, they have to understand what their colleagues do ?and trust them personally (this is the classic no-brainer – no one is going to introduce anyone to an important relationship if he has no real idea of what that person does or doesn’t know him well enough to trust him).

But, being a partner means putting the firm first. So, while firms must share a lot of the blame for not creating opportunities for their partners to understand what the firm does and to develop effective relationships with their colleagues who deliver it, the partners must be proactive and take responsibility for ensuring they are comfortable with introducing their partners to their clients.

4. Pass work to colleagues

Trust is also at the core of whether partners will pass work onto their colleagues. The partners must find opportunities to ensure that, when one of their colleagues has more appropriate experience, they are confident in their decision to pass work to them.

When partners think ‘firm first’, the decision to pass work onto their fellow partners is automatic and enables the firm to utilise its resources to the full.

5. Develop team capabilities

Professional services is an execution game, so if a firm develops its people faster and more effectively than its competitors, it gains a competitive and economic advantage.

As professionals learn 80 per cent of what they need to know on the job, partners have to be really effective coaches. If a partner is not a good coach, he is not a good partner.

Partners must go through the same learning review process for off-the-job learning, including the programmes that accelerate people’s transitions throughout their careers.

Partners must also make sure that, whenever possible, the assignment process takes into account people’s development needs and that progress against those needs is assessed throughout the assignment as well as ?at its conclusion.

A lot of people consider this to be something that every partner should do naturally. But, sadly, this isn’t the case. Despite knowing that they should invest time in developing their people, at task time, partners tend to focus on the task, ?at the expense of everything else – including developing their people. This is despite being aware of the consequences for the firm’s finances and, ultimately, ?its reputation.

The challenge for all partners is to make developing their people part of the task. That way, it becomes a natural part ?of what they do and continually enhances the firm’s delivery capability and the quality of their clients’ experiences.

6. Engage with staff

Just as partners need to engage with the firm’s vision, so do the firm’s staff. But, like most people, they find it easier to engage with individuals rather than words.

Effective partners continually engage with their staff, regardless of their level and role. They go out of their way to create a personal bond, sharing personal information and operating with honesty ?and integrity in all of their interactions.

One of the great truisms is that you can’t be a leader if you don’t have followers. Effective partners create ?strong relationships with their people. They are accessible and have highly-tuned antennae that enable them to know ?where their people ‘are’ and how and when to act to ensure they remain committed to the firm.

7. Help colleagues

Some firms have a predominantly individualistic culture, while others are increasingly recognising that they have to create a more collective culture in which their partners operate in tandem in their dealings with the firm’s clients and people. Part of that cohesiveness is an active willingness to help others.

In our research into what successful managing partners do,¹ two of the things that distinguished successful managing partners from their peers was:?

1. helping their partners be better? leaders; and

2. a willingness to ask for help.

The normal stigma of failure had been replaced by an understanding that “if we’re all in it together, it makes sense to make sure we’re all doing the best we can”. Help was the dominant action, rather than failure or blame.

Help must also be a part of every partner’s DNA. Firms in which help is the predominant action perform demonstrably better than their peers.

8. Live the firm’s values

Values are the cultural glue in law firms. Lawyers, as we all know, are highly intelligent, high-achieving individuals who value their autonomy. A traditional top-down, command-and-control approach typically doesn’t work, as the partners are able to game the system with aplomb.

So, how do firms ensure their people operate cohesively and consistently in a highly-networked organisation? The answer, in addition to ensuring they are engaged with the firm’s vision and wanting to play an active part in its delivery, is through an all-pervading set of values.

Every successful firm has a set of values that are part of the firm’s DNA. They drive people’s actions and help them to make the ‘right’ decisions, should there ever be any doubt about which action to take.

9. Strive to be the best

In an execution game, successful firms continually look for ways to improve what they do. Whether that means serving clients, developing partners and staff, maximising revenues, creating new service lines or simply being more efficient, they never rest on their laurels.

The challenge of being the best at every thing they do is usually highly energising to the competitive personalities who live in law firms. In the best firms, the question “how can we do this better?” is a natural part of everything they do.

10. Be role models

People follow leaders they respect and trust, and whose performance inspires them to want to do even better themselves. This is especially true in law firms. Highly intelligent and competitive lawyers will only follow people they believe are really good at what they do.

So, a partner who builds great relationships with clients, introduces colleagues to them and makes sure his team are developed during the assignment is a role model who people respond to.

Being a great role model has to be every partner’s aspiration, because that’s what being a partner means. Every firm needs its partners to be great role models. They are the people who inspire others to help the firm to deliver its vision and, in their interactions with others in the firm, ensure that everyone plays an active part in delivering the firm’s future.

11. Stand up and be counted

This may sound obvious, but unfortunately it isn’t. In small firms, it’s not easy to disappear into the passive middle, but scale can make it easy to escape notice.

It is absolutely critical that partners accept personal responsibility for both themselves and the firm. Too many partners don’t play a part in what their firm is doing. The negative impact of this behaviour on the people looking up to them is unacceptable. It tells the wrong story about the cohesiveness of the partner group, their trust in each other and their belief in the firm’s future.

Rob Lees is a founding partner of ?Møller PSF Group and a consultant ?to PSF leaders worldwide ?(www.mollerpsfgcambridge.com). ?August Aquila is an international ?speaker, writer and consultant to ?PSFs (www.aquilaadvisors.com).

Endnote

1. See Making a difference, R. Lees, ?A. Aquila and D. Klyhn, Managing Partner, November 2012, Vol. 15 Issue 3