Blog
Follow Through or Come Through?
Every procedure, process and system is designed to produce a result. It has been tested and can be relied on to accomplish a desired end. The thinking is that if you follow the sequence or procedure, you will get the intended result. But what if you, having completed...
Who’s The Head Case?
(To yourself) I can't believe he just did that. Can't he see how unacceptable that is? I can't let him continue doing that. What a head case. We will definitely have to talk about it. But not right now. It's not the right time. It’s got to be the right time. (A day...
Swim To The Deep End
In a recent coaching call with a manager, I was reminded of how easy it is to conform your thinking to your environment. For her, she described her specialty practice and that her clients are in a regional reach. Her enthusiasm was infectious and I was drawn to her...
Coached To Accelerate
As part of my firm-wide program to raise up high performers, I schedule coaching calls with individuals that the firm wants to invest in. I recently completed a bank of calls for a firm and, reflecting on them, I noticed that the conversations seemed to fall into...
Balance Both Sides
In order to be a high-functioning professional in your firm, you must demonstrate both technical and professional capabilities. Those are two sides of the same coin. Early in your career, technical mastery is predominant. But as you progress in your career, your...
What Does That Mean?
I just returned from training another great southeast firm and I’m really pleased with how the leadership team is developing. They have made significant strides in what it means to work together, rely on each other and accomplish great things for themselves, their...
Lessons About Satisfaction
I just returned from Las Vegas where I facilitated a firm leaders conference. It is an annual event where a group of partners from around the U.S. meet to discuss leadership in their firms and confer with each other for advice and guidance. It was an exceptional...
Commit To Think Strategically
Last week’s message [hyperlink] about the importance of learning to think and act strategically led to numerous responses that were insightful. While I responded to each one individually, one responder raised a great question I’d like you to see. He asked if there...
Are You Tactical or Strategic?
The more I coach new partners and aspiring partners, the more I see an inability to think and act strategically. It’s a skill that can and should be learned, so probably the deficit is due to the fact that most of their education, training and work experience has been...
Freedom In Motivating Yourself
I just read a HBR article that opened with describing the challenges that managers have in motivating their staff. Then the author went on to explain how to create a motivating environment. It’s a good article but I think it’s important to clarify something. Shaping...
