Masterclass: Adopting a business-development attitude: a shared responsibility

The transition to move associates from accepting work to building their own practices is a particularly difficult management challenge. With a proper training and development framework, and the support of partners, however, firms can be confident of success. By Jon Childers, consultant, Hildebrandt International, and Julia Hayhoe, consultant, Hildebrandt International

For decades, law firms, large and small, have faced a common challenge – how to successfully transition associates from being passive recipients of law-firm experiences to business developers and career owners. Indeed, the leap from working on client matters to procuring client business represents one of the most difficult transitions in a lawyer’s career, and this challenge is at its most critical as an associate approaches and makes the step into partnership. Unfortunately, many firm leaders seem to cross their fingers and hope that associates will manage to flip a switch and start developing business at the appropriate time, failing to recognise that it is hard to break the habit of expecting to receive and perform work produced by others.

To compound the problem, firms are increasingly finding that the importance of transitioning associates into the role of business developer and relationship owner is not just an internal issue. A growing number of clients now expect associates to play a more visible and active role in managing the client’s work and relationship. Clients say they expect every lawyer who works on their matters to have a real understanding of their company and business issues so the legal work is done in the proper business context. However, few firms can consistently meet this challenge. Most training and development efforts within firms fail to recognise that successfully transitioning associates from an ‘employee mentality’ to an ‘owner mentality’ requires a shift in attitude, not just sales training. A disconnected set of activities, ranging from off-the-shelf business-development techniques, half-hearted annual goal setting, and weekend beauty schools, fails to address the underlying attitudinal and behavioural change required for senior associates and junior partners to make the leap to business developer.

A different approach is required – one that involves substantial investment by both law firms and senior associates. Firms must recognise that, in order to successfully transition into the role of business developer, lawyers need a certain amount of structure, support, guidance and practice, over a dedicated period of time, to develop the necessary behaviours and skills. In turn, senior associates must also stand up, take the initiative and proactively design their own practice and future.

Return on investment

A firm that assists lawyers in making the leap from ‘passive employee’ to ‘engaged and proactive business developer’ reaps critical benefits:

Significant increase in the percentage of associates that become business-developing partners;;
Improved associate morale and engagement, affecting recruiting and retention by providing unique lawyer development and career opportunities;
Enhanced client service as associates demonstrate greater investment in developing strong client relationships;
Stronger communication and relationships between partners and associates;
A contagious energy of entrepreneurship that spreads throughout the firm.

Firms that equip associates to serve clients in the role of business developer also recognise a dual and quantifiable economic payoff: associates are actively contributing by bringing in new work while simultaneously freeing up partner time for other, potentially more profitable activities. Such an investment in associates today brings future returns, as they increasingly take on the role of business developer and client-relationship builder, ultimately expanding and growing the firm.

Key elements of a meaningful lawyer-development process

As much as we would like to provide the perfect recipe for helping a lawyer make the shift to a business-development attitude, our experience shows this is much too complex a process for a one-size-fits-all approach. Attitudes and behaviours change gradually and only with a high level of intention on the part of the participant. In addition, what works at one firm and for one associate may not succeed in another context. However, we have found that the firms which have achieved the greatest success have been those that have created a development framework and an ongoing programme of activities, which incorporates the following elements outlined below.

Market and client input

In recent years, many firms have made a concerted effort to gather information from key clients and incorporate that information into firm-wide strategic plans, practice groups and client-relationship plans. However, this information is rarely used as a development tool for associates and junior partners. This is a lost opportunity.

Understanding the legal needs of clients, the sectors in which they operate, and emerging buying patterns is critical to developing business. Insight into clients’ needs enables lawyers to better and more profitably serve their clients by providing services that clients value the most, and delivering the service in a way that is preferred by these clients. Unfortunately, many firms fail to recognise the importance of client feedback, expecting associates, who may have been more internally focused, to independently gain an external perspective and intuitively formulate an effective approach to business development.

This expectation is unreasonable. Without prior exposure to the ‘client’s voice’, most associates struggle to get up to speed with understanding clients’ needs. Senior associates who have had access to the perspectives of firm clients throughout their career are at a tremendous advantage.

There are a number of different ways in which firms can bring the client’s voice to associates – for example, firms are increasingly forming organised client teams. Associates who are included on dedicated client teams will have access to a steady stream of client feedback related to service and relationship requirements. This first-hand information and exposure to client-relationship management offers tremendous value to a lawyer attempting to build a practice. Although it may not be possible to incorporate every associate into a dedicated client team, firms can share with the broader associate group key learning points and takeaways from client interviews or other feedback mechanisms.

Through this, associates will gain insight into the characteristics of excellent service (as defined by the firm’s clients) and the relative value clients place on the firm’s various services. Some other ways that firms have successfully shared client knowledge, preferences and trends with associates have been to include client panels at retreats; use real-life case studies in training programmes; have greater inclusion of associates in client meetings and entertainment events in which the discussion centres around the client’s satisfaction, future needs, and business issues (and not merely on the matter at hand); and regular discussion of clients as part of the monthly agendas at practice-group meetings.

Partner input

Partner input into business-development training is typically haphazard at best. This is an unfortunate waste of an invaluable resource. The lessons of partners who have successfully travelled the business-development road are indispensable to senior associates and junior partners looking to build practices.

A common concern is often how to efficiently use partner time toward this end. We have seen several firms make excellent use of partner panels in training programmes. Three or four senior partners hold a facilitated session in front of a group of senior associates and junior partners to deliver business-development stories and organised pearls of wisdom. Associates are then free to drill down into areas of particular interest. Partner panels not only provide lessons from the past, but they also provide commentary on the direction of the firm and which business-development efforts align with its current strategy.

Another tool used by firms to provide associates with partner input is the mentoring programme. Many firms have struggled with mentoring, both on an informal and more formal basis, but when properly designed and implemented, such programmes offer associates substantial value in the form of partner-associate career coaching, role modelling, client exposure, and business-development skills training. Unfortunately, many firms have not succeeded with mentoring programmes, primarily because partners have lacked the appropriate training and education regarding their role as a mentor. However, it is important to note that this problem and others can be overcome.

Personal-development plans and peer-to-peer support/accountability

A process that endeavours to shift attitudes and develop new behaviours would be toothless without requiring the participant to declare his/her intention. Individual development plans are not a new concept. However, the idea of combining a personal-development plan with a peer group to provide both support and a system of accountability is relatively new to law firms.

We recently worked with one firm that made effective use of peer trios. Each trio kicked off the development programme with a facilitated half-day session in which participants catalogued and assessed relevant attributes: legal skills, interpersonal skills, accomplishments, relevant experiences and interests, and business and personal networks. Most participants began the assessment with an oversupply of modesty; however, with the encouragement of a facilitator and peers, participants began to see the formation of a platform upon which to build. Participants then used the assessment data to prepare a personal-development plan, which contained some simple goals, milestones and timelines.

The trios remained together over the course of six months, during which time they had four additional meetings. These were used to check progress and brainstorm approaches for accomplishing items on the plan, as well as providing moral support to tackle individuals’ challenges. Conducting this process over six months allowed for substantial reflection, course correction, and time for a participant to claim and demonstrate a greater level of ownership over the development of their business.

Feedback relating to personality and behavioural preferences

Large corporations often invest millions of dollars in various assessment tools to help employees better understand their personality and behavioural preferences, which can impact on-the-job performance. Law firms have begun to follow suit, although to a lesser extent so far. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Caliper Profile are two assessment tools that have been used effectively by a number of firms. The MBTI provides feedback relating to four basic personality characteristics. The Caliper is a more comprehensive instrument that measures 18 personality characteristics. The feedback from these tools enables a greater understanding of communication style, decision-making process, and an awareness of how different characteristics help or impede business-development efforts. This, in turn, helps participants gain a more objective sense of the strengths upon which to build and challenges to work on.

One-to-one coaching

A coaching programme is an increasingly popular means of providing support and structure for partners and senior associates who are focusing on forming successful business-development behaviour patterns. A typical coaching session lasts approximately an hour and focuses on progress toward stated goals, removing obstacles to business development, and building on successes and natural strengths. Coaching programmes can be designed to be an integral part of a broader training and development programme. Although duration and frequency of sessions vary considerably, we have found that monthly meetings over the course of a 6-12 month period have become a fairly common approach. At the conclusion of a coaching relationship, a coach will draft a confidential report summarising how the participant progressed against goals with guidance on areas for future focus.

Achieving success

The point at which a lawyer lifts their head from daily tasks and begins to intentionally carve out their niche in the firm and the outside world represents a critical leap in the development of the individual and, ultimately, the firm. Unfortunately, this leap does not often take place automatically. It is the responsibility of the firm to ensure that the lawyer has a training and development framework that provides the encouragement, tools and support structure required for the transition; and it is the responsibility of the senior associate to seize the opportunity and begin to build their practice themselves.

John Childers and Julia Hayhoe are consultants at Hildebrandt International. They can be contacted at jnchilders@hildebrandt.com and at jhayhoe@hildebrandt.com, respectively.