Opinion: Who needs a coach?

By Simon Slater

I run an interim-management consultancy. Law firms and other professional-service organisations come to us when they need an important interim resource for the short term. This might be a financial controller or a head of HR. Either way, it’s a sensible commercial decision. Large companies – your clients – do the same. They make good resourcing decisions. But here’s another thing they do: they invest in coaching their people.

According to the Institute of Directors, 81 per cent of FTSE 250 companies make regular use of business coaches to help their people perform out of their skin. And remember, these are successful organisations employing people who are also already very good. The point is that the coaching they provide is developmental, not remedial.

All too often in major law firms there is an assumption that coaching is remedial, but the shrewdest firms don’t see it that way. They see it as helping their top professionals become even better – better advisers, better leaders, better managers. As a result, they become happier, more confident and fulfilled people.

Can you imagine a top-class athlete embarking on a four-year period of training for the Olympic marathon without a coach? Or even Sir Steve Redgrave and his team-mates achieving their unprecedented success without getting the finest available help? No.

Senior lawyers are in the same boat. Successful partners are, at some stage in their careers, asked to manage an important practice area or even the whole firm. They are already at the top of their game as lawyers and well on their way to being effective leaders and managers.

So why not coach them too? Why not give them the extra lift that will enable them to perform to the best of their ability?

It’s no different with a new partner or indeed a marketing director. They too are already high achievers, but they too would benefit from developmental coaching to help them rise to the next challenge. Ambition is not a static condition and the sense of achievement we all crave cannot be met without stretching ourselves and sharpening our skills. And it is well-nigh impossible to succeed in doing something new without help.

Top performers in sport know the value of a good coach. Medals are won by athletes and their coaches. The principles of performance enhancement through coaching are the same in business and this leads not only to improved motivation, but also to higher retention. Don’t take my word for this. When Olympic gold-medal winner, Kriss Akabusi wanted to improve his business performance, he decided to hire one of the best coaches in the business.

That word ‘retention’. These days, it seems almost impossible for me to write an article without using it. It reminds me that there is another compelling reason for law firms to provide coaching. Coaching is seen by people as a real investment in them; not just financially – more in emotional terms. It is a personal commitment to an individual, a statement of your faith in them.

Imagine how powerful that might be when you’re next trying to woo a lateral-hire partner. He or she is being courted by two or three firms and it is proving difficult to make the final decision. You know that your firm represents the biggest and best challenge for them, but still they are not sure. Now, if you offered in-coaching during the first six months to help them familiarise themselves with your firm, engage quickly with your people, become an effective team member and generally become productive, sooner rather than later, don’t you think that might just become a clinching factor?

Back in 1979 when I started my career as a humble sales executive with SmithKline Beecham, I was given the best coaching that any company at that time could provide. Okay, I’d talked my way into the job (so I knew I could sell myself), but they weren’t going to leave it to chance. Along with the company car (a bright turquoise Hillman Avenger if you must know!) came a coach who I remember even to this day. His name was Barry Jarvis. He made me better than I thought I already was within weeks. And this made me a better, more effective and confident performer all round.

Do your firm a favour. Think about adding coaching to your own sales proposition when recruiting partners. It’s another good business decision. After all, you wouldn’t dream of running a new Aston Martin without oil. Would you?

Simon Slater is managing director of First Counsel’s advisory business. He can be contacted at simon.slater@first-counsel.co.uk