Sometimes, the challenge is – figuring out what the challenge is.
All firms or all sizes and all disciplines have challenges. And, while leadership is never easy – it becomes especially difficult – and critically important, during challenging times.
The first thing you must do as a leader is help to identify what the challenges are - and then, identify who the people, the process, and even the technology that can play a role in overcoming them.
For example, if your challenge is getting paid timely, look at the process for getting bills out, and review your process backwards from the time the bill goes out until the moment your billable professionals enter their time.
By looking critically at the process, you might identify issues with the process that never seemed obvious. In fact, you might learn that the reason you are not getting paid timely is because your bills don’t go out timely…and your bills don’t go out timely because your team doesn’t get their time in promptly…and your team doesn’t get their time in promptly because the tool for entering time is outdated, or, people are not trained, OR…people are not held accountable for getting their time in promptly.
Consider a challenge like “high paralegal turnover.” Be critical of the process used for identifying the need at the firm, posting the job, the interview process, the hiring process, the onboarding process, and the ongoing training and mentoring that is provided to new team members. What are the common denominators? Is it all paralegals, or just paralegals in a particular practice group, or who work for a particular attorney?
These are simple examples but representative of how stopping to make sure you understand the challenges facing your firm – or, your individual teams, – and taking the TIME to look at what is contributing to the challenge is so important. If there are contributing factors that your team can change, then lead them to see how that change will address the challenge. Often, leaders start working IN the business harder during challenging times, rather than working ON the business when it is most important.
Remember, small measurable changes can help get an entire team on board, committed to your effort, and challenges can be turned into opportunities with the right leadership.
