Legal

David J. Hooker

By Mike Cottrill

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Build a consensus, build a happy company. You need to bring people together and help them form a common vision and a common direction. That’s what makes an organization successful.

The most important thing is to create an environment where everybody feels a part of the firm. We want people to understand how everyone — whether they are a secretary or a senior partner — can contribute. You have to look at individuals and make sure that we understand each one and what his or her career aspirations are and how we, as a firm, can help them meet those aspirations.

We have a program where we ask the associates to meet by themselves to identify the issues and concerns that they have about the firm. That process is invigorating for all of us because we have great dialogue on things they want us to work on, which they might not have otherwise had the opportunity to bring to us.

We document the meetings and report to the entire firm about what was raised and what our responses were. We’ve made changes coming out of that meeting because associates have suggested it.

Alternatively, there’s been times we can’t make a change, but we say, ‘No, and here are the reasons.’ Our associates feel like this is something that really distinguishes our firm because of the openness with which we approach this communication process.

Listen to everybody. One of the most important skills is to be able to listen to people. That’s listening to people both inside and outside the firm.

A leader has to be able to form a vision for his or her organization but that cannot be done in a vacuum. You first need to listen to people in the marketplace to set and revise the vision to keep the organization competitive. You really have to soak up as much information as possible on what clients want and what your competition is doing.

Then you have to listen to people in your own organization because you have to understand where they’re coming from — what their fears and concerns and needs are — so that, as you communicate with them, you help them understand what we’re doing so they can buy in.

If you find out something, or if you develop a point of view that things are happening in the marketplace, you have to survey, you have to ask questions, you have to probe to put yourself in a position to make a conclusion.

I often meet with clients as the managing partner of the firm. I do that to express our appreciation for the confidence they place in us but also to make sure that I understand what they’re thinking so I can respond to any issues or problems they have.

Fix today’s problems through tomorrow’s plans.

The trick is to put today’s problems in context of the vision for tomorrow, and what that means is, you first have to have the long-term vision in place as you deal with the daily problems that come up.

If we’re all in agreement of the longer-term plan, then we can really solve today’s problem in that context. We know what we’re trying to achieve, and the decisions become easier.

If somebody comes in with an opportunity to hire a new lawyer, well, if you have this vision of the firm that you’re trying to build, you can pull back and say, ‘Does this lawyer fit in with the vision of what we’re trying to build?’ And it becomes a much easier conversation.

Repeat your communication. You have to communicate to make sure that everything is understood across the firm. I know that takes repeating things so that everybody has the opportunity to hear it, think about it, ask questions and, ultimately, embrace it.

I know it’s successful when I hear others talking about it. It takes a lot of work to get there, but it’s a great feeling when you hear someone explaining the vision in the same language you started with or when you see it being communicated by others around the firm. Then, of course, as groups get together in the firm, and I sit in on meetings, I always take that as an opportunity to reinforce the messages that we’re focused on.

Make new employees feel at home. We’ve developed a process to bring new people into the firm and integrate them into our practice — and the key is the integration piece. Too often, firms will hire an experienced lawyer, they’ll come in, get their desk and computer, and the firm will say, ‘Go to work,’ and then nobody pays any attention to them.

We have a process where each new person has an individual integration plan. And that process looks at the clients they’ve been working with, the clients we have, the people in our firm who have similar or complementary skills sets, and then we map out the first year of their tenure to take advantage of their specific skills so both sides can get the most out of that time.

Say what’s on your mind. Don’t be reticent to say what you think. When a new leader takes over an organization, he or she naturally wants respect, but he or she can’t be shy about what their vision for the organization is.

You have to get out there and say what you think. People look to leaders for direction, and the leader has to give it. There are going to be times you need to refine your direction or vision based either on judgments or market forces pushing you in different directions, so you have to be willing to go out in front of everyone and say, ‘Hey, we have to make a change in plans, and this is what we’re going to do.’

HOW TO REACH: Thompson Hine LLP, (216) 566-5821 or www.thompsonhine.com